How to Record Mileage Expense in QuickBooks Online?

One of the most neglected aspects of financial management is recording Mileage. It is important for precisely recording business-related travel costs and claiming deductions.

In today’s article, we will dig deep into the significance of tracking Mileage Expenses in QuickBooks Online and offer a detailed tutorial on how to record, create and report mileage in this accounting platform.

From starting the mileage tracking feature to changing mileage rates and providing insightful reports, in this article we will talk about everything required to learn to simplify the mileage tracking procedure.

Regardless if you are managing a small team or a sole proprietor, learning to record mileage expenses in QuickBooks Online can help you comprehend your business travel expenses and make informed decisions.

What is the Mileage Expense Feature in QuickBooks Online?

The Mileage Expense feature in QuickBooks Online is a type of tool that enables you to monitor and record business mileage for reimbursement or tax purposes. This particular feature enables you to record:

• Start Locations and End Locations
• Purpose of the Trip
• Total Miles covered in Every Trip

QuickBooks Online then determines the total mileage of the trip along with the amount one can claim for the particular trip, depending on the IRS mileage rate. This detail is quite vital to monitor business expenses, specifically if you are self-employed or own a small business and need to drive to reach your office.

The information stored in the Mileage Expense feature enables you to prepare your taxes or ask for reimbursement from your employer as business mileage.

Note: The mileage feature is present in the QuickBooks Online Mobile App along with the desktop version of QuickBooks Online.

What are the Benefits of Entering Mileage Expenses of a Vehicle in QuickBooks Online?

Monitoring mileage in QuickBooks Online is important for:

• Precise Recording of Business Mileage Costs
• Ensuring Proper Compliance with Tax Norms
• Facilitating Mileage

By properly monitoring mileage in QuickBooks Online, businesses can simplify expense management methods, get crucial insights into the operational costs, and make the most possible tax deductions. Consequently, financial benefits increase, and maintaining systematic financial records becomes easy.

Not to mention, QuickBooks Online can generate reports and evaluate mileage data with ease, providing a complete business solution for effective financial management. In addition to it, such reports play a pivotal role for businesses to make strategic decisions related to expenses and operations.

How to Add Mileage to QuickBooks Online?

Including mileage into QuickBooks Online transactions enables smooth integration of travel-related costs, allowing complete monitoring and management of business travel expenses.

This procedure includes linking the mileage data to certain transactions, offering a precise picture of the total travel cost. By including mileage to transactions in QuickBooks Online, businesses can make sure that the travel costs are recorded precisely, facilitating improved expense management and financial reporting.

Adding Mileage to an Existing Transaction

Adding present transactions with mileage details in QuickBooks Online allows users to completely acquire travel-related costs and mileage data in their financial records, boosting expense management.

By adding this information to the present transactions, users can easily monitor and handle their mileage costs together with other costs, offering a more comprehensive view of all the costs. Furthermore, it also displays the true expense of business operations, facilitating better financial planning and decisions.

Adding Mileage to a New Transaction

Adding mileage information in new transactions in QuickBooks Online allows smooth integration of travel-related expenses, boosting comprehensive expense monitoring and proficient business expense management.

Combining the mileage details with other costs boosts data accuracy and offers a complete overview of the total costs, allowing enhanced expense management.

How to Record Mileage Expense for Company at Year-end in QuickBooks Online?

Generally, drivers of a business use the QuickBooks Online mobile app to monitor miles. The app monitors trips from beginning to end, automatically. All they need to do is to turn on the mobile app and allow QuickBooks to take care of the rest. However, you need to classify the trip.

Here are the steps to get you started:

Step 1: Check the User Permission of the Driver

It is important to note that only admin users can monitor mileage in QuickBooks Online.

Step 2: Switch on Mileage Tracking and include a Vehicle

Turn on the automatic mileage tracking feature. Before you begin monitoring trips, include your vehicles in QuickBooks Online. This will assist you in matching the trips to the correct vehicle.

Step 3: Monitor Business Miles

Whenever you begin driving, you need to log into your mobile device and then open the QuickBooks Online mobile app. During the trip, you need to keep the app open. It will help to find and monitor the miles from beginning to end.

How to Add a Trip Manually?

1. Log in to QuickBooks Online in a certain Mileage.
2. Navigate to Expenses and then click Mileage.
3. Choose Add Trip.
4. Include the trip date, beginning and ending places, purpose, and distance.
5. Choose the vehicle utilized.
6. Press Save.

Step 4: Mileage Categorization

Once the destination is reached, review the tip:

On iOS and Android Devices:

1. Open the QuickBooks Mobile app.
2. Choose the menu icon and then select Mileage.
3. Choose the Unreviewed tab.
4. Locate the trip. Now you need to swipe left to classify the trip as Business. You can also swipe right to classify it as Personal.
5. Include a purpose for the particular trip.
6. Choose the vehicle you accessed
7. Choose the Save option

On a Web Browser:

1. Navigate to the Expenses tab and then choose Mileage.
2. Locate the trip and choose the Checkbox.
3. Choose Mark as Business or Mark as Personal for the particular type.
4. Check the details.
5. If you wish to change the distance or location, choose the trip, perform the changes, and then choose Save.

Step 5: Review, Edit, or Export Trips

1. Log in to QuickBooks Online in a web browser.
2. Navigate to Expenses and then click Mileage.
3. Choose the Unreviewed, Personal, Business, or All tab.
4. Locate and choose the trip you wish to change.
5. Perform the changes.
6. Choose Save.

To Export Mileage Data, Perform the steps below:

1. Navigate to Expenses and then click Mileage.
2. Choose the dropdown arrow to select Add trip.
3. Choose Download Trips.

Note: QuickBooks downloads the trips on your system as a CSV file. It must be in your Downloads folder.

How to Monitor Mileage in QuickBooks Online Reports?

Tracking mileage in QuickBooks Online reports is useful for businesses that depend on client travels or customer visits since it enables customer-specific mileage monitoring. By classifying trips depending on customers and clients, businesses can precisely assign expenses and evaluate the efficiency of customer-related traveling.

Not to mention, mileage reporting also provides valuable data for all tax deductions, complete business performance evaluation, cost allocation, etc.

Mileage by Vehicle Report

The Mileage by Vehicle Report in QuickBooks Online allows users to get crucial insights into vehicle-specific travel costs and mileage utilization, allowing complete mileage monitoring and analysis.

This report enables users to assist expenses related to vehicle usage to certain projects or clients, offering a complete understanding of revenue generation, and identification of cost-saving measures.

Such a report allows users to make crucial decisions concerning maintenance schedules, fleet management, route optimization, etc., ultimately enhancing efficiency and cost efficiency.

Mileage by Customer Report

The Mileage by Customer Report in QuickBooks Online enables businesses to determine mileage related to specific clients, enabling precise billing and improved client satisfaction.

By combining such reports with billing processes, businesses can simplify the reimbursement and invoicing process, offering clients transparent and complete detailed accounts of mileage costs.

Mileage by Employee Report

The Mileage by Employee Report in QuickBooks Online offers the evaluation of travel-related expenses and mileage utilization related to specific employees, allowing improved business expense accountability and management.

By offering complete insights into the mileage usage of every employee, this report enables businesses to precisely monitor and determine travel expenses. It simplifies the reimbursement procedure by enabling companies to compute and reimburse employees for their mileage based on precise data.

Final Words

We hope that this article has helped you a lot and offered you deep insights into the topic of how to record mileage expenses in QuickBooks Online. In this article, we have stated all the crucial information one needs to know to accurately record mileage expenses. Still, if you get stuck anywhere or need professional expertise, you can reach out to Dancing Numbers Online team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How can QuickBooks Online Assist in My Mileage Tracking?

Ans: QuickBooks Online offers an interactive mobile app and web interface to record and manage your business mileage effortlessly. You can add the details of the trip manually or make the most of the automatic tracking feature of the app.

Q2: Can I Classify my Trips as Personal or Business on the Mobile App?

Ans: Yes. The app enables you to move left or right on a trip and categorize the trip as personal or business.

Q3: Is it Possible to Add Several Vehicles for Mileage Tracking?

Ans: Yes. QuickBooks Online enables you to set up and handle several vehicles used for business. You can use the settings in the Mileage section to manage the number of vehicles.

Q4: Why did my Automatic Mileage Tracker Fail to Work on QuickBooks Self-Employed?

Ans: The reason your QuickBooks self-employed automatic mileage tracker isn’t working is that you didn’t launch the software in the background. For example, once you close it, it won’t track anything again till it opens on the screen.

Q5: How long does QuickBooks Mileage Tracker take to log?

Ans: It usually takes 1 hour, however you can change it to 3 hours.