Thin Margins.
Tight Cash.
We Know This Industry.
Trucking runs on cash flow — and most companies don't have the visibility to manage it. We build the financial tools and infrastructure that keep fleets moving and owners in control.
We saved a 50-employee trucking company from bankruptcy in 90 days. That's not a tagline — it's a case study.
What Keeps Trucking Owners Up at Night
Sound Familiar?
These are the real problems we hear from trucking owners every week. If any of these hit close to home, we should talk.
Cash Flow Gaps Between Loads
Fuel, drivers, and maintenance don't wait for customers to pay. Most trucking companies run on 30–60 day receivables while expenses hit daily. Without a forecasting tool, you're flying blind.
No Visibility Into Route & Driver Profitability
Not every route makes money. Not every driver performs the same. Without per-route and per-driver data, you can't cut what's losing and double down on what's winning.
Fuel Cost Volatility Killing Margins
Fuel is often 25–40% of operating costs. A 10-cent swing per gallon can wipe out a week's profit. Most owners feel this but can't quantify it or build it into pricing.
IFTA & Compliance Complexity
Multi-state operations mean IFTA filings, DOT compliance, and state tax obligations that most bookkeepers don't understand. Errors mean audits, penalties, and back taxes.
Owner Pay & Entity Structure
Owner-operators often pay themselves last — or inconsistently. Without a clear structure for owner compensation, tax planning is impossible and personal finances suffer.
Bank Relationships Under Strain
When cash flow is inconsistent, banks get nervous. Equipment financing, lines of credit, and operating loans all depend on financials that tell a confident story — most trucking companies can't do that.
Partial Loads & Contract Gaps
Drivers not filling loads, contracts that don't account for weight variance, routes that look profitable but aren't — these operational leaks are invisible without the right financial lens.
Scaling Without a Financial Foundation
Adding trucks, drivers, and routes without the financial infrastructure to support it is how companies grow themselves into bankruptcy. We've seen it happen.
Your Goal Determines Your Path
What Are You Trying to Solve?
Not every trucking owner wants the same thing. Tell us where you are and we'll show you the path forward.
Survive & Stabilize
Cash is tight, the bank is nervous, and you're not sure how long you can keep going. We've been here before — and we know exactly what to do first.
Start with a Turnaround AssessmentKnow Your Numbers
You're running, but you don't have real visibility. Which routes make money? Which drivers perform? Where is the cash going? Let's build the dashboard you need.
Start with a Cash Flow ForecastGrow the Fleet
You want more trucks, more routes, more revenue — but growth in trucking is expensive and risky without the right financial foundation. Let's build the plan.
Start with a Growth Readiness AssessmentNot every trucking owner wants to be bigger. Some want to run a tight, profitable operation with 5 trucks and go home at a reasonable hour. That's a completely valid goal — and we can help with that too. Our job is to help you run the business you want, not the one someone else thinks you should have.
Real-World Turnaround
How We Saved a 50-Employee
Trucking Company in 90 Days
A trucking company hauling sawdust and wood chips in the logging industry. $5–8M in revenue. 50 employees. The bank had cut them off: “We can't help you anymore — you need to work with someone who can turn this around.” They were weeks away from shutting down.
We built a real-time cash flow forecasting tool, uncovered operational leaks (partial loads, species weight variance, unprofitable routes), and implemented the changes. Within 90 days: positive cash flow, all 50 jobs saved, and the bank came back to the table.
Before 406
- No cash flow visibility — flying blind
- Bank had cut off the line of credit
- Drivers running partial loads, leaving money behind
- Unprofitable routes draining margin
- Weeks away from shutting down
After 406
- Real-time cash flow tool used daily by owner
- Bank returned to the table — credit restored
- Driver accountability & load tracking implemented
- Unprofitable routes eliminated
- All 50 employees kept their jobs
406 saved our company. They didn't just fix the books — they uncovered the operational issues that were killing us and gave us the tools to turn it around. We went from weeks away from closing to thriving in 90 days.
— Owner, Trucking & Logistics Company
What We Actually Build
Financial Visibility That Runs the Business
Most trucking owners get a P&L at month-end and call it financial management. We build the operating infrastructure that lets you see the business in real time — by route, by driver, by customer, by week. The tools below were built by hand for a regional timber hauler before AI existed to automate any of it. That's the depth of industry knowledge we bring.
Revenue / Mile
$3.67
YTD average across all routes
Revenue / Hour
$99.04
Benchmark vs. $102.51 current month
Break-Even Drivers
255
YTD hauls needed to cover all fixed costs
Driver Performance Benchmarking
Hauls per day, cost per haul, and slippage by driver — tracked weekly. Top driver vs. average driver gap quantified to the dollar. Conversations shift from vague to factual.
Route & Customer Profitability
Revenue per mile and per hour broken out by customer contract and route. Unprofitable routes identified and eliminated. Rate negotiations grounded in data the customer can't dispute.
Fuel Cost Variance Tracking
EIA diesel price integration with margin impact per route. A 10-cent swing per gallon modeled against actual haul volume — so you know exactly what it costs before you feel it.
Cash Flow Forecasting
Weekly cash position forecast vs. actual, by customer. Receivables timing mapped against payroll, fuel, and maintenance obligations. No more flying blind on the most critical number in the business.
Rate Negotiation Calculator
Annual rate increase modeling: minimum increase needed to cover employee costs, maintenance inflation, and target margin — broken out by customer. Walk into every negotiation with the math already done.
These aren't off-the-shelf reports. Every tool is built around your specific routes, customers, drivers, and cost structure.
How We Help
Services for Trucking & Transportation
From crisis triage to growth planning — built specifically for the financial realities of trucking.
Cash Flow Forecasting
Real-time visibility into weekly and monthly cash position — which drivers, routes, and loads are performing.
Route & Driver Profitability Analysis
Per-route, per-driver margin analysis so you know exactly where to cut and where to grow.
IFTA & Multi-State Tax Compliance
Accurate IFTA filings, state tax obligations, and compliance management across all operating states.
Bookkeeping & Controller Services
Clean books, accurate P&L, and monthly reporting that gives you a real picture of the business.
Bank & Equipment Financing Prep
Carrie's commercial lending background means we know exactly what banks need to see — and how to present it.
Business Turnaround Assessment
For companies in crisis: triage the cash bleed, identify the operational leaks, build the 90-day recovery plan.
Owner Pay & Tax Planning
Structure owner compensation correctly, minimize tax liability, and plan for quarterly estimated payments.
Fractional CFO Services
Strategic financial leadership for growing fleets — without the full-time CFO cost.
Our Differentiator
We Know What the Bank
Needs to See
Our founder Carrie spent years in commercial lending — reviewing credit spreads, analyzing financials, and structuring SBA participation loans and equipment financing. She's reviewed trucking company financials from the lender's side. She knows exactly what a bank needs to see before approving a line of credit or equipment loan — and more importantly, what kills an approval.
When you walk into a bank, you're presenting to someone like Carrie. We make sure your financials tell the right story before you ever sit down across from them.
Illustrative Engagement
What a Typical Engagement Looks Like
The following is a representative scenario based on the types of challenges we commonly address with trucking and transportation companies. It is not a specific client case.
A trucking company at $3–8M in revenue is generating revenue but struggling with cash timing. Fuel, driver pay, and equipment costs hit before customer invoices clear. The owner has no visibility into which routes or contracts are actually profitable, and the books are 60–90 days behind.
Equipment financing decisions are being made on gut feel, and the bank is asking for updated financials the owner can’t produce quickly. The business is operationally sound but financially opaque.
What We've Done for Carriers
Real outcomes from real trucking businesses — not projections.
50-Employee Carrier — Montana
Triaged the cash bleed in week one, identified $380K in operational leaks across three underperforming routes, and built a 90-day recovery plan. Company stabilized and returned to profitability.
Owner-Operator Fleet — 12 Trucks
Restructured from sole prop to S-corp, corrected 2 years of misclassified fuel and maintenance expenses, and implemented per-truck P&L tracking. Owner saved $13K in the first year.
Regional Carrier — $4.2M, Wyoming
Rebuilt the chart of accounts around IFTA, HUT, and per-mile costing. Owner had clear lane profitability data within the first month. No prior accountant had ever tracked it.
What Carriers Say
“406 got us set up in 30 days. They understood IFTA, HUT, and per-mile costing from day one. No explaining, no hand-holding. Just clean books and real numbers.”
“Our previous accountant filed our taxes but had no idea what our cost-per-mile was. 406 built us a dashboard that shows lane profitability every month. Total game changer.”
Common Questions
Frequently Asked
“I've worked with several consultants over the years. What blew me away was how quickly Carrie understood our entire operation — top to bottom — in less than a month. I've never seen anyone do that. Most people take six months just to figure out the basics.”
Steve
Owner-Operator Trucking Company
Business Turnaround & Financial Advisory
Free Tool
Payroll Burden Rate Calculator
Know the true cost of every driver on your payroll — FICA, FUTA, SUTA, workers comp, benefits, and more. Stop underestimating your labor costs.
Free Tool
Cash Flow Runway Calculator
Know exactly how many months of runway you have at your current burn rate — and what changes would extend it. Built for owner-operators managing tight margins.
Free Tool
Loan Qualification Calculator
Financing a truck, trailer, or terminal? See where your DSCR stands against bank (≥1.25x) and SBA (≥1.15x) benchmarks — and exactly what NOI you need to qualify. Includes balloon / call date analysis for equipment loans.
Serving Montana, Wyoming, and the Mountain West
Ready to See What
Your Numbers Actually Say?
Whether you're in crisis or just want better visibility, we'll start with a Business Readiness Review and tell you exactly what we see — and what we'd do about it.
Tools & Systems
We Also Build the Operating Systems
The Hanson Trucking dashboard was built by hand. Today we build the same depth — KPI tracking, driver benchmarking, route profitability, fuel variance — connected to your live data through Zoho, automation, and AI.