Industries
Trucking and logistics
Finbryn tracks cost per trip across a UAE trucking or logistics fleet, reconciles fuel and Salik toll costs by vehicle, handles WPS payroll for a driver workforce, and keeps VAT and Corporate Tax figures current for a JAFZA or mainland freight entity serving GCC cross-border routes. We work inside Xero and close by business day five.
Management report
Illustrative client · August 2026
AED
| Line | Aug | Jul | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 142,380 | 131,904 | +10,476 |
| Cost of sales | (51,260) | (48,115) | (3,145) |
| Gross profit | 91,120 | 83,789 | +7,331 |
| Payroll | (46,300) | (45,900) | (400) |
| SoftwareNoted | (6,480) | (5,490) | (990) |
| Rent | (8,000) | (8,000) | 0 |
| Other operating | (9,215) | (9,870) | +655 |
| Net income | 21,125 | 14,529 | +6,596 |
Reviewer's note
Software is up on last month after two seats were added mid-month. Revenue includes one milestone invoice that will not repeat next month.
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Exceptions report
Where the books usually hurt
Fuel, maintenance and toll costs get recorded as one lump expense instead of tracked per truck
Owner-operator settlements and driver pay get calculated outside the accounting system and never reconciled to it
IFTA fuel tax reporting depends on mileage and fuel purchase data that is not organized until the deadline is close
Factoring company advances and fees get recorded incorrectly against invoices they were meant to offset
Cost per trip, not just cost per month
A logistics operator running a fleet between Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jebel Ali and cross-border routes into Saudi Arabia or Oman needs to know which route and which vehicle is actually profitable, and a company-wide monthly total cannot answer that. Fuel, tolls, maintenance and driver costs need to be tracked by vehicle and by trip, not averaged across the whole fleet.
Finbryn builds the chart of accounts around vehicle and route-level cost tracking, coding fuel purchases, Salik and Darb toll charges, and maintenance to the specific vehicle that incurred them. When a vehicle's maintenance cost starts climbing relative to the revenue it generates, that shows up in the numbers before it becomes an unplanned breakdown.
WPS payroll and driver documentation costs
Driver wages are paid through the Wages Protection System administered by MOHRE, and a fleet operator also carries recurring costs for driver visa renewals, Emirates ID and driving licence renewals that are easy to lose inside general overhead. We track those renewal costs against the driver they relate to and reconcile WPS payroll runs against the ledger each cycle, so a licence or visa lapse shows up as a flagged cost before it becomes an operational problem.
Cross-border VAT and Corporate Tax on freight
International transport of goods, including the freight service itself, is generally zero-rated for VAT under UAE rules, while local haulage and warehousing services within the UAE are typically standard-rated at 5% once the AED 375,000 threshold is crossed, and an operator running both needs that split applied per invoice rather than one blanket rate across the business. Corporate Tax applies at 9% on taxable income above AED 375,000, filed within 9 months of the tax period end, and a JAFZA-based logistics entity handling qualifying international freight may hold Qualifying Free Zone Person status on that income, a determination that depends on the specific activity and should sit with your tax agent.
Working with Finbryn
You keep the Xero file, with a named pod on your account and a recorded handover memo if that pod changes. Books are reconciled weekly and closed by business day five, in your time zone. Fleet operators bringing years of paper delivery notes and fuel receipts onto one clean set of books typically start with a catch-up project, priced separately from ongoing monthly bookkeeping, with pricing published on our pricing page and terms in your engagement letter.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Trucking and logistics
Do you track cost per vehicle or per route?
Yes. Fuel, tolls, maintenance and driver costs are coded to the specific vehicle or trip, so route and vehicle-level profitability is visible rather than averaged across the fleet.
Do you track Salik and Darb toll costs by vehicle?
Yes. Toll charges are reconciled against the vehicle that incurred them, alongside fuel and maintenance.
Is international freight VAT zero-rated?
Generally yes, international transport of goods is zero-rated, while local haulage and warehousing inside the UAE are typically standard-rated at 5%. We apply that split per invoice.
Do you track WPS payroll and driver documentation renewals?
Yes. WPS payroll runs are reconciled each cycle, and driver visa, Emirates ID and licence renewal costs are tracked against the driver they relate to.
Can you track profitability on cross-border GCC routes separately from local UAE delivery?
Yes, revenue and direct cost can be tagged by route category, since a cross-border haul into Saudi Arabia or Oman carries different toll, fuel and VAT treatment than a same-day Dubai to Abu Dhabi delivery, and blending the two hides which side of the business is actually earning its margin.
Can you track cost per mile or per truck?
Yes, expenses can be tagged by truck or unit so cost per mile is visible each month.
Do you reconcile factoring company advances?
Yes, advances and fees are matched back to the invoices they relate to as part of the monthly reconciliation.
What are the common bookkeeping challenges for a trucking and logistics business?
Beyond the basics, iFTA fuel tax reporting depends on mileage and fuel purchase data that is not organized until the deadline is close and factoring company advances and fees get recorded incorrectly against invoices they were meant to offset come up often in this industry. We build the chart of accounts and reconciliation process around those specific patterns rather than a generic template that ignores how the business actually operates.
What software do you support for trucking and logistics?
We work inside QuickBooks Online and Xero, along with the other tools listed on this page that are common in the trucking and logistics industry. If you have no file yet, we set one up in your name so you own it from day one.
Related services
- BookkeepingMonthly bookkeepingOngoing monthly bookkeeping: transactions sorted into categories, accounts reconciled and month-end reports delivered in the software you already use.
- BookkeepingCatch-up and cleanup bookkeepingMonths or years of books brought up to date and reconciled, with a written record of every adjustment, so monthly bookkeeping can start from a clean base.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.