How to Enter Mileage in QuickBooks

When you account for mileage, it makes it convenient to cut down the expenses at the end of a financial year during tax deductions. Adding your mileage enables you to take into account the total cost of having the company vehicle along with the maintenance, fuel, and registration expenses. By monitoring your mileage with QuickBooks, it is easy for a user to determine the absolute cost of a job and create the bill accordingly.

Let’s learn in detail about tracking mileage in QuickBooks.

What is a QuickBooks Mileage Tracker?

Let’s learn in detail what a QuickBooks Mileage tracker is and how it helps users to enter mileage in QuickBooks.

QuickBooks mileage tracker monitors the mileage of your vehicles to provide you with tax advantages. It also determines anticipated tax deductions and allows you to export the particular mileage data so that it can be used in other reports.

The QuickBooks mileage tracker that uses the QuickBooks apps has made it very easy and convenient to track mileage. All you need to do is turn on the tracking option and QuickBooks will do the rest.

How to Enter a Mileage in QuickBooks?

You need to enter the odometer readings physically in the QuickBooks Desktop to input mileage. Here is a step-by-step guideline on how to enter mileage in QuickBooks Desktop to conveniently use QuickBooks Desktop Mileage Tracker.

• Step 1: Go to the Company menu. Now choose Enter Vehicle Mileage option.
• Step 2: Press on Vehicle List. Now press on the new button in order to add a new vehicle. In case some vehicles are added already, and you wish to add their mileage then presses on that particular vehicle from the given list to move further.
• Step 3: Now, you must add the name of the vehicle. Make sure you add unique names so that identification can be done easily. The license plate number of the vehicle is a great form of identification. It can be put as a name. Now press OK.
• Step 4: When the particular vehicle has been added, then press on it and then begin completing the travel information.
• Step 5: Add the travel and the date along with the odometer readings for the trip, both before and after timings. Also, you can add additional data like who was travelling, what was the purpose, any attached invoice is available or not, etc. QuickBooks will be able to determine the mileage on its own.

Tracking Mileage in QuickBooks Online

1. Manually Tracking Trips in QuickBooks:
   • You should make a record of the vehicle you plan to use before you begin. In the navigation toolbar, you have to select Mileage. Click ViewVehicles after hovering your cursor over the green Add trip button in the center-right corner of the screen. After that, you have to click Add Vehicle fill out the fields on the screen that opens, and then click on Save. Click Add Trip directly when you are back on the main screen. From the right, the New Trip panel will slide out.
   • After entering the date, enter the distance (miles driven). If you’d like, you can enter the Starting and Ending points for your records. To add a description, click the Business or Personal icon. If you are using multiple vehicles, choose the appropriate one and click Save. As shown below, your trip will now show up on the main screen with your tax deduction already computed. To edit and duplicate your trips, click the More button (not displayed here) at the end of the row.
2. Automatically Track Mileage in QuickBooks Online:
   • There is another way of keeping track of your travels that does not require recording your mileage or odometer readings. While you are driving, the QuickBooks Online mobile app will track your kilometers automatically.
   • The app’s navigation shortcuts can be accessed by opening it and clicking on the three horizontal lines in the lower right corner. Click the Mileage symbol after that. To access the Mileage settings screen, you have to click OFF. By default, auto-tracking is turned off. To turn Auto-tracking from grayed-out to green, you have to click the Auto-tracking button. To access the QuickBooks part of your phone’s Settings screen and make the following adjustments, click Settings in the little box that appears.
     • The location must always be on.
     • Fitness & Motion must be active.
     • You need to enable background app refresh.
     • Mobile Data Needs to Be Active.
   • You must make certain changes in QuickBooks Online before it can track your miles automatically (the picture above was taken on an iPhone; Android phones have comparable options).
   • Close this screen and go back to the Mileage screen of the QuickBooks Online software after making any changes to your preferences. You should turn on auto-tracking. To create a journey, click the Plus (plus) symbol in the lower right corner. Using the GPS on your phone, the app will automatically find where you are starting and stopping. Once you reach your location, launch the Mileage app once more.
   • To categorize a trip as business, swipe left, and to label it as personal, swipe right. Enter the reason for the travel if it’s business-related, then click Save. Now that auto-tracking is disabled, you must undo the settings you changed on your phone (unless you typically leave them on).

How to Tracking Mileage in QuickBooks Online?

It is possible to monitor the business or mileage automatically in QuickBooks Online through its app. Here is how you track mileage in QuickBooks online:

• Step 1: The QuickBooks app must be installed on the particular phone that is used for travelling with the vehicle. Provide the location permissions and above all, you should be a master admin to monitor mileage.
• Step 2: On the particular app, navigate to the Mileage section and press on Auto-tracking.
• Step 3: A toggle button is available near Auto-tracking. You need to turn it on by wiping it.
• Step 4: From the particular Mileage option, choose the Vehicle icon and then press on the Add Vehicle option.
• Step 5: You need to add the information and data about the vehicle. After that, press on save it.
  • It is now possible for QuickBooks to monitor the mileage on its own. It will also determine the beginning and completion of a journey. A user must categorize it as Business or Personal.
• Step 6: Under the Mileage section, you need to swipe right for Personal and left for Business. Now you need to enter additional information about the trip and then save it.

How to Categorize Mileage in QuickBooks Online?

Once a user reaches his/her destination, they can categorize their particular mileage by analyzing the trip.

Here are the steps for categorizing mileage:

• Step 1: Open the particular QuickBooks Mobile app.
• Step 2: Press on the menu and choose Mileage.
• Step 3: Press on the unreviewed tab.
• Step 4: Choose the trip. Now you must classify the particular trip as Business or Personal.
• Step 5: You can enter the purpose for the particular trip and then press on Save.

In this article, we have discussed in detail about entering mileage in QuickBooks. We have also talked about how to categorize and track mileage in QuickBooks.

Entering mileage in QuickBooks is quite crucial to keep track of the expenses concerning the vehicle. However, if you find it difficult to leverage this function of QuickBooks and add mileage to the accounting software, we highly recommend you to consult professionals.

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