A monthly ledger you can reproduce
The default example uses one truck, one month and 10,000 all miles. The following fictional ledger separates the $5,500 fixed total from $11,000 of variable costs.
| Fictional monthly ledger | Amount | Per 10,000 all miles |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed costs | $5,500 | $0.55 |
| Fuel | $7,000 | $0.70 |
| Maintenance reserve | $2,200 | $0.22 |
| Tire reserve | $600 | $0.06 |
| Tolls and other variable costs | $1,200 | $0.12 |
| Operating total | $16,500 | $1.65 |
Operating break-even is only the first floor
$16,500 ÷ 10,000 = $1.65 per all mile. To model $6,000 owner net pay with a 20% planning reserve, gross up the owner amount: $6,000 ÷ 0.80 = $7,500. Add it to operating cost, then apply the 10% revenue margin: ($16,500 + $7,500) ÷ 0.90 = $26,666.67 required revenue, or $2.6667 per all mile. This reserve is an assumption, not a calculation of tax liability.
Do not add 10% to cost and call it a 10% revenue margin. $24,000 × 1.10 is $26,400; its $2,400 margin is only 9.09% of revenue.
Stress-test utilization
Hold fixed costs at $5,500 and variable cost at $1.10 per mile. Lower mileage spreads the same fixed bill across fewer miles.
| All miles | Fixed per mile | Operating per mile |
|---|---|---|
| 8,000 | $0.6875 | $1.7875 |
| 10,000 | $0.5500 | $1.6500 |
| 12,000 | $0.4583 | $1.5583 |
For a route quote, carry the variable rate and the trip’s fixed allocation into the minimum load-rate model. Check the offer in the load-profit calculator; do not treat operating break-even alone as a sufficient quote.
Keep the ledger comparable
The cost-per-mile guide explains allocation choices. Update your monthly cost floor after the weekly actual-versus-plan review. Use either a reserve approach or actual repair expense consistently; counting both for the same repair overstates cost.
Continue the owner-operator workflow
Return to the owner-operator calculator hub to connect the cost floor, quote, trip estimate and completed-week review.