Bookkeeping for Food Trucks
Food trucks are one of the most agile restaurant concepts around — and one of the hardest to keep financially organized. Revenue varies by location, event, and season; commissary costs come separately from food costs; and the truck itself is a depreciating asset that most food truck owners never properly account for. Simple Books Now builds the financial structure your mobile business needs, backed by Luisa's Enrolled Agent credential for tax planning that works for the way you actually operate.
Book a Free ConsultationThe financial model of a food truck is genuinely different from a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Your revenue is location-dependent, which means a bad weather weekend or a lost event contract can swing your monthly income dramatically. You're paying commissary or commercial kitchen fees on top of food cost. Event fees, pitch fees, and percentages-of-sales owed to event organizers reduce your net take. And your primary capital asset — the truck itself — is being driven hard and depreciating while you operate. Without a bookkeeping system designed around these realities, most food truck operators have no idea what they're actually netting after every expense is accounted for.
Luisa's Enrolled Agent credential adds tax-level thinking that most food truck operators have never had access to. Vehicle depreciation on a commercial food truck can be significant, especially in the early years of ownership — and the timing of that deduction matters. Florida's sales tax rules apply to food truck sales, and permit fees, commissary agreements, and event contracts all create deductible business expenses that need to be coded correctly. As your business grows toward catering and private events, the revenue structure changes in ways that have tax implications. Luisa thinks through those transitions with you so you're never caught off-guard.
The Financial Challenges We Solve
Vehicle Depreciation & Maintenance Costs
Your food truck is a significant capital asset — often $50,000 to $150,000 between the truck, build-out, and equipment. Without a fixed-asset schedule and a depreciation plan, you're missing one of your largest available deductions. We maintain your truck and equipment on a depreciation schedule and coordinate with Luisa so the deduction is timed correctly for your tax situation.
Location & Event Revenue Tracking
A food truck that operates at a farmers market on Saturday, a private event on Friday, and a fixed lunch spot on weekdays is generating revenue from three sources with different cost structures and margin profiles. We track revenue by location or event type so you can see which spots are worth your time and which are breaking even at best.
Commissary & Kitchen Rental Allocation
Commissary fees or commercial kitchen rental are a real cost of food truck operation that doesn't appear on a typical restaurant's books. When commissary costs aren't tracked separately, they get buried in food cost and distort your cost percentages. We track commissary fees as their own expense line so your food cost percentage reflects actual ingredient cost, not kitchen access.
Event Contract Fees & Percentage-of-Sales Payments
Many events charge a flat booth fee plus a percentage of sales — a revenue structure that needs to be tracked carefully. If you're reporting gross sales to an event organizer and paying back a percentage, that percentage is a real operating expense that needs to hit your books. We make sure event fees are captured per event so your true net from each appearance is visible.
Seasonal Revenue Swings & Estimated Tax Planning
Food truck revenue in Florida can spike during snowbird season and fall sharply in summer. If your quarterly estimated tax payments don't account for those swings, you can end up paying too much in Q1 and not enough in Q3. As your Enrolled Agent, Luisa recalculates your estimated payments each quarter based on real year-to-date income so you're never overpaying early or scrambling late.
More Than a Bookkeeper — A Federally authorized Enrolled Agent
Most bookkeepers record transactions and hand you a report. Simple Books Now does that — and more. Luisa is a Federally authorized Enrolled Agent: the highest credential the IRS grants. She can represent you in audits, file your returns, and negotiate directly with the IRS — with year-round tax strategy built into your bookkeeping from day one.
For a business owner in your industry, that means one professional who understands your numbers and handles your complete financial picture. No handoffs. No gaps. No surprises at tax time.
- Federally authorized by the IRS — represents you in audits, collections & appeals
- Bookkeeping + tax strategy in one engagement — no coordinating between vendors
- Direct access to Luisa — no junior staff
- Flat monthly rate — no hourly billing surprises
- Works with clients in all 50 states
- Books delivered by the 15th of each month
- Year-round availability, not just at tax time
Everything We Handle for Your Business
Bookkeeping
Monthly reconciliation, clean financials, and reports delivered every month.
Learn more →Tax Resolution
IRS notices, back taxes, audits, and payment plans — handled directly by our EA.
Learn more →Catch-Up Bookkeeping
Behind on your books? We'll get you caught up at a fixed project price.
Learn more →Bookkeeping FAQ
Yes — food sold at a food truck for immediate consumption is subject to Florida sales tax. If you're at a farmers market selling sealed items intended for home preparation, the treatment differs. The practical reality for most food truck operators is that your menu items are taxable, and failing to collect means you're absorbing that cost yourself. We make sure your point-of-sale setup is collecting and remitting correctly.
A food truck used exclusively for business qualifies for depreciation under MACRS, and depending on the purchase year, may qualify for Section 179 immediate expensing or bonus depreciation. The built-in commercial kitchen equipment may be depreciated separately under shorter recovery periods. Luisa evaluates the best depreciation strategy for your specific purchase and income situation so you're capturing the maximum deduction at the most advantageous time.
Yes — miles driven between business locations (commissary to event, event to event, or event to commissary) are deductible business miles. Commuting from home to your commissary is generally not deductible. We help you set up a mileage log system that captures deductible miles correctly so the deduction holds up if questioned.
At a certain net profit level — typically around $50,000 or more — electing S-Corp status can reduce your self-employment tax meaningfully by splitting income between a reasonable salary and a distribution. Whether it's right for your food truck depends on your profit level, your other income, and the administrative cost of running payroll for yourself. As an Enrolled Agent, Luisa runs the actual numbers and gives you a straight answer, not a generic recommendation.
Yes — selling a business asset like a food truck triggers a taxable gain or loss. If you've taken depreciation on the truck, the IRS may recapture some of that depreciation as ordinary income (Section 1245 recapture) rather than more favorably taxed capital gain. The tax impact depends on your depreciation history, your basis in the truck, and the sale price. Luisa can walk you through the tax picture before you sell so you're not surprised at tax time.
Ready to Get Your Food Truck's Books in Order?
Book a free consultation with Luisa — Enrolled Agent and food truck bookkeeping specialist — and put real financial clarity behind your mobile business.
Book a Free ConsultationNo obligation · 30-minute call · Federally authorized Enrolled Agent