For Transport & Logistics Providers – An Overview
I was given a suggestion a few weeks ago to write some articles, centered around these topics (Accounting and Bookkeeping, Financing, Operational and Tax considerations) focused toward those Business clients that are part of my Firm’s ideal client niche. It’s my hope that this article – “For Transport & Logistics Providers – A Strategic/Tactical Overview,” and the satisfaction I had creating it, will come through and help readers with questions they may have about this practice – whom do you serve, why and how can you help me?
This suggestion came about because my Home page and Company name (Engineered Accounting Solutions) may confuse some readers…is this an Accounting Firm, an Engineering Company or something else, entirely? So, I re-did the very top of my Home page with an introduction to clarify who we are (an Accounting, Advisory, Bookkeeping and Tax Firm), our specialties and our targeted clients.
Off we go…
This article is specific to Transport (TP’s) and Logistics Providers (LP’s) and presents a strategic and tactical overview covering Accounting/Bookkeeping, Finance, Operations, and Taxation. The purpose of this article is to give assistance and insight to decision makers around these four topics with the kind of detail small businesses would find most relevant.
Disclaimer(s) – The examples and tips in this post are generic and for educational purposes, only. You should not act on or use any methodology, suggestion or tip contained in this post (every situation and business is different) without first consulting a knowledgeable and credible Accountant that can determine whether the ideas presented here are actually applicable to your business. No association to any company or business is made or should be inferred.
Transport & Logistics Providers
Some Statistics
To start…here are some statistics on the (US) Transport and Logistics markets:
In 2019, the Logistics market was $220 Billion (USD) and is expected to to reach $334 Billion by the end of 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate of 6.3% from 2021-2026 – https://www.marketresearch.com/QYResearch-Group-v3531/United-States-Logistics-Size-Status-14410607/.
General freight trucking is estimated at $217 Billion for 2022 and has experienced an annualized market growth rate of 2.7% from 2017-2022 – https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/market-size/general-freight-trucking-truckload-united-states/.
Trucking companies earn (on average) 4.8 cents of profit on every dollar of revenue or 4.8% return on sales (ROS). Estimates are that 1.2 Million Trucking companies operate in the US and of that figure, 90% operate 6 or fewer trucks – https://www.truckinfo.net/research/trucking-statistics.
Background and Introduction
Carriers that transport bulk goods can be classified many different ways – those that transport hazardous or non-hazardous goods, perishable or non-perishable – basically, by the type of liability each carrier needs to have based on the type of goods to be transported and the associated risk of transport.
Most transporters would prefer to transport dry/bulk goods, but there are more opportunities to transport perishable goods – goods that require refrigeration (in reefers) for example, because food is a necessity.
Essentially, logistics involves taking delivery of goods from a manufacturer or distributor, managing the storage/warehousing of these goods and delivering these goods based on client/customers requirements. Automotive suppliers are a great example of a Business to Business (B2B) transaction. Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s like Ford or GM) may require specific interior trim like instrument panels, seats or interior trim colors on a certain day to build out a specific version of vehicle and the next day require a different (sequence) of material to build a different version. This allows the manufacturer to plan resources accordingly and minimizes the need to store and manage large amounts inventory at the assembly site reducing complexity and cost for the manufacturer. This places the burden on the logistics provider but 1. allows the provider to charge a premium for this service and 2. differentiates this provider from those that can not or do not offer this level of service.
Third-party Logistics Providers or 3PL, are integrated order fulfillment centers that can entirely manage the rate and flow of inventory for small manufacturers or e-Commerce customers (as examples) that lack capital and sufficient scale to manage their own inventory. 3PL Providers will repackage inventory from a bulk quantity to a smaller amount required (now) for delivery. These Providers can also manage customer returns and create “kits” allowing small manufacturers to readily assemble/build finished goods based on a bill of material (BOM). Here’s a link, 3PL’s defined – https://redstagfulfillment.com/3pl-definition-process-resources/.
In a B2C (Business to Consumer) transaction (Amazon is probably the best example), orders from Amazon’s website create pick and pack lists where Amazon (the online reseller/retailer and LP) repacks goods from a bulk container based on the order quantity and then manages the shipment and delivery of goods to the consumer.
Logistics Providers (LP’s) operate in conjunction with TP’s to ensure that deliveries are made on time. LP’s are paid a premium to ensure on-time deliveries, so, LP’s either partner with carriers or have their own Transport activities. The larger (and largest) providers have integrated transport and logistics activities (Amazon, FedEx, UPS) to better control all activities required to guarantee delivery dates to customers that pay a premium for this service (like Amazon Prime). For Logistics Providers that rely on separate transport partners, they usually have separate fixed duration agreements/contracts directly with their customers. These agreements are subject to review and renewal and is a source of risk for entities looking to expand into logistics because the period required to recoup large investments is often much longer than the duration of these agreements. Here’s an interesting read from McKinsey and Co., that details the risks in automating logistics – https://www.mckinsey.com/
Accounting and Bookkeeping
Accounting Method
Typically, Transport Providers (TP’s) will invoice their clients/customers after the job has been completed (and the goods delivered). So, TP’s will ordinarily want to choose the cash-basis method of Accounting meaning that gross income is recognized (and taxable) when you receive payment, not when the job is completed (when the goods are delivered). This assumes that TP’s annual revenues are below the (IRS) gross income threshold test to qualify otherwise these providers will be forced to choose an accrual-basis method. This is a timing consideration, but it’s best to reflect when your income becomes taxable with the cadence of when your payments are actually received.
Records
If you, as a business Owner do nothing else, do this – find a credible and knowledgeable Accountant to help keep your records accurate and current! Why? Because, keeping current and accurate records are fundamental to the success of any business, large or small. Everything else in this short article depends on solid record keeping. If you don’t keep accurate records, how can you honestly assess the performance of your operating activities over time? How can you possibly plan or make decisions? Decisions based on bad or inaccurate data yield bad decisions.
Sloppy and inaccurate records could also create tax problems. Your tax liability could be overstated or understated. If understated, and you get challenged during a review or audit, you’ll owe penalties and interest on top of the amount of deficient tax. Worse than that, you’ll probably invite additional scrutiny in future years. Overstating tax liabilities is literally a form of self-abuse. If you discover these errors within the time allotted (by the IRS) to correct them through amended Returns, you’ll be waiting a very long time for your refunds. There’s nothing mysterious about it – getting corrections made with the IRS is a long process. Life is short. Get it right the first time.
I’ve been involved in cleaning up many client records and user’s unfamiliarity with modern platform’s (like QuickBooks or Xero) workflow processes, oftentimes means their records are inaccurate (in some cases, grossly inaccurate) based on a failure to properly account for revenue. Their revenue is (more often than not) actually overstated, because of duplicate entries. If these duplicate entries are left uncorrected, taxable income is overstated, and tax liability is overstated.
In addition – having inaccurate or sloppy statements (Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet) could create issues maintaining or securing credit. Creditors look at these statements and develop perceptions on the credibility of the business based on the quality of these records. Statements riddled with negative asset or liability balances, Opening Balance Equity amounts (a temporary Account created in QuickBooks) or poorly organized/structured income statements that are difficult to understand always reflect negatively on a business seeking credit.
Financing
Some Basics
No comprehensive strategic or tactical advisory post would be complete without a section concerning financing. There are predominately two needs for financing a small business entity – 1. To satisfy short term obligations like trade payables or recurring operational expenses through credit card or lines of credit obligations, and 2. Long-term debt obligations (obligations that mature and become payable 12 months or more in the future) to fund expansions or other projects with a strategic purpose. The first is concerned with maintaining the (status quo) current level of business and the second seeks to further develop new markets or customers within an established business (vertical) or develop ancillary markets/customers either related to or unrelated to an existing core business (horizontal).
Businesses need additional sources of financing (credit cards and lines of credit) to pay vendors or employees during periods of slack demand. These sources also allow the business to establish a reputation for credit worthiness which is an important first step toward seeking riskier and more expensive debt for bolder and more profitable business opportunities like logistics.
Creditors look for a variety of factors before deciding to lend. But I would break it down into four main criteria – 1. Time in business and type of business, 2. Any prior creditor/debtor experience with the business, 3. An assessment of the ability to pay (cash flow), and 4. Collateral required to mitigate or eliminate the risk of non-payment (a recourse-type loan).
About Short-term Obligations
One mention re: short term obligations. You should never finance short term obligations using long-term debt. You need to understand the root cause and contributing factors as to why your operation is not generating enough revenue to cover these obligations. Simply papering over this kind of problem using costly financing like long-term debt usually reserved for projects is disastrous because it’s indicative of a cash-burn spiral which often occurs with start-up’s. It could lead to insolvency if the business exhausts this type of financing and cannot service it’s LTD obligations (interest payments).
Logistics and Automation
Providing logistics services is costly and the more sophisticated providers use automation for recurring tasks where machines are more efficient (than human involvement) to deliver to many different clients/customers across the U.S. Automation could involve robots to find and pick inventory from huge warehouse shelves (using forklifts) and route product to re-packaging and labeling areas using conveyor systems and ultimately to staging locations where packages are grouped (to similar destinations) and loaded for shipment. An incoming order (from an e-Commerce customer) or release (from a Just-in-Time manufacturer) could be translated to machine-readable code, and scanned, dispatching robots to locate and pick goods for re-packaging and conveyor them to loading docks for shipment.
The fixed costs involved to automate a logistics operation will involve large investments – long-term debt (LTD). The level of risk of any plan to enter or expand (and the associated cost of this debt) will be tied to an operating plan that (IMO) needs to be simple and phased-in with contingency plans to mitigate the risk of failure to bring an automated system “online” or manage it on a consistent level.
Transport Providers
Like most businesses – the Owners of small providers that have been in business a short time will most likely need to pledge collateral and demonstrate they have additional income sources to secure credit. As the business evolves and grows, it becomes easier to show a consistent stream of revenue and as the business accumulates assets (buildings, land, trailers, trucks) creditors become less risk averse. The question of leasing assets versus buying assets comes up often. Capital leases (with an option to buy at lease end) are popular to secure heavy equipment. Operating lease agreements are really nothing more than rental agreements (the Balance Sheet will not reflect these assets). On the other hand, operating leases are less expensive than capital lease payments. The choice (lease or buy) depends on the current situation (health of the business) and what the Owners/Decision Makers are trying to achieve.
Operational Considerations
About Budgets
Budgets are used to constrain and restrict actions and activities. A budget proscribes what an Owner will and more importantly, won’t do in a given time frame. They’re supposed to restrict impulsive actions by Owner’s by reminding them to stick to a plan that was created (months before). But business is fluid and constantly changing, so budgets are by their nature, inflexible (yes, there is flexible budgeting that considers changes in the magnitude of approved expenses, but ordinarily it does not allow expenses outside the scope of what was approved). New business opportunities that arise that may be very profitable get set aside if these opportunities were not part of the original budgetary/spending plan. Following a strict budget methodology could have huge (lost) opportunity costs.
Additionally, budgets do nothing to inform Decision Makers or Owners as to the operating performance of a business – they simply display actual amounts versus budgeted amounts and a variance. Using Transport Provider’s as an example, budgets can’t tell an Owner how much gross income is generated per mile of transporting this good, or that good, or which routes or clients/customers yield more gross income per mile driven and why. I would argue that these Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are infinitely more important to an owner than budgeting. More on this later.
Fuel Costs
Gasoline costs have more than doubled since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Diesel costs are even worse. If you’re a Transport Provider you probably have diesel equipment in your arsenal that supplies the amount of torque necessary to haul big loads.
What to do about mitigating fuel costs? First, have your engines and tires regularly inspected and well-maintained and keep your tires properly inflated. There are more articles re: maintenance tips than can be counted. A simple Google search will do.
Here’s another tip…establish a trade payable Account with a fuel vendor for a minimum amount of fuel you’ll purchase and have them bill you once or twice a month in exchange for a discount.
Here’s an article on what smaller carriers are doing to address fuel costs – https://www.transportdive.com/news/small-carriers-combat-fuel-costs/622463/.
Home Office vs. Separate Office – Operating Considerations
As your business grows, it will (likely) become increasingly difficult to operate an office entirely from your home, particularly if you have a family. Maintaining a separate office during business hours will probably become the best way to manage your clients, drivers and routes. In the infancy of your business, you (the Owner) more than likely drove a truck. As the scale of your operation grows, it will become more complex with more “moving parts” to manage. The Owner’s responsibilities will shift from driving toward assisting/coaching drivers, dispatching, maintaining assets and resolving issues/disputes with customers. Much of the shift in duties and responsibilities will be toward working “on” your business (to grow it and sustain it at a higher level) rather than “in” it (the day-to-day duties to maintain the status quo or current level of business).
Having an office, apart from your home, may even increase your stature with prospective clients/customers. It’s the perception that many clients/customers have, where they question the vendor’s commitment by not separating their business from their personal interests. Some may disagree with this characterization, but the perception does remain.
Inflation
This is the proverbial elephant in the room and no strategic or tactical overview concerning operations (for any business) would be complete if it was ignored.
There are two causes that create inflation – demand-pull inflation and cost-push inflation. When too many dollars “chase” too few goods and services, this describes demand-pull. Cost-push inflation results when the cost of inputs – energy, labor or materials, increases for producers and these additional costs get pushed through distribution/sales channels that are (ultimately) borne by the consumer/user.
No one is immune or protected from inflation, with the exception of commodities markets/assets that move counter-cyclical to inflation.
Inflation erodes the purchasing power of the currency. Transport and Logistics providers need to be careful to adjust their contract rates to absorb increases in energy, fuel, labor and other operating and indirect costs. Escalation clauses tied to producer price indexes (PPI) or some other agreed-upon increase could work, but every TP and LP is different. Some providers may find that they are more or less efficient than a stated percentage increase and that they require less or more of a premium, and that translates to being more or less competitive than similarly sized/structured competitors. As a result, this may provide additional opportunities for well-run providers.
More About Logistics
Business customers and consumers, alike are becoming more demanding as expectations based on technological improvements increase. Businesses and people want what they want, now at a price they consider fair. This will only increase the demand for more logistics providers and improvements in the way these services are delivered and create niche players to satisfy the types of specialized services these clients/customers will require in the future. But would-be or current logistics providers looking at expanding their operation are somewhat cool on making these kinds of commitments despite what clients/customers are demanding. Again, here’s McKinsey’s take on why – https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-logistics-and-infrastructure/our-insights/automation-in-logistics-big-opportunity-bigger-uncertainty.
Logistics and sequencing of deliveries could be the next step of services offered in the evolution of a growing Transport business (IMO). As your clients/customers become more confident with your ability to consistently deliver, you may get asked to do increasingly complex jobs – you may even consider adding a basic logistics package as part of your offering to satisfy these initial requests for your best clients/customers – something to consider. Taking calculated and careful steps toward including logistics as a service offering further differentiates you from all other providers that do not. But there’s risk, to be sure. Businesses will continue to outsource the management of their inventory to avoid carrying costs, insurance and the complexities of record keeping for compliance. So, increasingly, clients/customers will demand smaller deliveries, more frequently based on their timing to sell these goods to their customers. These preferences that many clients/customers will continue to have – to outsource those activities to professional service providers that are incidental to their revenue-generation further establishes potential opportunities even for niche players in logistics.
In a business to business transaction (B2B) client/customer requirements usually involve the need for Just-In-Time (JIT) delivery cadences. Inventory is used or consumed only when needed, mitigating/eliminating the need to store inventory at the customer’s site. Inventory is managed by the Logistics Provider (LP) based on scheduling (releases) communicated from the customer to the LP using software applications that will detail what inventory is needed and when and provide updates based on scheduling changes.
As mentioned previously, any plan to start providing logistics services should be phased to establish proficiency for simpler services, first, at a consistent level. This is followed by the roll-out of more complex scenarios (requiring increased levels of investment) over time – a walk before you run approach. The would-be LP should prove-out each phase of the roll-out by demonstrating a consistent level of performance before undertaking the next step in the phased plan.
More on Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
These reveal so much about an operation that they should be required topics in every Accounting and Industrial Engineering curriculum (they’re not required).
Capital is anything that a business uses and requires to generate income. Capital could be cash, equipment or labor. Of paramount importance (I would argue) is that every business Owner needs to know how much revenue is returned to the business for the amount of capital used.
I underlined the word “used” for a reason. Here’s a good illustration of the point I’m trying to make. A restaurant may want to know the average amount of revenue received per table in a given Month. Helpful? Yes. Each table in the restaurant could be viewed as an Asset – you need a fixed space that allows customers to order, eat and pay. But this Asset is static, it does not consider how MUCH the Asset was used to generate revenue. If you were to measure the amount of revenue by table based on the number of times each table was “turned over,” you would get a much better picture as to how well this restaurant generates revenue or gross income. Think about it. The amount of revenue that each table generates in a month is helpful, but how many times did that table turn over to generate that revenue? The number of table “turns” could yield more insight as to how efficient the wait staff is, or the quality of the food/menu, but that requires more analysis. This is simply common sense…in general, the more these tables are turned over, the more revenue each table will generate. The key is to associate this Asset’s USAGE with the result (revenue). This Activity/Result provides a strong correlation (not necessarily causation) and better insight into operational performance.
Regarding TP’s, mileage and weight are two activity-based characteristics that strongly determine the amount of revenue received per completed job. Logistics, could be an additional premium on top of the rate the TP charges or a flat fee based on an expected amount of consumption of this service by the client or customer. There should be two objectives toward pricing for this (logistics) premium – an amount needed to cover the variable and fixed costs of providing logistics and an amount that the regional market will consider appropriate and what the customer will agree to. If the client or customer is not willing to agree to a premium to (at the very least) cover the variable costs associated with providing logistics, the provider should not offer it. Any amount exceeding the variable cost goes toward defraying the fixed costs of logistics, like capacity costs (building, utilities) and the cost of financing this activity. If excess logistics capacity exists, and variable costs are covered (in whole), the provider should agree to provide logistics services.
Time is another significant factor for Transport and Logistics Companies and should be considered in conjunction with setting standards. Standard-setting is significant because it measures variations in expectations. Developing expectations about delivery and transit times for these routes, helps to understand the “velocity” in job turnover (revenue) and how efficiently resources (drivers) are being utilized to generate that revenue. Consider a transport provider (TP) with weekly recurring routes. If it’s expected that a typical route has a transit time of 2 hours before the next load/job, then variations in these standards trigger review(s) by personnel responsible for understanding the root cause of delays. Maybe the standards are too strict (not allowing enough time for traffic/delays) and need to be relaxed to realistic levels, or too “loose,” creating opportunities for abuse. Either way, having standards allows managers/Owners a method to further understand their operation, to plan in advance for the allocation of resources to address scheduling.
Another KPI Indicator (using time) would be revenue per worker-hours (measuring the velocity of job completion/turnover) or labor cost per worker-hours (efficiency).
On-time delivery statistics measure the end-result of a combined Transport and Logistics provider’s ability to meet agreed-upon delivery times. The on-time logistics piece would allow enough transit time to deliver goods to the customer/recipient and the transport piece either meets the scheduled transit time or does not. On-time delivery is critical for Just-in-Time requirements for manufacturing activities, since manufacturers will not appreciate waiting for parts or kits to arrive while their workforce sits, idle.
Tax/Entity Considerations
Depreciation from a Different Perspective
The examples mentioned here are focused on TP’s – they could equally apply to Logistics Providers – LP’s as well.
Depreciation is a key consideration for all TP’s but not for the reasons you would expect. If your assets (trucks, trailers, etc.) are titled in the company’s name (and used 50% or more in the production of income) then these assets will be depreciated using methods tied simply to the passage of time (tax compliance). This is standard methodology for depreciating assets. However, wear and tear on assets using these time-based methods is a very poor way of determining how much productive capacity an asset has remaining. As an Owner, you need to know that your assets are available (and able) to continue to generate income, despite the use of compliance methods for book or tax depreciation. You also need to consider the limitations of these very same assets, but, this is a topic for another article.
Let me just say this. TP’s (their decision makers) should not make economic decisions on what assets to keep, sell or take out of service using (compliance) methods of depreciating assets. Wear and tear on assets specific to TP’s is based on mileage and time in service (these are economic measure). Assets (vehicles in this example) not titled in the company’s name, used in the business, need to be handled differently, for tax purposes. And, there are options for these vehicle expenses using either an IRS determined Standard Mileage Deduction or one based on Actual Expenses. The Standard Deduction includes an amount for vehicle depreciation based on the number of business miles driven, whereas vehicle deductions based on Actual Expenses need to include amounts (separately calculated) for vehicle depreciation.
Again, as I mentioned, your Accountant should determine some Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that measure operating performance over time — like gross income per mile or the cost of contract drivers per mile. The benefit is to determine which routes or clients/customers are more profitable than others and why. This puts the TP’s (Owners) in a much better position to negotiate with their clients/customers on two key considerations (rates and routes).
Home Office vs. Separate Office – Tax
There are important tax considerations as well with home office deductions. Setting aside that expenses with operating a separate office are (normally) completely deductible (such as rent and utilities), home office deductions must follow IRS guidelines and rules. First off, an area designated as a home office must be used entirely and exclusively toward operating your business. It cannot be used simultaneously or (even) a small portion of the time as a play area for children, for example. There are two options available as a tax deduction – a Simplified Method and the other based on Actual Expenses. The Actual Expense Method is more detailed and involved and requires additional record keeping to support these deductions. In addition, the taxpayer (TP/Owner) is required to take a depreciation deduction on the percentage of office space (square footage) relative to the square footage of the entire house. This amount of depreciation offsets ordinary income on the taxpayers 1040 filing, but gets “clawed back” as ordinary income if/when the taxpayer sells his or her home. S-Corporations that use a taxpayers home as a home office pay (in effect) rental income to the taxpayer/home Owner/TP Owner.
Maintenance Expenses
Aside from labor costs and fuel, you’ll want to track these expenses over time (because of the amounts involved). Maintenance is defined as any cost to (simply) maintain the productive capacity of an asset. Investments extend the life or productive capacity. Maintenance costs are expensed. Investments are included in the cost of an asset, placed on the Balance Sheet and depreciated over time.
Depending on the size and complexity of the operation, the TP/Owner could organize all maintenance activities under a separate business entity and lease these assets to the transport company. In this case, the maintenance activity becomes a support activity to the transport function, but could grow as an independent stand-alone business for other unrelated third-parties. Separating these functions could have tax advantages as well if it involves a C-Corporation and LLC with Members because of the potential difference between the marginal tax rates of it’s Members vs. the C-Corp. Additionally, repair and maintenance activities involve inventory and labor and depending on the goals of the TP/Owner(s), they may seek to separate these activities to avoid the financial performance of a support activity affecting the core activity.
S-Corporation Election (Form 2553)
At some point in the evolution and growth of your business, it will make sense to either incorporate (at the state level) or elect S-Corporation status with the IRS. An S-Corp election offers tax advantages that eliminate the Self-Employment tax for the TP/Owner assuming a single Owner taxed as a Sole Proprietor. In this situation, the Owner is required to take a reasonable salary (reasonable, based on the Owner’s duties, gross income/size of the company, location/region where the company operates, and other factors), but this salary/wage is deductible as an expense against the gross income of the company. A Sole Proprietor’s draw or personal expenses are not deductible. A Sole Proprietor is taxed on the Net Income of the business and is assessed both Federal Income Tax and Self-Employment Tax on their 1040 Return. An S-Corp does not pay tax. Rather, an S-Corp is a “flow-through entity,” meaning that the Net Income of the business flows to the S-Corp Owner and the Owner pays tax on the Net Income or Profit. S-Corp status also requires additional record keeping as it applies to the use of a personal vehicle for S-Corp business. The S-Corp cannot use the Standard Mileage Deduction for vehicles titled in the S-Corp’s name. The S-Corp must keep records of actual expenses and depreciate any (qualifying) asset using the IRS general depreciation schedules (GDS) – MACRS (modified accelerated cost recovery system).
The Need for a Fixed Asset Plan/Policy – More on Depreciation
All companies (not just TP’s) need to have policies that consider the timing of depreciation expenses to minimize tax liabilities over time, not just year by year. This is part of an overall tax plan that considers forecasting the amount and timing of financial performance reflected in Net Income, and taking affirmative actions to blunt the amount of taxable income through the choice of electing (special) depreciation deductions, like section 179 deductions or through other personal deductions that are applicable to the taxpayer/Owner’s situation.
Minimizing taxes is just one consideration. The plan also needs to consider which assets are required (and when) to complete the type of jobs the TP wants. Just because a given vehicle or trailer has been fully depreciated for tax purposes, this should not have any bearing on a decision to keep or sell the asset. If this asset has the potential to return greater levels of revenue because of unique features or attributes, with relatively low costs for maintenance, then why would you dispose of this asset? The TP/Owner must consider a longer time horizon (longer than the current year) in determining what to keep and what to get rid of, irrespective of book or tax depreciation by evaluating the economic impact of asset changes to their operation.
Wrapping Up
This article – “For Transport & Logistics Providers – A Strategic/Tactical Overview,” is the first in a series of foundational articles targeted toward Engineered Accounting Solution’s ideal client(s).
We always welcome comments and suggestions. Please provide your feedback, below.
If you would like to learn more, Text or Email the author (Mike Faremouth).
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– The Engineered Accountant
