How to Capture Mileage Accurately to Claim on Expenses

Considering mileage is one of the largest categories of employee spend in most UK businesses, you would think it would be easier to capture.

On the face of it, it’s not always clear what the problem is. What can be so hard? Just make a note of your company car or personal car’s odometer before and after each journey, or simply use the mileage shown by your Sat Nav?

But life isn’t always as black and white as that. Employees can sometimes forget to note their mileage rates or stray from the original route, and then it’s all too easy to guess the mileage driven when it comes to submitting their mileage expenses.  

It’s also a known issue that, relying on the complexity of submitting mileage claims, some employees pad out their claims. An extra source of revenue? HMRC won’t be happy to find that out!

There is an option to self-track mileage called Drive. It provides an easy way for employees to claim mileage expenses without the ambiguity. It also gives the finance team peace of mind around compliance when claiming mileage expenses.

It’s part of the SAP Concur mobile app, which is where users access their expenses, travel and invoice tracking. In the bottom right hand corner of the home screen there’s a mileage icon and Drive is accessed from here. Let's see how it works:

Two Easy Ways to Capture Mileage with Drive

Employees can choose to track their mileage in one of two ways.

The first is the automatic way. They tell the app the set times when they regularly travel for business purposes. Then, whenever they travel within those timeframes, their mobile phone’s GPS tracking and mobile sensors measure the distance travelled in the background and without the employee needing to be in the app.

The second way for employees to track mileage is manually. Using the app, they simply select when they want to start and stop tracking their trip. As before, their mobile phone’s GPS tracking and mobile sensors measure the distance travelled.

Whichever way they choose to track their business miles, employees don’t have to worry about draining their mobile’s battery. Drive is optimised to use less battery while the app is running in the background than other location tracking apps that keep the GPS turned on.
 

The Quick and Easy Way to Compile a Mileage Expense Claim

Whether the mileage is captured automatically or manually, each business journey is automatically added to a draft expense claim. The employee reviews the draft claim and selects the trips that need to be reimbursed. The app integrates with Google Maps, so it is easy for employees using their car for business to remind themselves of individual journeys and remember what they were for. Eligible trips are submitted as “personal car mileage” on the business expense claim and your company’s reimbursement rate is automatically applied.
 

Peace of Mind Around Mileage Compliance

The integration with Google Maps also makes compliance much easier when claiming business expenses. You can see the exact route driven and exact mileage for each trip and you have a transparent audit trail at your fingertips. It means the opportunities for discrepancies are greatly reduced and you can be confident you’re not at risk of fines or of overpaying or underpaying employees.
 

VAT Reclaim on Mileage Claims is Made Simple

The level of detail that’s automatically provided by Drive means you can also confidently and easily reclaim the right amount of VAT on mileage for that tax year, therefore creating an additional source of revenue for very little cost.

Want to take Drive for a Spin?

If Drive sounds like an app that could make life around how to claim mileage much easier for everyone in your business, speak to us to arrange a test drive.