- Transport and Logistics Accounting
Accountants for Transport and Logistics Businesses
Acctivate helps established Australian businesses understand where profit and cash are moving, prepare for larger financial commitments and test important decisions before money is committed. We provide accounting for growing businesses that need clearer reporting, forward tax planning and support that keeps pace with a more complex operation.
5-star reviews
- A Busy Fleet Is Not Necessarily a Profitable Fleet
Additional vehicles and contracts can increase turnover while fuel, wages, finance, maintenance and empty running absorb more of the return than the accounts initially show.
Accounting Experience Behind the Advice
Acctivate combines qualified accountants, registered tax-agent services and commercial experience supporting established Australian businesses with complex costs, cash flow and reporting needs.
2025 Accounting Consultant of the Year
Elle Green was named Accounting Consultant of the Year at the 2025 Women in Finance Awards.
Chartered Accountants
Acctivate is led by Chartered Accountants Elle Green and Simon Burke, each with more than a decade of accounting and advisory experience.
Registered Tax Agents
Acctivate provides registered tax-agent services under the professional obligations of the Tax Agent Services Act.
Recommended by Business Owners
Acctivate is rated 5/5 from more than 150 client reviews.
- A BUSY FLEET CAN LOOK HEALTHY BEFORE IT FEELS HEALTHY
Revenue may be increasing while vehicle margins are going backwards.
A transport business can be operating at full capacity and still feel constant pressure on cash. Driver wages, fuel, finance, maintenance, tolls and insurance are often paid before customer invoices are collected. Additional contracts can lift turnover while weaker pricing, empty kilometres or underused vehicles reduce the return. Without reporting by vehicle, customer or contract, one combined profit figure can hide where the business is losing margin.
Five star Google reviews.
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Years’ Experience
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Brisbane-based Chartered Accountants.
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Accounting Consultant of the Year, Women in Finance Awards.
2024
What Should a Transport and Logistics Accountant Help You Understand?
A useful set of accounts should explain more than whether the business made a profit last financial year.
It should help you understand which work produces the return, where cash is being absorbed and whether the operation can support its next commitment.
Is Each Contract Producing an Acceptable Return?
Contract revenue should be measured against the costs required to perform the work.
That may include driver wages, superannuation, fuel, tolls, subcontractors, loading time, empty kilometres, repairs and an appropriate share of administration and depot overheads.
A contract can contribute substantial turnover while producing a weak margin once the full delivery cost is recognised.
Reporting by customer, contract, lane or service helps identify which work should be retained, repriced or reviewed.
What Does Each Vehicle Really Cost to Operate?
The weekly finance repayment is only one part of the vehicle cost.
A useful assessment should also allow for fuel, registration, insurance, servicing, tyres, unexpected repairs, downtime and eventual replacement.
Those costs do not always occur evenly. A vehicle can look inexpensive for several months and then require a major repair that removes much of the margin earned during that period.
The reporting should spread recurring ownership and operating costs appropriately rather than treating every repair as an isolated surprise.
Why Is Cash Tight When the Business Is Profitable?
Transport businesses often pay drivers, fuel accounts, lenders and repairers before customer invoices are collected.
Profit may also include invoices that have been issued but remain unpaid. At the same time, loan principal repayments, asset purchases and owner drawings reduce available cash without appearing as ordinary operating expenses.
A cash-flow forecast maps when money is expected to enter and leave the business so upcoming shortages and payment pressure can be identified earlier. Australian Government guidance describes forecasting as a way to estimate future sales and costs and assess whether sufficient cash will be available to cover payments.
Can the Business Afford Another Vehicle?
Demand alone does not prove that another truck or vehicle is affordable.
The decision should account for the deposit, repayments, insurance, registration, driver costs, fuel, maintenance and the time required for the vehicle to reach acceptable utilisation.
The business should also understand what happens if the new contract starts later than expected, customer payments are delayed or an existing vehicle requires major repairs.
Acctivate can model the accounting and cash-flow effect of the purchase. Product selection and lending recommendations may require assistance from a licensed finance professional.
How Much Should Be Set Aside for Maintenance and Fleet Replacement?
Waiting until a vehicle fails can turn a predictable cost into an immediate cash problem.
A transport business should understand its maintenance history, vehicle age, utilisation and expected replacement cycle. That allows regular amounts to be included in forecasts even when the cash has not yet been spent.
The purpose is not to predict the exact date of every repair. It is to prevent the accounts from overstating the amount of cash genuinely available to the business and its owners.
What Happens if a Major Customer Leaves?
A large customer may improve vehicle utilisation and simplify scheduling, but it can also create concentration risk.
The business should know:
- What percentage of revenue and margin comes from that customer
- Which vehicles and employees rely on the contract
- Whether those resources can be redeployed
- How long the business could meet fixed commitments after a contract loss
- Whether customer payment delays are already placing pressure on cash
This analysis helps the owner understand the financial exposure before accepting further work or investing specifically for one customer.
- We look beneath the total revenue figure.
Why Transport and Logistics Businesses Choose Acctivate
Whole-of-business accounts can conceal an unprofitable customer, an underused vehicle or a warehouse being subsidised by the transport division.
Acctivate connects the accounting work to the way the operation actually earns and spends money.
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Review results by the vehicles, customers, contracts or locations management needs to assess
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Explain the difference between reported profit and available cash
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Assess financial commitments before another vehicle, depot or employee is added
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Consider tax, payroll, finance and operational reporting together
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Keep responsibility for lodgements, records and outstanding work clear
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Adjust reporting as the fleet, workforce and structure change
Why Growing Businesses Choose Acctivate
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Road Freight and Haulage
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Fleet Operators
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Courier and Last-Mile Delivery
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Warehousing and Distribution
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Heavy Haulage
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Refrigerated Transport
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Mining and Civil Transport
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Agricultural and Livestock Transport
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Multi-Depot Operations
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Specialised Equipment Transport
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Freight Forwarding
Do You Know Which Vehicles and Contracts Make Money?
A business can be busy every day without having enough visibility over where its margin is being earned.
Tell us about your fleet, customers, reporting and upcoming commitments. We can assess what information is currently available, what is missing and whether the existing accounting support still suits the operation.
Where Transport Businesses Lose Financial Control
The problem is often not a lack of work. It is a lack of detail beneath the total result.
A transport operator may know monthly revenue and the bank balance while having little visibility over individual contracts, fleet commitments or the amount of cash already spoken for.
Common pressure points include:
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Pricing work from market rates without calculating the complete delivery cost
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Failing to recover increases in fuel, wages, tolls and subcontractor charges
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Measuring total profit without separating customers, routes or service divisions
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Treating repairs as unexpected events rather than a recurring fleet cost
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Purchasing vehicles without forecasting repayments, operating costs and utilisation
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Allowing slow customer payments to place pressure on wages, fuel and tax
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Relying too heavily on one major contract
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Combining warehouse and transport results in one figure
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Leaving fleet replacement until equipment becomes unreliable
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Paying owner drawings before allowing for BAS, PAYG, superannuation and maintenance
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Using employee or subcontractor arrangements that have not been reviewed as the business changes
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Allowing the accounting system to fall behind the size of the operation
What Better Fleet Financial Control Looks Like
Contract-Level Reporting
See the revenue, direct costs and contribution associated with important customers, contracts or services.
Planned Fleet Costs
Allow for finance, insurance, maintenance, tyres and replacement before the cash is required.
Visible Cash Commitments
Know when wages, fuel, tax and repayments may exceed expected customer receipts.
Better Expansion Decisions
Review another vehicle, contract, depot or acquisition before making the commitment.
Clear Responsibilities
Know what Acctivate manages, what information is required and which deadlines are approaching.
Meet the Accountants Behind Your Business
Acctivate’s client work is supported by named accountants with experience across cash flow, taxation, reporting, payroll, business structures and growing operations.
Elle Green
Director and Chartered Accountant
Elle is a Chartered Accountant with over a decade of experience supporting small businesses. Known for her approachable style and ability to explain complex concepts clearly, Elle specialises in small business taxation and cash flow management.
Outside of work, Elle is a devoted mum and wife who believes business should support life — not compete with it. Originally from Bellingen, NSW, she brings a strong sense of community into everything she does. When she’s not working with clients, you’ll find her at the beach, doing reformer Pilates, cheering on the Sydney Roosters, or spending time with her beloved staffy.
Trusted advisor known for her approachable style and practical insights.
Simon embodies Acctivate’s values and prides himself on being “fired up”.
Simon Burke
Director and Chartered Accountant
Simon is a Chartered Accountant with nearly a decade of experience across accounting and business advisory. His focus is on helping businesses build strong foundations through better cash flow, smarter structures, and practical efficiency.
Driven by curiosity and a lifelong interest in how businesses operate, Simon embodies Acctivate’s values of being proactive, determined, authentic, and curious. Outside the office, he enjoys golf, reading, and supporting the Collingwood Magpies.
Driven by curiosity and a lifelong interest in how businesses operate, Simon embodies Acctivate’s values of being proactive, determined, authentic, and curious. Outside the office, he enjoys golf, reading, and supporting the Collingwood Magpies.
Ale Hurtado
Business Specialist
Ale brings nearly a decade of industry experience and a warm, relationship-focused approach to her role at Acctivate. Originally from Colombia, now calling Brisbane home, she specialises in tax, compliance, and business advisory support.
With qualifications in Finance, Commerce, and International Business, Ale blends technical expertise with a pragmatic mindset. Outside the office, she enjoys time with family, running along the river, travelling, and expressing creativity through fashion and design.
Strategic thinker with a focus on structure, protection, and growth.
Odiza Mae Gutang
Senior Accountant
Tyrone provides strategic and advisory guidance to Acctivate, drawing on extensive experience in the insurance and business advisory sectors. He founded Strata Insurance Solutions in 2011 and has supported hundreds of clients across residential and commercial insurance.
Her work with Australian firms over the past six years has expanded her expertise in global accounting practices. Outside of work, Odiza enjoys travelling — particularly solo adventures — and is a passionate volleyball fan.
Strategic thinker with a focus on structure, protection, and growth.
Our Process for Transport and Logistics Businesses
Understand the Operation
We review the vehicles, customers, contracts, employees, subcontractors, finance arrangements, depots, software and current reporting.
Identify Margin and Cash Pressure
We examine fuel, labour, repairs, debt, customer payment terms, tax commitments and costs that may not be fully recovered.
Establish Useful Reporting
We agree on the customers, vehicles, contracts or locations that need to be separated and how often the results should be reviewed.
Review as the Operation Changes
Forecasts and reporting are adjusted as vehicles, staff, operating costs, customers, finance arrangements and locations change.
- From a $90,000 repair operation to $12 million in annual revenue
How an Asset-Intensive Business Scaled Nationally Without Losing Control of Cash Flow
This client operates a concrete pumping equipment business rather than a transport company. However, the financial challenge will be familiar to fleet and asset-heavy operators: substantial equipment costs had to be funded before the resulting revenue was received.
An opportunity arose for the business to become the sole Australian dealer for a concrete-pump brand. It required imported equipment, finance, construction timelines and significant upfront spending.
Acctivate prepared a detailed cash-flow forecast mapping import costs, expected sales, build timing and repayments. That information supported the successful trade-finance application.
As the operation expanded, Acctivate also helped establish the deferred-GST arrangement, moved the business to monthly BAS lodgements and remained involved in its financial decisions.
Over approximately seven years, annual revenue increased from $90,000 to $12 million and the business developed from a local repair operation into a national equipment company.
What Should a Transport Business Accountant Monitor?
The reporting should cover more than revenue and annual profit.
Depending on the operation, it may need to show contract margins, vehicle costs, fuel recovery, driver and subcontractor costs, debtor timing, maintenance, finance commitments, tax reserves and performance by depot or service division.
How Do You Calculate Whether a Freight Contract Is Profitable?
Start with the contract revenue and deduct the direct costs required to complete the work.
Those costs may include wages, superannuation, fuel, tolls, subcontractors, loading time, empty running, maintenance and an appropriate allocation of administration, insurance and depot overheads.
The calculation must reflect the way the specific operation works. A generic cost-per-kilometre figure may not capture waiting time, route conditions, specialised equipment or customer service requirements.
Can an Accountant Help Determine Whether We Can Afford Another Truck?
Yes. An accountant can model the deposit, repayments, fuel, registration, insurance, maintenance, driver costs and expected utilisation against forecast customer receipts.
The model should also test less favourable conditions, such as delayed contract commencement, reduced utilisation or a major repair elsewhere in the fleet.
Vehicle and lending recommendations may require a licensed finance professional.
Why Can a Profitable Transport Company Still Be Short of Cash?
Profit may include invoices customers have not yet paid, while wages, fuel, repairs and repayments have already left the bank account.
Loan principal, asset purchases and owner drawings can also reduce cash without appearing as ordinary operating expenses in the profit and loss statement.
This is why profit reporting and cash-flow forecasting need to be reviewed together.
What Records Are Required for Fuel Tax Credits?
Fuel tax credit eligibility and record requirements depend on the fuel, vehicle, business use and whether travel occurs on public roads or elsewhere.
Rates and road-user-charge settings can change, so the applicable period must be checked rather than relying on a fixed rate published in general website copy. The ATO provides current guidance and rates for eligible heavy-vehicle fuel use.
Does a Road Freight Business Need to Lodge a TPAR?
It may.
The ATO requires businesses providing relevant road freight services to review whether contractor and subcontractor payments must be reported in a Taxable Payments Annual Report. Where the rules apply, the current annual due date is 28 August. Mixed-business and reporting rules should be checked against the operation’s actual activities.
Should Drivers Be Treated as Employees or Contractors?
The answer depends on the real working arrangement, not only the wording of an agreement or whether the driver holds an ABN.
Road transport workers may be covered by employment awards, contractor protections or other workplace rules. Classification and entitlement questions should be reviewed by an appropriate employment or workplace-relations adviser.
Can Acctivate Take Over From Our Existing Accountant?
Yes.
Acctivate can review the current records, identify outstanding work, arrange the authorised transfer of information and clarify responsibility for upcoming BAS, tax, payroll and reporting requirements.
Changing accountants does not remove existing lodgements, debts or record-keeping responsibilities.
