Driver Pay Software for Trucking: Weekly Pay Statements (Video + Steps)

1. See the big picture first (0:00)

How much do you owe your drivers this week, and is it already in your books? LaneTally keeps your loads, chat, fleet, freight invoices, driver pay and the books in one place. Every weekly pay statement is made from the loads a driver delivered, so there is nothing to add up by hand. After this video you can set how each driver is paid, make a weekly statement and pay it, add extra payments and advances, read the summary, pay the owner, and know what the driver sees on their phone. The free demo needs no sign-up and no card and uses fake data.

2. Find Driver pay, the carriers and the payroll switch (0:53)

Driver pay is in the left menu, under Carrier money, after Freight invoices. Under the title it says you do the payroll for a carrier that shares its books with you: its drivers and its owner. Each payment goes into that carrier's books.

The gray line says Information only: the figures come from what you entered, and it is not tax, legal or financial advice, so check with your accountant. Press I understand and it shrinks to one short line. Show full text brings the whole sentence back.

Under it is one button for each carrier, and the picked carrier shows its drivers and its pay. A carrier that keeps its books and pay private shows a note instead. When a carrier lets you do its books, you can do its payroll too: it is the same switch. Then comes the switch Payroll in LaneTally. When it is on, drivers get weekly pay statements and see them in My pay. Turn it off and a message says payroll is off and nothing was deleted. Turn it on again and the page comes back. Under the switch are three tabs: Drivers, Summary and Owner.

3. The three numbers and how each driver is paid (2:32)

• To pay the drivers is the money in the statements that are not paid yet. It is the dark card, the number to watch.
• Paid to drivers is what you already marked as paid, with the line added to the books.
• Drivers counts the drivers of this carrier, with how many are contractors (1099) and how many are employees (W-2).

Below is the card How each driver is paid. It is chosen per driver, it can change any time, and it applies to statements that are not paid yet. Each row shows the name, the worker type, how the driver is paid (for example 55 cents per mile, or 25 percent of the load rate) and a short note such as W-9 details missing. At the end of each row are four buttons: Extra payment for money outside the weekly pay, Tax info for the driver's W-9 details, Give advance for money you give now and take back later, and Change pay to set how the driver is paid.

4. Weekly pay statements and the yearly pay summary (3:52)

The card Weekly pay statements has one statement per driver per week, made from the delivered loads, Monday to Sunday. The search box finds a statement by driver, week, load or amount. The columns are the driver, the week, how many loads, the net pay and the status, and Open shows the whole statement. A statement shows up after a driver delivers a load.

The last card on this tab is the Yearly pay summary: what each driver earned in the year, for your accountant. Pick the year from the list. A driver who earned at or above the IRS contractor amount is marked, and a driver with missing W-9 details shows what is missing (legal name, address, tax ID), with an Add tax info button that opens the same form as Tax info above. An employee shows as Employee, W-2 wages. Download PDF and Download spreadsheet save the summary as a file for your accountant. The summary still downloads when something is missing, but those pages say what is missing.

It is information only: check with your accountant. LaneTally does not make or file tax forms, and your accountant prepares and files any tax forms. You pick each driver's worker type, contractor (1099) or employee (W-2). LaneTally keeps the gross pay, what is added or taken off, and the net pay. It does not calculate or withhold taxes.

5. Change pay: per mile, percent, flat, hourly, salary (6:08)

Click Change pay on a driver's row. The popup is called How (driver) is paid.

• Pay type is a list: per mile, percent of the load rate, flat amount per load, per hour, and weekly salary. The next box asks for the number that fits, for example the percent.
• Percent of appears for a percent pay. It is what the percent is figured on when a broker pays less than the rate. The first choice is the load rate as booked, so a short pay never changes the driver's pay. The second is what the broker really pays, so a short pay lowers it. Check the driver's contract.
• The driver's share of approved detention and extra-stop pay is a percent too: 100 means all of it, 0 means none.
• Worker type is your decision, contractor (1099) or employee (W-2). It is not worked out from how the driver is paid. Ask your accountant if you are not sure.

Two blue notes: a weekly salary pays the same amount each pay week, whatever the loads. Per mile uses loaded plus empty miles, and per hour needs the hours typed on each weekly statement. Statements already paid do not change. Press Save and the row shows the new pay.

6. Tax info (W-9 details) (7:35)

Click Tax info on a driver's row. A small tag at the top says that reading the W-9 for you is Ready on launch day: that is not working yet, so for now you type the details in.

• Legal name is line 1 of the W-9, filled with the driver's name. Business name, if different, is line 2.
• Tax classification is a list with the W-9 choices: individual or sole proprietor, the corporations, partnership, the LLC choices, and Other.
• Street address, then City, state and ZIP.
• Tax ID type is SSN for a person or EIN for a business, then the nine-digit tax ID number. The tax ID shows only its last 4 digits, on screen and on the yearly pay summary.

Press Save tax info. The row no longer says W-9 details missing, and in the yearly summary a green tag says W-9 ready.

7. Give a driver an advance (8:52)

Click Give advance. The popup says an advance is not an expense and not part of the driver's pay. It goes in the books as Driver advance, and you take it back later on the driver's pay statement. Type the date (today by default), the amount, and an optional note such as cash for the trip. Press Give advance and add to books. A message says the advance was added to the books and that the driver owes the amount, and the row now says Advance owed.

8. Extra payment: bonus, pay back a receipt (9:30)

Click Extra payment. What is it? has three choices: extra work or bonus, which counts as pay; paying back something the driver bought, which is not pay (a Category in the books box appears); or an advance, which the driver pays back later and is not an expense.

• Reason is required. It shows on the driver's pay and in the books.
• Type the amount and the date.
• When is it paid? has two choices. With their next weekly pay adds it as a line on the next statement, so it is paid once, together. Paid now puts it in the books today as its own payment. If the bank later shows it, LaneTally matches it and does not add it again.

Press Save extra payment. To pay the drivers goes up and a new card appears: Extra payments, payments outside the regular weekly pay, each with its date, driver, reason, type and amount. Remove takes an extra off the next pay. An extra that is paid now shows as Paid, with an Undo button.

9. The pay statement (11:13)

In the list of weekly pay statements, click Open. The popup is called Pay statement. At the top are the driver, the week and the status. Under it are the carrier and how the driver is paid. The table lists the loads: the load number, the route, the miles and the pay. For example, 705 miles at 55 cents per mile is $387.75.

• Pay for the loads is the total of the loads.
• Added to pay shows the extra payments, each with its reason and a small Extra payment tag. Remove takes a line off the statement.
• Earned is the driver's pay for services.
• Net pay is what the driver gets.

10. Add a line to a statement (12:26)

Under the table, a form adds a line to this statement. In the What list, under Add to their pay are bonus, detention, other earnings, and pay back a receipt the driver paid. Under Take off their pay are an advance the driver pays back, fuel card, insurance share, truck or trailer lease share, and other deduction.

Some choices open more boxes: Pay back a receipt the driver paid asks which receipt and which category, and an advance the driver pays back shows what the driver owes. A reason is required for other earnings and other deduction. Type the amount and press Add line. For example, an advance of $100 paid back becomes a line marked Not an expense. It lowers what the driver owes, and Net pay goes down by $100.

11. Mark as paid (13:22)

Press Mark as paid under the form. A question shows who you are paying, how much and for which week, and says this adds driver pay to your books and that you can undo it later. Go back returns to the statement. Press Yes, mark as paid and the status says Paid, with the date and a note that it is in the books.

The form to add lines and the Remove buttons are gone: press Undo paid if you need to change it. Download statement saves the statement as a file, and Close closes it. On the page, To pay the drivers goes down, Paid to drivers goes up, and the Advance owed note disappears when the advance was taken back. An extra payment stays in its list, now showing the statement it was paid on, and its Open button opens that statement. The yearly summary adds the pay too.

12. Summary tab: week, month, year (14:45)

The Summary tab is the card What the drivers were paid. Loads, miles and Not paid yet are by pay week: a week counts in the month and year it ends, on Sunday, the same as its statement. Paid is by the day each payment was made, the same numbers as the books and the yearly pay summary. Download spreadsheet saves the table as a file.

Three buttons pick the period: Week, Month and Year. The arrows go to the earlier or later period, and the right arrow is gray when there is nothing later. The six columns are the driver, loads, miles, driver pay, net paid and not paid yet, with a Total row that adds up every driver. Driver pay is the pay for the work. Net paid also counts what was paid back to the driver for receipts, and what was taken off, like advances and shared costs; a small line under the name says what was taken off. To open a statement, go to the Drivers tab and click Open: the Go to Drivers button takes you there.

13. Owner tab: pay the owner (16:38)

The Owner tab shows three numbers. Left in the books is money in minus money out. Tax set-aside is a percent of the profit to leave aside, and you can change the percent below. Available to take is what is left after driver pay and the tax set-aside. The card Pay the owner: owner draw or salary shows how the number is made. Ask the owner's accountant which one fits the company.

The box Tax set-aside, percent of profit is the percent you choose, and Save percent keeps it. LaneTally does the arithmetic. It does not calculate your taxes.

1. Press the orange button. The popup is called Pay the owner of (carrier), with a note on how much is available to take now.
2. Paid to is the owner's name. Type is Owner draw or Salary. Type the date, the amount and an optional note.
3. Press Pay and add to books. The message says Saved and added to the books, and Available to take goes down.

If you type more than what is available, LaneTally asks first. It is the owner's money, so they can still go ahead. The payment appears in the Payments list with its date, who was paid, the type and the amount. Each one is in your books too, and Edit opens it again with Save changes and Delete.

14. What the carrier owner sees (18:24)

The carrier owner has the same menu item, Driver pay, with the title pay your drivers and pay yourself. The same Information only line is here. There are two switches. The first is the same Payroll in LaneTally. The second is for the owner only: Let my dispatcher do my books and pay. When it is on, the dispatcher sees and can do the owner's books and payroll. It is the same switch that lets a dispatcher do the payroll of a carrier.

The same three tabs follow. On Drivers the numbers say To pay your drivers, Paid to drivers and Drivers, with the same four buttons, the same statements (the owner can open them) and the same yearly pay summary. On the Owner tab the card says Pay yourself and the button says Pay myself. Everything else is the same.

15. What the driver sees in My pay (19:54)

In the driver's own menu the item is called My pay: the driver's pay statements, one for each week. Only the driver and the carrier can see them. The same Information only line is here.

• Last week is the week the driver gets paid for now, with a tag (Paid or not), the big net pay number, the date paid, what was earned and what was taken off. Open statement shows the statement with no form to change it, only Download statement and Close.
• This week, so far says what is already made this week and about how much more comes when the next load is delivered. Approved detention and extra stops are added to that week's pay by themselves. A receipt the driver paid with their own money shows on the pay once the carrier adds it as an extra.
• Your trips lists every delivery with the miles (loaded and empty), the trip pay, the extras, the total and the pay per mile, so the driver can compare. Extras are approved detention and extra stops. Receipts paid back are not pay, so they are not here.
• How you are paid shows the pay and the worker type. A note says no taxes are taken out of the pay and to check with a tax professional.
• Weekly pay statements has one row for each week, with the loads, the net pay and the status.
• Your tax papers shows papers the company's accountant added, like a 1099-NEC. The demo one is marked Sample, demo. LaneTally does not make tax forms.

16. Driver pay on the phone (22:43)

On a phone, Driver pay is under More, the second item under Carrier money. The title, the Information only line, the carrier buttons (on two lines), the Payroll switch and the three tabs are the same. The three numbers sit side by side in one row. Each driver is a block with the name, how the driver is paid and the four buttons on two lines, and a popup like Give advance fills the width of the phone; the X closes it. Each weekly pay statement is a card. Tap Open and the statement opens full width, with one block for each load, then Pay for the loads, Earned and Net pay. Scroll down for the form that adds a line and the Mark as paid button. On Summary each driver is a block, and the Owner tab has the same numbers, the pay button and the list of payments.

17. My pay on the phone (24:10)

The driver finds My pay in the bar at the bottom of the phone. The first card is last week, with its status, net pay and the date it was paid. Open statement fills the screen, and the X closes it. Below are this week so far and what is on its way when the next load is delivered, Your trips with each delivery as a card, How you are paid, and the weekly pay statements, one for each week.

18. Wrap-up and the free demo (25:19)

That is the whole Driver pay menu. LaneTally is dispatch and accounting software, now in beta. It gives you information only: it is not tax, legal or financial advice, so check with your accountant. You can open the same screens yourself in the free demo: no sign-up, no card, fake data.