How Can an ELD Service Cut Down Your Paperwork?
The law has mandated ELDs in the US and Canada in the last few years. But they are not just needed for compliance, but they also help reduce tax-related paperwork. If you have a person filing all the paperwork for your fleet, you can make their job much easier with an ELD service.
It will automatically log all the required information, so they don’t have to spend hours manually inputting every record. You can also automate the entire process, eliminating the need for a manual report at all.
Here are some of the ways an ELD can cut down your paperwork.
1. IFTA reporting
The IFTA or the International Fuel Tax Agreement requires commercial vehicles to report miles driven, fuel purchased, and fuel tax paid in each state for each fleet vehicle every quarter year.
When you have a good ELD service, it can completely automate the whole process of IFTA reporting. The ELD will record every mile in each state and compare it with the fuel usage in each mile. The fuel purchase record can be manually inputted, or some ELD machines can even detect it automatically.
All this information will be stored securely in a server until you are ready to download the report, eliminating the need for paperwork.
2. Highway Use Tax
Several states like New York charge a Highway Use Tax for heavy vehicles. If you don’t have accurate reports for highway use, it can become quite difficult to file the exact amount of taxes. Moreover, when filing for highway use tax, you also need to take the vehicle weight into account.
When you use a good ELD service, it can easily record the highway use information along with the vehicle’s total weight on a particular day. So, when you want to file for the highway use tax, you can easily download the required information from the server.
3. Record of Duty reports
Record of Duty reports of RODS is essential for determining road safety and FMCSA compliance. When you have a good quality ELD service, it can record RODS efficiently. Earlier, truck drivers were required to keep a manual log of their service hours, which is inefficient and has a large margin of error.
An ELD service eliminated the need for paperwork or manual logging.
To conclude
Filing taxes and compliance reports can take up hours each week for both the drivers and the clerks. Moreover, it can become quite expensive to file so much paperwork each year. A good ELD service makes the whole process much easier. An ELD service can completely automate IFTA reporting and help you find the accurate details for highway use tax filings.
There are several more benefits of using an ELD service for your fleet, so go to eTrucks today and get a free consult.
Brian Styris is the author of this article. For more details about Trucking ELD please visit our website: etrucks.com
