How it runs for limo, taxi and rideshare fleets
The controller also prepares lender packages, answers your CPA's questions and documents your accounting policies. Decisions stay with you.
What are outsourced controller services?
Outsourced controller services provide the review layer that sits between bookkeeping and the owner: a senior accountant who checks the close, owns the accounting policies, tests the controls around cash and spending, and explains the financial statements. The controller does not do daily posting. They make sure what was posted is right and documented before anyone relies on it.
What we handle for limo, taxi and rideshare fleets
- Monthly close review with written variance commentary on revenue per vehicle, channel margin and AR
- Trip cut-off, payout accruals, deposit liabilities and settlement estimates challenged each month
- Thirteen-week cash forecast including vehicle loans, insurance installments, permits and expected payouts
- Lender, licensing-authority and CPA packages prepared and their questions answered on your behalf
- Accounting policy notes for revenue by channel, gratuities, vehicles, permits and driver arrangements
The KPI that matters here
Controller review and variance commentary delivered with every close, and a cash forecast updated weekly.
Limo & taxi compliance notes
Local licensing and permits
Taxi and for-hire licensing is local: medallions or permits from a city taxi commission, state public utility or transportation authority permits for limousines, airport pickup permits and, for vehicles carrying nine or more passengers across state lines, federal USDOT registration. We track each fee and renewal date, code it by vehicle and keep certificates on file. Applications and renewals are submitted by you or your permit service.
Driver classification: 1099 or employee
Whether a driver is an employee or an independent contractor depends on federal and state tests that differ, and app drivers in California fall under Proposition 22. We post pay exactly as your arrangement and your counsel define it, keep contractor and employee costs in separate accounts, and prepare the 1099 and W-2 figures at year end. We do not decide classification.
App payouts and platform reporting
Uber, Lyft and similar platforms deposit net payouts weekly and issue year-end tax forms based on gross fares, which will not match the deposits. We keep gross fares, platform fees, tolls and incentives in separate accounts so the ledger can be reconciled to the platform's annual statement and to the bank without adjustment.
Surcharges, sales tax and gratuities
Congestion surcharges, airport fees, ground-transportation taxes and, in some states, sales tax on limousine services are collected from passengers and remitted on their own schedules. Mandatory service charges are wages, not tips, under IRS rules. We track each collected amount as a liability and post gratuities under the rule your CPA confirms; you or your preparer files the returns.
Limo & taxi software we work in
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Square
- Stripe
- Gusto
- Limo Anywhere
- Moovs
- iCabbi and Autocab dispatch
- Uber and Lyft fleet portals
- All 50 platforms
More for limo, taxi and rideshare fleets
Other services for limo & taxi
Controller services in other industries
Frequently asked questions
What does a controller review add for a fleet?
Judgment and forecasting. Bookkeeping records what happened; the controller review tests whether cut-off, accrual and settlement estimates are reasonable, explains why revenue per vehicle or channel margin moved, keeps a rolling cash forecast that includes vehicle debt and insurance, and prepares the packages lenders want. For a fleet it means vehicle and channel decisions are made on reconciled numbers every month.
Can the controller help us decide whether app work is worth it?
The controller can prepare the comparison: gross fares, platform fees, incremental fuel, maintenance and driver cost for app trips against the same vehicle time on corporate or retail work, over the past twelve months. The decision about where to deploy vehicles stays with you and your dispatch desk. We do not give business or investment advice.
Is an outsourced controller enough for a fleet with several entities?
For most owner-led fleets with an operating company and a vehicle-holding or real-estate entity, yes, provided bookkeeping and close run on a fixed calendar. The controller review covers intercompany leases and charges, consolidated results and the cash forecast. Fleets preparing for audited statements or a sale may also need a CPA firm, and we work alongside them.
Ask an AI assistant to summarize this page
Opens the assistant with a prefilled prompt so you can check our claims against the page yourself.