It’s perhaps true that the best fuel tax reporting software comes packaged with full-blown fleet management programs. They can take data generated for routing or fuel purchases and parse it into forms you can use to complete your quarterly IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement) filing. Similarly, most mileage programs have a fuel tax component, too. It really is convenient, if not downright slick.

But not every fleet that files fuel tax reports needs software that handles everything from dispatch to freight tracking to billing, or even a hyper-specialized mileage program. So to be sure, there’s still a place in this world for free-standing fuel tax software, and the products listed here might help.

While each one–and many others on the market–can turn out basic fuel tax forms, some offer more functionality for the price you pay. Also, you have to remember that fuel tax programs work only as long as the tax rate information they depend on is current. Some vendors require you to update these rates yourself, others will do it for you via a simple download, but for a fee.

Furthermore, look for a product that can handle metric measurements (litres and kilometres) for Canadian jurisdictions. Not every one does.

In the end, no matter what you buy, your software is only as good as the mileage and fuel data you feed it. “Functionally, these products are great exposure for someone learning how to manage their tax compliance,” says Sandy Johnson, a fuel tax consultant with Total Trucking Management in Calgary. “But you have to recognize the trade-offs. For example, a lot of programs use routing miles as opposed to actual miles, so you may not be capturing every mile the truck turns. Or you have to pay a lot of money for quarterly tax-rate updates when you may be able to do them yourself with every IFTA return.”

In other words, when you shop for software, there’s more to consider than the base price.
These products listed alphabetically all run on PCs using Microsoft Windows. Some have network versions, and most have trials you can download for free from the developer’s web site.

FUEL FASTAX, ALT Group This solution–free, for now–is the first element of an anticipated suite of ASP (application service provider) trucking software from ALT Group in Miramichi, N.B. You register online and download a small piece of software that resides on your computer. Using that software, you enter data while off-line. When that job is done, you log on to the Internet and the Fuel FasTax Online software–the ASP portion of the program–calculates the quarterly tax for IFTA and generates reports ready for printing. www.efuel
tax.com; 1-877/275-4338.

PC*MILER|FuelTax, ALK Technologies This can be used as a standalone product or integrated with the company’s popular PC*MILER routing software. The latest feature of the fuel tax product is a jurisdiction summary by trailer. Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan require that all owned and leased vehicle specifications and mileage for each jurisdiction be reported. The program’s “trailer reports” feature will gather all the information you need for filing. www.
pcmiler.com; 609/683-0220.

PROMILES FUEL TAX, ProMiles Software This can function as a standalone product or work with ProMiles mileage programs. It costs $595 US for a single fleet licence; updates are $49.50 a quarter or $198 a year. ProMiles also offers fuel tax reporting online, called, appropriately, FuelTax Online. You can enter trip data and generate tax reports from anywhere you have an Internet connection.www.promiles.com; 1-888/ 736-4537.

TAXTALLY, Prophesy Transportation Solutions TaxTally stands alone or fits in a suite of trucking software from Prophesy. It comes in several versions, including one for fuel tax consulting services and another for multiple fleets. Prices vary accordingly and begin at $695 US. www.mile. com; 1-800/776-6706.

TDS FUELTAX, TDS This program comes as standalone versions tailored for small, medium, and large fleets. It’s also available as a package that includes ProMiles software, or as a module of TDS’s own Fleet
Master fleet management software. www.tdsone.com; 803/ 327-1111Surprise, surprise. Every province has slightly different rules for small-claims court. Here’s a coast-to-coast online guide to getting those debt-repayment wheels turning.

Alberta www.albertacourts.ab.ca/pc/civil/index.htm
British Columbia www.ag.gov.bc.ca/courts/civil/smallclaims/rules/index.htm
Manitoba www.manitobacourts.mb.ca/smallclaims.htm
New Brunswick www.legal-info-legale.nb.ca/ mainframe_en.html
Newfoundland www.gov.nf.ca/just
Nova Scotia www.gov.ns.ca/just/small.htm
Ontario www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/scc
PEI www.gov.pe.ca/courts/supreme/about.php3
Quebec www.justice.gouv.qc.ca/english/tribunaux/quebec/civile-a.htm
Saskatchewan www.saskjustice.gov.sk.ca/
Yukon www.justice.gov.yk.ca/prog/cs/crt/smallclaims.html

Before you go to court, check CanLaw.com. This site has an overview of the small-claims environment, including advice on what to do before and during the court proceedings, and links to other helpful sites. www.canlaw.com/scc/smallclaims.htm

Lawyer, judge, and small-claims expert Norman Pickell has assembled an extensive list of web sites pertaining to the small-claims process, as well as a few sites from small claims courts in American states. www.normanpickell.com/links_smclaim.htm