{"id":17379,"date":"2026-04-13T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beup.space\/?p=17379"},"modified":"2026-04-19T08:46:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T01:46:24","slug":"quan-ly-doi-xe-bang-excel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beup.space\/en\/quan-ly-doi-xe-bang-excel\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing a fleet with Excel \u2014 knowing profit and loss per trip, no need for expensive software"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This month's fleet revenue is 180 million. Gas, tolls, driver salaries, minor repairs \u2014 everything is recorded, but scattered across notebooks, messages, and memory. By the end of the month, when we add it all up: the net profit is only 11 million \u2014 from 8 vehicles running every day. No one can explain where the remaining 169 million went, and more importantly, no one knows which trips are profitable and which are not.<\/p>\n

This situation is so common that it's almost the default in Vietnam's small transportation industry. This article delves into the mechanism of this problem \u2014 why managing a fleet with Excel<\/strong> having a structure is the most suitable solution for businesses with 5\u201320 vehicles, and how to design a tracking system to know the exact profit and loss per shipment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Short answer:<\/strong> Managing a fleet with Excel is suitable for small transportation businesses with 5\u201320 vehicles that want to track costs and profits per shipment without complex software. The system requires 3 layers of data: vehicle table (information and fixed costs), trip table (revenue and variable costs per trip), and a dashboard (profit by vehicle, route, and driver). This structure helps detect unprofitable routes, control fuel consumption, and make expansion decisions based on real data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In this article<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. High fleet revenue doesn't mean profit \u2014 when costs are scattered across 5 notebooks<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Three common mistakes that prevent vehicle owners from ever knowing their true profit<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. 3 layers of data in one Excel file \u2014 from vehicle registration to profit dashboard<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Analyzing profit by route \u2014 detecting the route that is eroding the margin<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Depreciation and maintenance \u2014 the most silently profit-killing hidden expense<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Frequently Asked Questions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    High fleet revenue doesn't mean profit \u2014 when costs are scattered across 5 notebooks<\/h2>\n

    Most small transportation businesses evaluate their performance based on total monthly revenue. That figure provides a sense of security \u2014 150 million, 200 million, the fleet is running smoothly. However, revenue in transportation hides many layers of costs: fuel is in the gas station bill, tolls are in the receipt, driver salaries are in the payroll book, and maintenance is in the manager's memory. To know the true profit, you need to pull data from at least 5 different sources \u2014 and in reality, almost no one does that in enough detail.<\/p>\n

    The most serious consequence is not losing money without knowing it, but having no basis for making decisions. Should you buy more vehicles or not? Which route should you expand? Which driver is operating efficiently? All of these become guesses when there's no cost data per trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Criteria<\/th>\nManaging with a notebook \/ relying on memory<\/th>\nManaging with structured Excel<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Knowing profit\/loss per trip<\/td>\nOnly knowing the total at the end of the month<\/td>\nKnowing immediately after entering the trip<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Detecting loss-making routes<\/td>\nAfter a few months, if lucky<\/td>\nRight in the first week<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Controlling fuel consumption<\/td>\nBased on driver reports<\/td>\nComparing actual km to fuel consumption<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Maintenance costs<\/td>\nSurprised when the vehicle breaks down<\/td>\nAutomatic reminders based on km<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Deciding to expand the fleet<\/td>\nRelying on intuition<\/td>\nBased on actual profit data<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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    Three common mistakes that prevent vehicle owners from ever knowing their true profit<\/h2>\n

    Lumping all costs together.<\/strong> Fuel, tolls, driver meals, loading fees \u2014 all recorded in a single line as “trip cost”. This recording method makes it impossible for managers to distinguish between fixed costs (depreciation, insurance, parking fees) and variable costs (fuel, tolls, loading). If you can't tell them apart, you can't optimize \u2014 because each type requires a completely different control approach.<\/p>\n

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    A vehicle runs 300,000 km without replacing the chain sprocket \u2014 every trip “profits” on paper. Then the engine breaks down, 80 million VND to repair, and a whole year's profit is gone. Depreciation isn't a future cost \u2014 it's a cost happening every kilometer you drive.<\/p>\n

    \u2014 The most common mistake in managing costs for small fleets<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Not factoring depreciation and maintenance into trip costs.<\/strong> A truck worth 800 million VND, used over 8 years, is “consuming” about 275,000 VND\/day in depreciation \u2014 whether it runs or not. Add insurance, inspection fees, parking fees, and loan interest if financed. All these costs must be allocated across every trip to know the real profit. Skip them, and every profit calculation is wrong from the start.<\/p>\n

    Completely trusting driver-reported costs.<\/strong> It's not a matter of dishonesty \u2014 everyone forgets details, everyone rounds numbers. An 85 km trip easily gets recorded as 90 km. A 45-liter fuel fill-up gets remembered as 50 liters. Small discrepancies per trip, but multiplied by 100 trips\/month, the error becomes significant. You need a cross-check system: compare actual km with average fuel consumption by vehicle type \u2014 a variance above 15% is a red flag worth investigating.<\/p>\n

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    3 layers of data in one Excel file \u2014 from vehicle registration to profit dashboard<\/h2>\n

    Designing a fleet tracking system isn’t complicated if you organize data into 3 clear layers. Each layer answers a different question, and the three combined create a comprehensive financial picture of the fleet.<\/p>\n

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    3 data layers for fleet management<\/p>\n