How do I use mileage tracking on iOS?

Mileage tracking is keeping a record of every time you drive for business, whether it’s purchasing work supplies or meeting clients. The mileage you’ve logged can then be submitted for tax deduction or reimbursement as a cost of running your business.

 

Mileage Tracking is only available for business owners only, in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, and only on iOS phones, not tablets. Ensure the correct country is selected in Basic Information settings.

 

• Set Up Mileage Tracking
• Add Trips
  • Start Mileage Tracking
  • Log Mileage
• Manage Trips
  • Classify Personal and Business Trips
  • Review Trips
• Mileage Tracking Report
• FAQs

 

Set Up Mileage Tracking

Mileage tracking requires your device’s location permissions to be granted for trips to be logged correctly. Set up with the below steps:

1. In the FreshBooks iOS app, tap on your avatar or initials in the top left corner
   1. Then tap on Mileage Tracking
   2. Under Mileage Tracking, slide the toggle next to Mileage Tracking to turn it on
      
2. Next, under Mileage Tracking, tap on Location Services
   
   1. A pop-up will ask, Allow "FreshBooks” to access your location?, select Allow While Using App
   2. Next, tap on Location Services > While Using again
      
   3. The next pop-up will ask, Enable Background Tracking?, select Enable Background Tracking
      
   4. Then in the next pop-up that asks Allow “FreshBooks” to also use your location even when you are not using the app?, select Change to Always Allow - this allows you to place the FreshBooks iOS app in the background and turn the screen off without disrupting your mileage tracking
3. The FreshBooks iOS app is ready to track mileage if you have mileage tracking on and location services set to Always or While In Use.
   

 

If your iOS device prompts you about FreshBooks using your location x times in the background over x days, ensure you tap on Always Allow every time.

If needed, confirm the FreshBooks app’s location settings anytime by using the below steps:

1. Open your iOS device’s Settings app
2. In the search bar, enter FreshBooks, then tap on the FreshBooks app that appears in the results
3. Next, tap on Location
4. Allow Location Access should be set to Always with Precise Location toggled to on. This allows you to place the FreshBooks iOS app in the background and turn the screen off without disrupting your mileage tracking.
   

 

Add Trips

You can track trips with the mileage tracking, or by logging trips manually. Mileage tracking allows you to track two types of trips:

• Personal - This will not be counted towards your business expenses
• Business - This will be counted towards your tax deductions or for reimbursement

 

Starting on version 1.229.0 or higher of the FreshBooks iOS app, mileage tracking has been updated to a manual process to give you more control and accuracy. Tracking mileage is now done by manually starting and stopping trips.

Start Mileage Tracking

Add a trip by starting the mileage tracking before you begin driving. Once your trip is complete, you can stop the mileage tracking afterwards. Use these below steps:

1. Tap on the More... button at the bottom right
2. Then tap on Mileage Tracking
3. Next, tap on either:
   1. The + button in the top right corner
      
   2. Or, on the Unreviewed tab, tap on + Add Trip button in the middle
      
4. Then select Start Mileage Tracking
5. The message Tracking mileage will display, you can begin driving while the app records the trip in the background
6. Once your trip is complete, select the stop button
   
7. Your completed trip will be logged in the Unreviewed tab for you to classify and review as needed.

 

Log Mileage

Manually add a trip anytime using the below steps:

1. Tap on the More... button at the bottom right
2. Then tap on Mileage Tracking
3. Next, tap on either:
   1. The + button in the top right corner
      
   2. Or, on the Unreviewed tab, tap on + Add Trip button in the middle
      
4. Then select Log Mileage
5. For the Category, choose Business or Personal
6. The Start Date and time will default to today, tap to change to a different date and time
7. Tap on Start Location and choose your starting point
8. Next, tap on End Location and choose your destination
9. The Distance will automatically be calculated, tap to adjust the distance if your route was longer or shorter
10. Tap on Save to finish and your trip will be logged in the All tab.

 

Manage Trips

You can manage your trips by classifying unreviewed trips, and by editing or deleting trips as needed.

Classify Personal and Business Trips

All trips you’ve tracked through Start Mileage Tracking will appear in the Unreviewed tab for you to review and classify. To access all your unreviewed trips, use the below steps:

1. Tap on the More... button at the bottom right
2. Then tap on Mileage Tracking
3. Then select the Unreviewed tab if you’re not on it already
   
4. From here, either:
   1. Swipe to the left, or tap on the Personal button to mark it as a personal trip
      
   2. Swipe to the right, or tap on the Business button to mark it as a business trip.
      

 

Review Trips

Find all trips you’ve reviewed, including those marked as Personal or Business, by tapping on the All tab: 

To adjust the list of reviewed trips, tap on the Business Trips for [Year] link at the top of the list. From there you can adjust the list to show either:

• Date Range - Choose to only view the current year (year to date) or a different year
• Trip Type - Choose to only view either business or personal trips, or leave both checked off to view all trips

 

Edit Trips

Trips can be edited with these steps:

1. Tap on the More... button at the bottom right
2. Then tap on Mileage Tracking
3. Select the All tab
4. Tap on the trip you want to edit
5. Next, you can change the Category, Start Date, End Date, and Distance as needed by tapping on them
6. Then tap on Save in the top corner to finish.

 

Delete Trips

To delete a trip permanently, use these steps:

1. Tap on the More... button at the bottom right
2. Then tap on Mileage Tracking
3. Select the All tab
4. Tap on the trip you want to delete
5. Next, tap on Delete Trip and select Delete to confirm. The trip will be removed from your Reviewed Trips.

 

Mileage Tracking Report

To get a report of all your mileage tracked as a CSV file, including mileage deductions, use the below steps:

1. Tap on the More... button at the bottom right
2. Then tap on Mileage Tracking
3. Tap on the paper plane icon
   
4. Then tap on the year to date you want
5. A link to the CSV file of the report will be sent to the email listed in your Account.
   
   

Alternatively, you can log into your account on a web browser, go to Reports and download the Mileage Tracking Report under Accounting Reports.

 

FAQs

Where can I view my mileage Rates and Distance Units?

To view your mileage rates and distance units, which are determined by the CRA, HMRC, and IRS, use the below steps:

1. Tap on your avatar or initials in the top left corner
2. Then tap on Mileage Tracking
3. Ensure Location Services is activated
4. Tap on Mileage Rates and the allowance rates will be listed. Distance Units will be displayed as Miles (mi) for US and UK, and Kilometres (km) for Canadian users.

 

One of my trips is missing, how do I fix it?

If you notice a trip was missed, you can log it manually using the Log Mileage option. If you used the Start Mileage Tracking option to start logging before a drive, and the trip information isn’t correct, you can edit the trip. To ensure trips are logged correctly when using the Start Mileage Tracking option, review the following:

• Location Services is set to Always (not While Using the App) and Precise Location is activated for the FreshBooks app
  • The Always setting allows you to place the FreshBooks iOS app in the background and turn the screen off without disrupting your mileage tracking
• Keep your wifi on for GPS accuracy
• Avoid using Low Power Mode
• Avoid or deactivate antivirus or security apps which may block mileage tracking