Guide · 6 min read
One-truck shops live and die on job-level margin. Here's the simplest job-costing system that doesn't require dragging a laptop to every supply house.
Free business checking + business credit card. Customer deposits in (Venmo Business, ACH, checks). Supply-house and fuel purchases out — never on personal.
Write the customer name/job number on the receipt before it leaves the supply house. Or snap a photo into a tagged folder. Without this, materials cost gets lost.
An app on your phone (no manual log). At 70¢/mi in 2026, a typical service truck doing 25,000 miles/year is $17,500 in deductions. Don't reconstruct in April.
Move 25–30% of net to a tax savings account. Once net income passes ~$80k, a SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) becomes one of the biggest tax tools in trades.
Tag materials, log mileage, track sub pay — and see exactly which jobs make money.
Start freeThree things make trade bookkeeping unique: high materials cost per job, lots of mileage, and customers who often pay by check or cash. Without job costing you can't tell which calls actually made money once you've subtracted material, fuel, and helper labor.
Tag every receipt to a specific job. Either snap a phone photo at the supply house or write the job/customer name on the receipt before it goes in the truck. Without per-job tracking, materials disappear into a giant 'supplies' bucket and you lose the cost basis.
Flat-rate is more profitable for service calls — customers prefer predictable pricing, and your effective hourly rate goes up because you're paid for value, not minutes. T&M makes sense for large renovations where scope is unclear. Most successful one-truck shops use flat-rate for service, T&M for projects.
If you only have a work truck used 100% for work, the actual-expense method (gas, insurance, repairs, depreciation) usually wins because trucks cost a lot to run. If a vehicle does double duty (personal + work), the standard mileage rate (70¢/mile in 2026) is simpler and often comparable.
Yes — any helper, subcontractor, or apprentice you pay $600+ in a year as a non-employee gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Collect a W-9 before the first payment. If you misclassify a real employee as a contractor, the IRS can hit you for back payroll taxes.