Trucks and Maintenance

Whether you run one truck or a handful, the details matter in ways that only become obvious when you need them: the VIN for an insurance form, the plate for a permit, the decal number for a roadside check, the gross weight for a state that taxes by weight and distance. Each truck gets a record that holds all of it in one place.

Weight is more than a reference field. Several states charge by weight and distance rather than by fuel, and the bracket your truck falls into decides the rate. Recording the gross weight against the unit means those figures can be worked out from what the truck actually is, rather than from a number someone types in from memory each quarter.

Maintenance is logged per truck, so the service history travels with the unit instead of living in a notebook. What was done, when, and what it cost — which over time tells you which truck is quietly costing you money and when something is due rather than overdue.

Trucks can be marked active, inactive, in maintenance or sold, so a unit you no longer run drops out of the day-to-day lists without taking its history with it. Last year's trips and fuel stay attached to it, which is what you need when a question comes up about a quarter you have already closed.