fleetchart vs QuickBooks for trucking
QuickBooks is general accounting software: invoices, bank connections, expense categories, bill pay, payroll and financial reports for any business. It records what you earned and spent, but a load, a mile and a state line are not part of an accounting entry. fleetchart shows profit per truck per mile, reads rate cons and builds your IFTA worksheet, then exports QuickBooks-format CSV for your accountant.
Last reviewed · by the fleetchart team
This is rarely either-or. QuickBooks is where the books live and where most accountants already work. The question is whether it can also tell you which truck, lane and broker make money, and how many miles you ran in each state.
It can get part of the way. QuickBooks Online Plus lets you track up to 40 classes and locations (unlimited on Advanced), so you can set up one class per truck and tag every transaction. That works if someone tags every entry. Miles still live somewhere else, so per-mile numbers stay a spreadsheet job. What we say about QuickBooks comes from Intuit's own public pages, read on September 30, 2026, and cited at the bottom of the page.
| Dimension | fleetchart | QuickBooks |
|---|---|---|
| General ledger and reconciliation | No | Core function |
| Payroll | Works out driver pay (%, per mile, salary, hourly); does not run payroll | Payroll available |
| Accountant familiarity | Exports QuickBooks-format CSV | What most accountants already use |
| Profit per truck | Every truck ranked on profit per mile, automatically | Possible with one class per truck, tagged by hand (40 classes on Plus, unlimited on Advanced) |
| Cost per mile | All-in cost per mile from your own expenses and miles | Miles are not part of an accounting entry; needs a separate calculation |
| Getting a load in | Reads the rate con PDF: rate, miles, broker, origin, destination, deadhead | Creates invoices and bills from PDFs, photos and emails; its pages don't describe reading rate cons |
| Mileage | Miles by state from Motive, or typed from trip sheets | GPS mileage log for business vs personal trips and the IRS standard mileage rate |
| IFTA | Quarterly worksheet of miles and fuel by state for your preparer; does not file | Not described on its mileage page |
| Fuel card import | EFS and Comdata statements | Bank connections for bookkeeping |
| Broker comparison | Each broker's rate per mile against your own average, plus days to pay | Records invoice amounts; miles are not part of the entry |
| Quarterly tax | Quarterly tax estimates | Estimates quarterly payments (Essentials and up) |
| Price | $49.99–$299.99/mo flat by fleet size | Several plans; see Intuit's pricing page |
marks the side that genuinely does this better.
Choose fleetchart when
- You want profit per truck per mile without tagging every transaction
- Rate cons are your main document and you are tired of typing them
- You need miles and fuel by state for IFTA each quarter
- You want to know which brokers pay under your own average
Stay with QuickBooks when
- You need a general ledger, bank reconciliation, bill pay and payroll
- Your accountant already works in it
- You have income outside trucking to account for
- You need formal financial statements for a lender
The honest answer
Keep QuickBooks for the books. Add fleetchart if you want the trucking numbers QuickBooks wasn't built to hold: profit per truck per mile, cost per mile, broker ranking and the IFTA worksheet. fleetchart exports income and expenses as QuickBooks-format CSV, so your accountant keeps working where they already work.
Questions
- Can QuickBooks track profit per truck?
- Yes, with setup. QuickBooks Online Plus tracks up to 40 classes and locations, and Advanced has no limit (Intuit pricing page, checked September 30, 2026). You create a class per truck and tag each transaction. It gives profit per truck, but not per mile, because miles are not part of the entry.
- Does QuickBooks do IFTA?
- Its mileage tracker is built for logging business versus personal trips for the IRS mileage deduction. Intuit's mileage page (checked September 30, 2026) does not describe miles by state or IFTA. fleetchart builds the IFTA worksheet of miles and fuel by state. Neither files the return for you.
- Can I use fleetchart and QuickBooks together?
- Yes, and that is the common setup. fleetchart exports income and expenses as separate QuickBooks-format CSV files for your accountant.
Sources
- Intuit QuickBooks, home page · Invoicing (including from PDFs, photos and emails), bank connections, bill capture, payroll and financial reporting. (checked )
- Intuit QuickBooks, plans and pricing · Class and location tracking (40 on Plus, unlimited on Advanced), quarterly payment estimates on Essentials, project profitability on Plus. (checked )
- Intuit QuickBooks, mileage tracking · GPS mileage log, business vs personal trips and the IRS standard mileage rate; no mention of miles by state or IFTA. (checked )
Facts about QuickBooks come only from the pages above, on the date shown. Products change; check their site for the current picture.QuickBooks is a trademark of its owner, and this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
Decide with your own numbers.
Bring a week of paperwork to a demo. You will see what your operation looks like in fleetchart before you decide anything.