BIRMINGHAM, AL. There are plenty of software solutions that handle fuel tax reporting for carriers but those with expense analysis and reporting capabilities will stand out in the crowd, Minnetonka, MN-based software maker Inter-Tax said.
Fuel tax reporting is a laborious task for drivers and fleets alike, requiring both to record miles traveled and gallons of fuel consumed per state, then filing that information, along with payments, to each state’s revenue office.
While a wide variety of software packages today—many hooked up to in-cab mobile communication systems—can now automatically compile and transmit that fuel tax data, finding ways to make more use of that data will be key in the future, said Thomas Fansler, a partner with Inter-Tax.
“Fuel tax reporting is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what you can do with all the data you’re compiling with this kind of software,” he told FleetOwner here at the McLeod Software User Conference.
“For example, we have a 100,000 trucks in our database from which we are gathering mileage and fuel consumption data every day,” he said. “We can now take that data and use to gauge a fleet’s average fuel efficiency per truck, or benchmark their fuel efficiency against other fleets, even compare routes and find the ones that offer fleet’s a lower tax impact.”
While compiling, submitting and providing audit worthiness of fuel tax information is always going to remain a primary responsibility, added Fansler, the ability to “slice and dice” the fuel and mileage data generated by fleets is what will provide big benefits in the future.
“That kind of information helps a fleet improve its bottom line and drive efficiencies,” he said. “That’s what’s going to be key in the future.”
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