AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

HELP FOR HAULIERS.

31st January 1922
Page 22
Page 22, 31st January 1922 — HELP FOR HAULIERS.
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Introducing a New Operating Cost Sheet Made Out to Cover a Week's Working.

IN WORKING out the system of accounting of which The Commercial Motor log-sheets are the foundation, I have had always in mind the fact that the majority of my readers are more used to handling a st ering wheel than a pen, more accustomed to diagnosing an engine trouble than correcting and checking a balance-sheet. Moreover, as my postage bag goes a long way to prove, it is invariably in respect of costs and charges that the inexperienced haulier finds himself at a loss. All of this goes to emphasize the need, not merely for simplicity, so far as that ever can be attained in connection with accounts keeaang, but also for the minimum of trouble in keeping records.

The log-sheets, as I pointed out last week, are merely a beginning : they point the way to higher and better things. I have been slow in following them up, because I waited to see how they fared at the hands. of readers. I am not satisfied by the direct returns ; very few, indeed, have sent on their completed sheets to me for criticism. On the other hand, the increasing and repeated demands for the sheets themselves proves that they are appreciated, and that they are really serving a useful purpose. -I can only assume that the paucity of returns is due to, the diffidence which afflicts many people when they are asked to confide any detail of their financial transactions—even to a disinterested person like myself, for instance.

Side by side with this article appears the first "Operating Cost Sheet." Like the log-sheet, it is made out, as may be seen, to cover a week's working. As shown, it is not complete ; only one half is there— that half which refers to the running cost of the vehicles. The other half will appear next week, when the complete sheet will be published.

The first thing which will occur to the observant reader who examines this new sheet is that he already haa the information required—except the totals—in another form. The mileage is shown on his log-sheet, as is also the actual maintenance cost. The cost of petrol and lubricants is also shown on that sheet, not perhaps, as pounds, shillings and pence,but at least in sach shape that it can regularly be transmitted into that shape. The petrol and oil appear on the log, sheet as gallons, and the grease as pounds, while at

the bottom of the sheet is a statement as to their cost. A simple process in arithmetic, or a reference to a ready reckoner, will provide the figure for our new sheet.

The other maintenance figures, the cost of tyres, and the amount which is set down as depreciation, are all taken from the tables of running costs which last appeared in The Commercial Motor for August 30th last year. Mileage, total, loaded and empty, arc all taken direct from the log-sheet.

The twosets of figures for maintenance -appear in accordance with the suggestion which I put forward last week, when discussing another system of accountancy. Only the theoretical figures—those taken from our tables of costs—need be considered at first, until the haulier has been in business sufficiently long for him to form his own opinion. As an aid to that end, the actual maintenance figures, culled from the log-sheets, will be most useful, but not until they have been collected over a period of at least one year. The same remarks apply in the case of tyre costs.

Tags


comments powered by Disqus