How Trucker Training Impacts the Company’s Bottom Line

By Lisa 0

Training is vitally important in every industry, and even more so in industries such as trucking, which requires technical skills and is known for its related dangers.

Focusing on training in the trucking industry is for more than profit. It can help protect the safety of the company’s employees, as well as everyone else on the road. Here are three ways in which training for truckers can impact a company’s bottom line.

Decreased Number of Accidents

Increased driver training, and the subsequently gained experience, lead to fewer accidents. This can have a variety of positive impacts on your company’s bottom line. For one, it can help reduce your insurance costs. Next, it can prevent injuries to your existing drivers, relieving you from the job of to hiring and training new drivers. Finally, it can also help prevent lawsuits from on-the-road car accidents. 

How is this all possible? Firstly, according to Concentra, training can help reduce the overall number of accidents. Secondly, and just as importantly, is that it helps reduce your liability by showing that your company is trying to protect your drivers.  All we know is that training your truckers helps your company’s bottom line.

Improved Performance

Trucking companies can increase their bottom line by improving their performance across a variety of metrics, and proper training can help show drivers how to improve in a variety of ways, including safer driving, quicker times, better route selection and improved relations with customers and vendors. Improving these areas will lead to more sales, fewer costs and an improved bottom line. In particular, good training can lead to better fuel mileage. According to L3Harris, when drivers are armed with the proper tools and knowledge they can drive more efficiently. This ultimately adds up to the entire fleet becoming more efficient.

Increased Productivity

Training can show truck drivers a variety of important skills and techniques which can be invaluable towards increasing productivity and efficiency. Trucker training is about more than just learning to drive, but involves teaching business practices, loading techniques and using technology for better driving. Results of training translate to lower costs—and more money—for both the driver and your company.

There is a major shortage of truck drivers in the United States, meaning businesses need to do everything they can to save costs, find good truck drivers, and protect existing drivers through effective training practices. By providing good training, businesses can help protect and retain their truckers while at the same time improving their bottom line.

When you start a business, you’ll want to make sure that you have adequate protection against potential risks. Read more here about what kinds of protection you need!

Top 3 Differences Between a Sole Proprietorship and a Single-Member LLC

By Jessica Suotmaa 0

If you’re a one-man (or woman) business, you might wonder whether you should continue operating as a “sole proprietor”, or register as a single-member Limited Liability Company (LLC). Since both business entity types are for a single owner, we will cover the top three items you should consider in deciding between sole proprietorship and single-member LLCs.

1. Costs

Sole Proprietor: The cheapest way to start a business is to “be” the business as the owner of a sole proprietorship.  You could obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for free (for banking, payroll, and tax purposes).  As a sole proprietor,  your name is your business. However, if you want to “do business as” another name, you can obtain a fictitious business name for a fee through your county.  You would not have to register your “company” officially through any channel or pay any maintenance fees.

Single-member LLC: This is not the case with a LLC.  To register an LLC with your local State, you would have to pay registration fees and file Articles of Organization.  Depending on your organization, you will also have to file annual Statements of Information (for a fee). In California, an LLC pays a minimum tax of $800 a year.

2.Taxation

Sole Proprietor: As a sole proprietor you would report your income and losses on your personal tax return with Schedule C and itemize when necessary.

Single-member LLC: Since LLCs are not federally recognized as separate entities, LLCs are taxed as one of the other entities: disregarded single-member LLC (sole proprietorship), partnership (if more than two members), or corporation. As a single-member LLC, you cannot elect to be taxed as a partnership, but you can choose between sole proprietorship and corporate.  To be taxed as a corporation, you would need to file a separate form with the IRS.  If you opt not to do anything, you will default to sole proprietor taxation.  To be taxed as a sole proprietor means you would use one of the Schedules and file with your personal income taxes.

In California, LLCs electing to be taxed as corporations have no annual fees. Whereas, an LLC taxed as a partnership or sole proprietorship will have an “LLC fee” if its income is greater than $250,000.

3.  Liability

Sole Proprietor: Since a sole proprietorship means you are your business, it also follows that your business’ income and debts are also yours.  This simplifies your tax preparation, but it complicates your liability.  If your business goes bankrupt, you go bankrupt. If your business is sued by a customer or employee, you are personally sued in the process.  If your business loses all its assets, you could lose all of your personal assets.  Probably the most significant reason small business owners choose to register an LLC over sole-proprietorship is to protect themselves from full liability.

Single-member LLC: A limited liability company means, quite literally, that is offers limited liability protection to its members.  Each state has different limitations and rights afforded to LLCs, so its important not to just read an article on a generic website or service, but specifically refer to California Corporations Code.

An LLC protects its members from outside liability suits, but it does not protect from internal suits, meaning members can sue each other for e.g., profit losses. However, this protection is not all-inclusive. In some cases such as personal negligence, LLC members can lose their personal assets. In other cases, external creditors can obtain your shares in an LLC, or your share of the profit distribution.

Note: It’s important to note that one of the main differences in operating a sole proprietorship and an LLC is the separation of personal and business funds.  As a sole proprietor, you don’t have to keep close records of your business funds. However, as a member of an LLC, you do need to keep your business funds and expenses separate from your personal funds. If you fail to do so, you may lose your liability protection.

 

If you are unsure as to whether you need an LLC, or if another type of business entity would better suit you, contact an experienced business attorney. You may also want to contact an insurance representative to discuss liability insurance.