Trucking and transport chart of accounts
A transport business invoices each load or run, while fuel, tolls and owner-drivers' invoices build up week by week. This chart adds accounts for those running costs, for drivers away on long runs, and for load deposits and freight claims, to the general chart of accounts.
- By Book Keeping Pros
- Sources checked 15 Oct 2026
What this industry adds
- Fuel and tolls rise and fall with the work the trucks do, so Fleet fuel and Road tolls each have an account, filled from fuel card and toll account statements.
- Loads carried by owner-drivers and other carriers are billed to the business, and Subcontracted freight keeps those invoices apart from the cost of running its own trucks.
- When a truck is off the road or the work outgrows the fleet, Truck and trailer hire holds the cost of hired prime movers, rigids and trailers.
- Drivers away overnight on long-distance runs need rooms and meals, which Driver accommodation and meals holds when the business pays for them directly. Load restraints and tarps holds the straps, chains and tarps that secure freight and are replaced as they wear out.
- Load deposits received tracks money customers have paid ahead for loads not yet carried, and Freight loss and damage claims records what the business pays customers for goods lost or damaged in its care.
Download the chart
The general accounts and this industry's accounts in one CSV file, in code order, which opens in any spreadsheet program.
Download the CSV fileThe accounts this chart adds
| Code | Account name | Type | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-1300 | Load deposits received | Liability | Deposits and prepayments customers have paid for loads that have not yet been picked up or delivered |
| 5-1100 | Subcontracted freight | Expense | Invoices from owner-drivers and other carriers for loads they carried for the business's customers |
| 5-1200 | Fleet fuel | Expense | Diesel, petrol and diesel exhaust fluid for the trucks, including purchases on fuel cards |
| 5-1300 | Road tolls | Expense | Toll road charges run up by the trucks, taken from each toll account statement |
| 5-1400 | Truck and trailer hire | Expense | Short-term hire of prime movers, rigid trucks and trailers to cover extra work or vehicles off the road |
| 6-2100 | Driver accommodation and meals | Expense | Motel rooms and meals the business pays for directly when drivers stay away overnight on long-distance runs |
| 6-2110 | Load restraints and tarps | Expense | Straps, chains, tarps, dunnage and other gear used to secure loads, bought as items wear out |
| 6-2120 | Freight loss and damage claims | Expense | Amounts the business pays customers for goods lost or damaged while it was carrying them |
Illustrative example only: these rows show the method and are not sourced data.
What goes in each column
- Code: A number that sorts the account into its group: 1 for assets, 2 for liabilities, 3 for equity, 4 for income, and 5 and 6 for expenses.
- Account name: The name that appears in your books and reports.
- Type: Asset, Liability, Equity, Income or Expense, which decides whether the account appears on the balance sheet or the profit and loss statement.
- What goes in it: The transactions to record against the account.
How to use it
- Tag each fuel card and toll charge with the truck that ran it up, using a tracking category for each vehicle, so each truck's running costs can be read against the freight it earned.
- Enter owner-drivers' invoices against the loads they carried, and check them against the consignment notes before they are paid.
- Tyres, servicing and breakdown repairs belong in the general Repairs and maintenance account, and fleet tracking subscriptions in Software subscriptions.
- Record a load deposit in Load deposits received with its booking or consignment number, and ask your accountant how it moves once the freight is delivered.
- The chart covers the transport business's own money. Your accountant can say what else your structure and truck finance arrangements call for.
The chart is a CSV file, which opens in a spreadsheet program. It is not set up for importing directly into any particular accounting software, so check the format your software expects before you load the accounts into it.
Related pages
Related terms
Sources
- Key financial terms
business.gov.au, Australian Government. Current at 15 October 2026, released 9 July 2024. Checked 15 October 2026.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2020, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU. Licence: CC BY 3.0 AU.
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