What is a taxi shift handover sheet?
When a taxi, limousine or ride-hailing car runs two shifts a day, it changes hands twice. A shift handover sheet records the car's state at each change: odometer, fuel, damage, documents and devices. At the end of the shift it records what the driver earned and settles the money between driver and company.
Without it, a dent, a missing document or a cash difference cannot be traced to a shift. With it, each driver signs for the car they took, and the company knows each day how much cash is due and from whom.
How to use the form and the log
- Set up once: on the Settings sheet enter each driver's pay terms from their contract, your cars and your allowances.
- At handover: the supervisor and the incoming driver complete sections 1 to 4 of the form, walking round the car.
- At the end of the shift: the driver completes section 5 from the fare meter, the card terminal slip and the app; the supervisor counts the cash in front of the driver.
- Same day: the office enters the shift in the log and copies the car's distance for those hours from the trip report of the tracking system.
- Review the flags and settle each driver's balance at the end of the week or month on the Drivers and cars sheet.
How does the log settle the cash?
Card fares and app earnings reach the company's account directly, so they come off the cash the driver owes. When the company carries fuel (or the driver is on a salary), fuel the driver paid at the pump is refunded the same way. A negative cash due means the company owes the driver for that shift.
The flags are: distance differs from tracking by more than the allowance, cash short or over by more than the allowance, odometer in below odometer out, cash not handed over, a shift longer than your maximum, trips with no fares, and a driver missing from Settings. The 5% distance allowance, the cash allowance and the 12-hour maximum are example values; set your own.
Worked example: three drivers, three pay models
The example rows in the file show two cars on 18 to 20 October 2026, in US dollars.
- Salem, daily rent of $53, pays his own fuel: fares of $112 ($80 cash, $24 card, $8 app). The company already holds $32 from card and app, so cash due is $21. Salem keeps $112 − $53 − $10 fuel = $49.
- Majed, 50% company share, fuel before the split: fares of $102 less $10 fuel leave $92; the company's half is $46. Less $35 from card and app, cash due is $11. He handed over nothing, so the row shows Cash short.
- Imran, on salary: all $104 of fares belong to the company. Less $35 from card and app and the $10 fuel and $4 tolls he paid, cash due is $55.
- On 19 October TX-201 shows 255 km on the odometer against 228 km in tracking, 12% more, and a 12.5-hour shift: both are flagged for the supervisor.
Which Saudi taxi rules does the form help you check?
The Transport General Authority (TGA) says a regular taxi must carry a public transport plate and its external identity marks, use the fare meter to calculate the fare, offer electronic payment, have a live tracking device linked to the authority's Naql portal, and that the driver wears the uniform and keeps the car clean inside and out (SPA, 10 August 2023). Gulf News reported in 2022, citing the TGA, that if the driver does not switch on the meter the passenger rides free. Section 4 of the form checks the documents and devices before each shift; check the Naql portal for the full rules of your activity.
Common mistakes in taxi shift settlement
- Counting cash without the card slip: card and app income must come off the cash due, or the driver is asked for money the company already has.
- One sheet for two drivers: each shift needs its own row, or damage and shortages cannot be traced.
- Odometer read at the end of the week: the distance check only works per shift.
- Pay terms kept in heads, not on paper: enter each driver's rent or share on Settings exactly as in the contract.
- Letting small shortages pile up: settle the balance every week.
What the template does not do
The log calculates from the figures you enter; it does not read the fare meter, the card terminal, the app or tracking data. Pay terms come from your driver contracts, and fare, driving hours and vehicle rules from your regulator. To see what a car earns per shift under each pay model, use the Taxi & Limousine Profit and Driver Pay Calculator; for ride-hailing payouts settled weekly, use the Ride-Hailing Fleet Partner Weekly Settlement.
Sources
- TGA requirements for regular taxis (plate, identity marks, fare meter, electronic payment, live tracking linked to the Naql portal, uniform, cleanliness): Saudi Press Agency, 10 August 2023. Source: SPA.
- Free ride if the driver does not use the meter; uniform from 12 July 2022; e-payment, camera and tracking device linked to Naql: Gulf News, 29 May 2022, citing the TGA. Source: Gulf News. Last reviewed 21 October 2026.