Guides › Monthly truck P&L
A monthly profit and loss statement for your truck
One page, once a month, tells you more about your truck than a year of trip sheets: what it earned, what it cost, what it made on paper, and what's actually left in the bank. This guide gives you that page, filled in for an example truck, so you can copy the layout for your own.
In short
- Lay the month out in this order: revenue → variable costs → contribution → fixed costs → operating profit → interest and depreciation → accounting profit.
- Then a separate cash section: operating profit minus the full EMI, then the owner's pay.
- In the example, the truck shows ₹44,000 profit but leaves only ₹259 after the EMI and the owner's pay.
The example month
This is the same truck as our other guides: 8 round trips of 1,000 km, ₹52,000 freight per trip, a ₹30 lakh loan with a ₹63,741 EMI, and ₹47,000 of fixed running costs. Every number is an example.
Part 1: Profit and loss
| Freight revenue (8 × ₹52,000) | ₹4,16,000 |
| Diesel (8 × ₹22,500) | − ₹1,80,000 |
| Tolls (8 × ₹6,000) | − ₹48,000 |
| Driver trip allowance (8 × ₹3,000) | − ₹24,000 |
| Tyre and maintenance reserve (8,000 km × ₹3) | − ₹24,000 |
| Loading and other trip expenses | − ₹4,000 |
| Contribution | ₹1,36,000 |
| Fixed costs: salary, insurance, permits, tax, parking | − ₹47,000 |
| Operating profit | ₹89,000 |
| Loan interest (month 1) | − ₹25,000 |
| Depreciation | − ₹20,000 |
| Accounting profit (before tax) | ₹44,000 |
Part 2: Cash
| Operating profit | ₹89,000 |
| Full EMI (interest + principal) | − ₹63,741 |
| Cash after the EMI | ₹25,259 |
| Owner's pay | − ₹25,000 |
| Cash left in the business | ₹259 |
Depreciation doesn't appear in the cash section, because it isn't a payment. Interest isn't listed separately either, because it's already inside the EMI. Our EMI vs profit guide explains why profit and cash differ.
Watch out: the tyre and maintenance reserve is a cost even in a month with no repair bills. If you leave it out, good months look better than they are, and the big tyre or engine bill feels like bad luck when it was a cost all along. See tyre cost per km.
What each line tells you
| Line | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Contribution | Are my trips priced above what they cost to run? |
| Operating profit | Does the truck cover its fixed costs? |
| Accounting profit | Is the truck worth owning, after the loan's interest and its wear? |
| Cash after the EMI | Can the truck pay its loan? |
| Cash left in the business | Is there anything to save, after the owner is paid? |
How to use it every month
- Fill it in from records, not memory: fuel slips, toll statements, trip sheets, the loan statement.
- Compare with last month and with the same month last year. Look at contribution per trip, trips completed, and diesel per km.
- Look at the first line that went wrong. If contribution fell, check rates and diesel. If trips fell, check waiting and breakdowns.
- Keep the reserve in a separate account, so the cash section is honest.
This statement is for running the business. For tax, your chartered accountant will prepare accounts under the applicable rules, which may treat some lines differently.
Run it with your own numbers
FleetProfit's monthly plan builds this statement from your trucks, trips and loan, showing contribution, operating profit, accounting profit and cash separately, with the working on every line.
Open the monthly planCommon questions
What should a truck's monthly P&L include?
Freight revenue; variable costs such as diesel, tolls, driver allowance and a tyre and maintenance reserve; fixed costs; then loan interest and depreciation. Keep a separate cash section for the full EMI and the owner's pay.
Why is my truck profitable but I have no cash?
Profit counts only the interest part of the EMI and includes depreciation, which isn't a payment. Cash pays the whole EMI. When principal repayments exceed depreciation, cash is lower than profit.
Is this the same as accounts for tax?
No. It's a management statement for running the business. Your chartered accountant prepares tax accounts under the applicable rules.