You use your vehicle for business purposes and you need a way to track mileage, so you know (and can prove to CRA) how much driving was for business versus personal.
Maybe you started a mileage log book but, if you’re consistent with it, it feels like a time suck. Or, if you’re like me, it’s got lots of holes in it.
Others settle for trying their luck and cross their fingers that the CRA doesn’t come looking. The problem with that is, if you can’t provide a mileage log, CRA can deny all vehicle-related expenses, even when they know that part of your work requires driving. Ouch!
Enter the mileage tracking apps. I’ve been test-driving one for the last few months called MileIQ.
MileIQ
MileIQ is an app you install on your smartphone and connects to its GPS sensor. It's available for Android and iPhone.
Automatic tracking
It automatically starts tracking your mileage when you move faster than a certain speed and automatically stops when the speed decreases again. From that automatic reading, you get a “Drives” pop-up with your itinerary on google Maps the next time you open the app, and it asks you to swipe right if the trip was for business and left for personal. Ta-da!
Other helpful features
Create custom sub-categories on the business and personal side, or have multiple vehicles, if you have more granular tracking needs.
Set business hours, so you don’t have to swipe a bunch of personal trips needlessly.
Turn on “frequent drive” which will allow MileIQ to learn and automatically categorize your regular routes.
Log in to the company’s website to create a report, or classify your Drives in bulk if you’ve fallen behind.
Cost
The basic package is free and gives you tracking for 40 drives per month.
The premium version, which gives you unlimited drives, is $6 per month (or free if you are on Office 365 Business Premium).
They have volume discounts (for teams) and prepayment discounts. If you are one of our clients, ask us for our partner discount.
Overall
I found that it works very well. It never missed a drive for me.
I had a few false positives on my bike (yeah, I’m that fast!). Once, when I stepped out of the car as I got home and immediately took the kids for a walk to the park, the Drive didn’t stop tracking until I stopped walking (I might have run some of the way with the kids too). It was easy to delete those “Drives”.
It’s made my mileage tracking so effortless and forgiving, I feel the price is well worth the gain in automation and time savings, and the peace of mind knowing that not only am I CRA-ready, I have the details needed for good bookkeeping.