The Top Trucking Accounting Software (2025 Guide)
For carriers, fleets, and owner-operators.
Choosing the right accounting software can mean the difference between knowing your cost-per-mile to the penny and drowning in a sea of fuel receipts and settlement sheets. Your business isn't just about moving freight; it's about managing cash flow, automating IFTA filings, and ensuring drivers are paid accurately and on time.
This guide cuts through the noise to help you find the best trucking-specific accounting software for your operation, whether you're a solo owner-operator or a growing fleet.
TL;DR — Quick Picks
In a hurry? Here are our top recommendations for 2025.
- Best All-in-One (Accounting + Ops): Frontline Q7 — A fully integrated suite for dispatch, accounting, and payroll, available on-premise or in the cloud.
- Runner-Up All-in-One: Axon — Real-time, fully integrated trucking accounting that links every part of your business, with optional managed cloud hosting.
- Best “TMS + Accounting” Combo (Small to Mid-Size): TruckLogics + QuickBooks Online — A powerful combination for dispatch, IFTA, and industry-standard accounting via a seamless QuickBooks integration.
- Best Value for Owner-Operators: Rigbooks — Excellent cost-per-mile tracking and IFTA helpers, with simple plans starting at just $19/month.
- Lightweight & Free: TruckBytes — A solid starter option for basic invoicing, trip reports, and IFTA paperwork when you're just getting started.
- Top TMS with Strong Accounting Links: TruckingOffice, Tailwind, and ProTransport — All offer robust TMS features and sync smoothly with QuickBooks, adding critical IFTA, ELD, and fuel-card workflows.
- DIY/Open-Source Stack: Beancount + Fava — A plain-text, double-entry accounting system with a modern web UI. It offers maximum control and auditability for those with some technical comfort.
What to Look For (And Why It Matters)
Trucking isn't generic, and your accounting software shouldn't be either. Here are the key features to prioritize.
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End-to-End Integration Accounting shouldn't be an island. Your financial data should tie directly to dispatch, driver settlements, maintenance, and fuel taxes so you aren’t wasting hours on manual data entry. Look for systems with native modules for these functions or, at a minimum, robust integrations with your existing tools like ELDs, fuel cards, factoring services, and EDI.
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IFTA Automation Quarterly IFTA fuel tax filing is a time-consuming and error-prone headache. Good software automates this by importing distance and fuel data directly from your ELDs and fuel cards, keeping state tax rates current, and generating file-ready reports. This feature alone can save you days of work each year.
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Driver Settlements & Payroll Trucking has unique pay structures that generic payroll systems can't handle. Your software should natively support rules for per-mile pay, per-load percentages, accessorials (like detention and layover pay), and deductions. This reduces spreadsheet gymnastics and ensures your drivers are paid correctly and on time.
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Bank Feeds & Reconciliation A real-time view of your cash flow is non-negotiable. Whether you use a built-in accounting module or connect to a platform like QuickBooks or Xero, automated bank feeds and fast reconciliation tools are essential for keeping your financial picture current.
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Cloud Access & Mobile Your business doesn't stop when you're away from the office. Field teams, drivers, and outside accountants need secure, anywhere access. Most modern suites now offer cloud-based hosting or browser access, which is critical for a distributed operation.
The Best Trucking Accounting Software (By Use Case)
1) Fully Integrated Suites (Accounting + TMS in One)
These platforms aim to be the single source of truth for your entire operation.
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Frontline Q7 (Best Overall All-in-One) Q7 combines dispatch, fleet management, a full accounting suite (AP/AR/GL), and payroll into one unified system. It offers deep integrations with fuel cards, ELDs, and EDI partners. Q7 is a great fit if you want one system of record to run your business, and it’s available as either site-licensed software or a cloud-based subscription for 24/7 access.
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Axon (Runner-Up All-in-One) Axon’s "real-time" architecture is its standout feature—an entry in dispatch instantly ripples through to driver pay, IFTA reports, and your general ledger. This eliminates data silos and ensures everyone is working with the same information. The company also offers managed cloud hosting, which is ideal for distributed teams. Expect a demo-driven sales process to tailor the system to your needs.
2) TMS-First Tools That Play Nicely with Small-Business Accounting
These tools handle the trucking-specific work and integrate with standard accounting software.
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TruckLogics + QuickBooks Online This is a powerful and popular combination for small to mid-sized fleets (1–20 trucks). TruckLogics excels at dispatch, expense tracking, maintenance logs, and IFTA. Its native QuickBooks integration syncs customers, invoices, and payments, cutting out double entry and letting your accountant work in the tool they know best.
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Tailwind TMS + QuickBooks Online Tailwind builds invoicing and AP/AR management directly inside its TMS, then syncs the financial data with QuickBooks Online for full general ledger accounting. This approach suits carriers and brokers who want to optimize their operational workflows without forcing their accountant to learn a new system.
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ProTransport (by RTS) + QuickBooks ProTransport centralizes dispatch, safety, driver communication, and reporting. It's known for its strong integrations with fuel cards, major ELD providers (like Motive and Transflo), and QuickBooks. The system uses your existing trip and fuel data to streamline IFTA preparation, making it a great choice for growing fleets looking to standardize their processes.
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TruckingOffice + QuickBooks TruckingOffice is a practical and user-friendly TMS designed for smaller fleets. It offers PC*MILER-powered mileage calculations, dispatch, invoicing, and IFTA reports, all of which can be synced with QuickBooks. With transparent pricing and a 30-day free trial, it’s an accessible way to professionalize your operations.
3) Owner-Operator Friendly
These tools are built for the specific needs of a solo operator or very small fleet.
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Rigbooks (Best Value) Rigbooks is laser-focused on helping you know your true cost per mile. It makes it easy to track loads, expenses, and fuel while providing simple workflows to prepare for IFTA. With pricing that starts at just $19/month, it's a fantastic choice if you want financial clarity without the complexity of an enterprise system.
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TruckBytes (Free) A long-running and respected free option, TruckBytes provides the essentials for getting started. It handles basic invoicing, trip reports, and the paperwork you need for IFTA. It’s an invaluable tool when you're just starting out and need to watch every dollar.
4) "General Accounting + TMS" Paths
These combinations leverage best-in-class general accounting software.
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QuickBooks Online + Your TMS QuickBooks provides world-class bank feeds, reconciliation, cash-flow tools, and reporting. You can pair it with a trucking-specific TMS like TruckingOffice, Tailwind, or TruckLogics to add the operational workflows you need.
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Xero + MyTrucking If your accountant prefers Xero, this combo is a great alternative. MyTrucking is a transport management tool that pushes invoices directly into Xero. It also supports handy trucking-specific touches like fuel levies and attaching proof-of-delivery dockets and signatures to invoices.
5) Open-Source, Developer-Friendly Alternative
- Beancount + Fava (for teams who want full control) For the technically inclined, this is the path to ultimate control and data ownership. Beancount is a plain-text, double-entry accounting system, and Fava provides a modern web interface for it. You get transparent ledgers that can be version-controlled with Git, plus the freedom to script your own imports from banks, fuel cards, and TMS exports. This route trades some out-of-the-box convenience for unparalleled flexibility and auditability.
Pricing Notes (A Snapshot)
- Transparent Pricing: Tools like TruckingOffice and Rigbooks publish their tiered pricing online and typically offer 30-day free trials.
- Quote-Based: Enterprise suites like Q7, Axon, and ProTransport provide pricing after a personalized demo. When budgeting for these, be sure to ask about costs for onboarding, data migration, and ongoing support.
How to Choose (Fast Checklist)
- Map your existing stack. If your accountant already lives in QuickBooks, prioritize a TMS with a native QB sync like TruckLogics, Tailwind, ProTransport, or TruckingOffice.
- Score your IFTA effort. How painful is it today? Favor systems that automatically import miles and fuel and keep tax rates current.
- Test driver settlements. Make sure the software can handle your specific pay rules natively, not as a clunky workaround.
- Decide on hosting. Do you need browser-based access for a remote team? Confirm the availability of cloud or managed hosting options.
Beancount Corner (For beancount.io Readers)
If you prefer owning your ledger and building resilient, automated workflows, the Beancount path is highly rewarding.
- Use Beancount as your general ledger. You can import CSVs from your bank, credit cards, and fuel cards. Use tags and metadata in your entries to track trips, tractors, trailers, and lanes.
- Run Fava locally or on a server to get interactive reports, including standard income statements and balance sheets. You can also write custom queries to generate per-vehicle P&L statements.
- Bridge your TMS by exporting load and settlement data to CSV and writing small, simple import scripts. This approach allows you to maintain a source-of-truth ledger without any vendor lock-in.
Final Word
The best advice is to pick the smallest system that solves the whole workflow you have today, then confirm it can scale to handle next year’s fleet size. For many growing fleets, that sweet spot is a dedicated TMS connected to QuickBooks or Xero. For larger, more established carriers, a fully integrated suite like Q7 or Axon is often worth the investment in consolidation.
And if you’re a technical founder who values long-term control and data ownership, a disciplined Beancount + Fava setup is a credible and extremely low-cost path to a robust financial system.
