Interactive Cost per Mile (CPM) Calculator to Aid the Owner Operator

How Much Does an Owner Operator Make?

Interactive CPM Calculator 

See my other posts:

Blogs, Forums and Other Resources
Texting Ban
The Way it Was - A Short History of Trucking
Pro and Cons of Being an Owner Operator
FAQ for the Owner Operator
Pictures
Anti-Idling Regulations
Definitions and Industry Terms
Privacy Policy 

 
1) Owner Operator 411 – Welcome
2) Income and Expenses
3) Financing and Credit
4) Operating Authority or Leasing?
5) Equipment
6) How To Do Bookkeeping and Other Necessary Paperwork
7) What You Need to Know About Loadboards
8) Companies That Lease Beginning Owner Operators
9) What You Actually Need to Get Started - Licenses, Permits, Insurance, and Taxes
10) Truck Driving Schools

To use: Just fill in the boxes on the lower part of the chart. The results will automatically fill in the boxes on the upper part of the chart. Depending on what you enter, the results can give you your Cost per Mile, Cost per Day, Income per Mile, Income per Day, Expense per Mile, Expense per Day, Net per Mile, Net per Day, Average Miles per Day and your Expenses to Income percentage.

You can enter actual amounts if you already have a truck (useful when doing your taxes, too), or you can play around putting in different figures to see "What If?", as in "What if I paid off my truck?" or "What if the price of fuel goes up (or down)?" 

If you are wanting information about becoming an owner operator, you probably want to know how much much it will cost you to get started, and how much money you will make, or even if you can make money if you buy your own equipment.

These are all good questions that need answered before you take the plunge and spend all that money on a tractor trailer rig. I have developed a Cost Per Mile (CPM) calculator to help you answer these questions.

After you get a good grip on your initial outlay, this calculator will help you with the numbers you will need to write a business plan for when you go to the bank to get financing.

These are questions no one can give you a dollar amount on. It depends on many factors and variables (see previous posts). You need to determine how much you will be paying for your truck, find out how much your insurance payments will be, and find out how much loads pay at the company you want to lease to. You need to figure in all expenses, including Miscellaneous (paper towels, glass cleaner, etc.). 

Enter these amounts in the spreadsheet and you will get a rough answer to the questions above.
 
If you are thinking of getting your own authority, then this spreadsheet will help you determine how much you would need to charge to haul each load.
 
You need to talk with other owner operators (see “Income and Expenses” post). You need to determine what you will be hauling, and to where. You need to find out approximately how much these loads pay. If you are going to lease to a company, you need to find out what expenses they will pay and what expenses you will need to pay (taxes, permits, etc.). Do they pay a fuel surcharge?
You need to get a rough estimate of what other expenses you will have: truck/trailer payment, licenses, permits, insurance, cell phone, accountant, etc.
What else are you going to have to buy? Will you need tarps, chains and binders? What about straps or load jacks and hand tools?
 
If you don't even know what some of this stuff is, then you need to ask more questions and talk with more drivers.   Be sure to ask your questions in the comment section.
 
You need to determine about how many miles a year you will have to run to deliver the loads the lease company contracts for, and how many days you will be on the road.
 
After you get all of these numbers, then it is time to use the calculator.

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I am interested in knowing if you found this calculator useful.

Please CLICK HERE to open, not on the chart below. Interactive CPM spreadsheet by Google (Will open in a new window):

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