The processes and regulations of a trucking business are as complex and intricate as the size of the business itself. It is not possible for a single person or a small team to oversee and run everything in a trucking company. So, any small upgrade or tool that would help in making the business processes easier is readily absorbed by the industry as long as they are economical.

When the Ifta was created in the 1900s, it was aimed to:

• Quickly and effortlessly log data
• Eliminate extra personnel.
• Set up a clear process.
• Automate repetitive tasks.
• Help keep things organized.

A wave of happiness flowed across all personnel in the trucking industry. It had just made many of the processes and documentation that much smoother.

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What is the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA)?

IFTA was created in 1996. It stands for the International Fuel Tax Agreement.

According to the South Carolina Legislature, the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) is an organization of states and the Canadian provinces under which the fuel use tax obligations of interstate and international motor carriers are administered.

Motor carriers across the country had to maintain a report of the miles they drove and how much fuel they consumed all the time. This was particularly bothersome when carriers had to constantly cross different state borders.

Before the IFTA was created, the trucking company had maintained tremendous amounts of documents, paperwork, unit conversions and much more every time their trucks drove across different jurisdictions in order to file the fuel tax reports, i.e., each jurisdiction had its own rules and regulations for filing the fuel tax reports. This meant the vehicles also required multiple fuel tax licenses.

The creation of the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) in 1996 brought together 48 states of the United States of America (USA) and 10 provinces of Canada together to enable trucking companies to file their fuel taxes under a single license. This saved the trucking companies a lot of time and money. Visit Samsara for the complete list of the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) member jurisdictions.

Some jurisdictions where the IFTA credentials are now valid are Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia.

Despite all of this, there can sometimes be mistakes in the IFTA reporting process. But the quest for perfection never stops.

So, what are some ways that can help to make the reporting more convenient? An effective way to go to the roots of the problem – Business Processes. Streamlining business processes has the potential to substantially improve efficiency and speed of any associated task, and filing IFTA reports is no exception.

Streamline Your Business Processes

By undertaking simple, yet significant measures, business processes can be effectively streamlined to make the reporting process of IFTA buttery smooth. Their benefitting consequences result in making the IFTA reporting process more convenient.

Here are 5 measures that you can take:

1. Process Monitoring and Control

Process monitoring and control can radically transform the way your business works. It brings with it:

• The motivation to collaborate.
• Improvements in team management.
• Enhancements in communication, visibility, and transparency.
• Advanced data analytics, pattern recognition, and more.
• Ease of data access, transmission, and maintenance across people and platforms.
• Automation of repetitive tasks and periodic error corrections.
• Design and form tools to customize dashboards and profiles.
• Safety and security from hacks and data breaches.

2. Maintaining an Accurate Record of the Miles

Maintaining a record of the miles and fuels consumed is vital to file the IFTA reports.

You might be tempted to provide a rough estimate of the fuel consumed, and miles driven as the tax filing deadline closes in on you. But do not make this mistake, because the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) requires you to be as accurate as possible. Failing to do so can put your company and the fleet at the risk of an audit.

3. Good GPS Tracking

The incorporation of a good GPS vehicle tracker will surely benefit in the long term if not in the short term. Samsara’s GPS tracking helps to provide real-time vehicle visibility. This reduces the scope for any falsification.

The benefits of GPS tracking are not just limited to real-time vehicle tracking and visibility, but also extend to the following:

• Optimization of routes to improve efficiency and decrease time.
• Improving security to lower the risks of losing assets.
• Improving customer service by providing features such as live sharing.
• Reducing costs by providing insights to help make better decisions.

4. Using ELD and Fleet Management Software

Failure to file reports on time can cost you a lot. They can result in the suspension of the license or heavy fines for the company. However, paperwork is tiring, uninteresting, time-consuming, and repetitive.

Turning towards technology to track vehicles, miles, and fuel purchases can do wonders in making the experience of filing tax reports effortless by seamlessly integrating into your workflow to improve efficiency, strengthen safety and ensure compliance.

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Modern innovations in the logistics industry, like ELD compliance solutions and fleet management software, made the process faster, streamlined, and efficient.

5. Using A Dedicated IFTA Software

A dedicated IFTA software will help you ease many things starting from:

• Maintaining a directory and organizing all your fuel receipts.
• Accurate and updated logs.
• Recording all the miles driven.

This will help you file reports faster and better.

It is not easy to log each and every small and minute mile of your truck. A dedicated IFTA software takes care of them for you by helping you log data incrementally without any hassle.

Conclusion

The aforementioned processes will have thoroughgoing reforms in your business to make IFTA tax filing and reporting more convenient than ever before.

Modern technological innovations improve speed, efficiency, increase accuracy, decrease errors (especially human errors) and ensure compliance to the Hours of Service (HOS) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations.

This article helps guide you through a process that can otherwise seem intimidating and can become a challenge.

All of this works in synergy to eliminate paperwork and repetition, enabling you to dexterously file quarterly IFTA reports for your company.

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