Automated mileage tracking for business expenses can revolutionize your field business’ workflow. Even if you only have a few company vehicles, a reliable app to track mileage can save you time, money, and unnecessary stress.
With a mileage tracker app, you can effortlessly track mileage for business that accurately capture the date, destination, purpose, and total distance for each trip. This replaces the guesswork with automation in your business workflow.
Still on the fence about investing in one? Don’t worry—we’re here to break down how to track mileage and the various benefits it offers.
Many field service businesses still depend on employees manually submitting mileage reports for approval—using handwritten logs or spreadsheets—which often leads to errors and even fraud.
The global field service management market is on track to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 11.4%. As this industry expands, consumer expectations are also shifting. To stay competitive, businesses must evolve their operational methods.
Simple reimbursement calculation is not enough especially with a host of other challenges that field service business managers often deal with, such as-
- Tax requirements for IRS
- Fraud reimbursement claims
- Driver safety compliance
- Lack of real time visibility
- Employee time management
Businesses need comprehensive solutions that address multiple needs within a single platform. A business miles tracking app can be an all-in-one solution for time tracking, real-time visibility, breadcrumb reports and even compliance.
For instance, while ensuring accurate mileage reimbursement, Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) compliance requirements can also be met via the same app’s clock in clock out feature. In fact, allGeo offers advanced time tracking capabilities too for employee time and attendance management.
How to track mileage efficiently with automation?
1. Capture Mileage With Trip Logs
Most mileage apps log trips only upon pressing the ‘start trip’ button on the app. However, if employees forget to do so regularly, it defeats the purpose of automating the process.
With allGeo, you can streamline your mileage tracking process with accuracy. The app seamlessly automates mileage tracking by quietly logging miles in the background, recognizing trip starts and stops without any manual input.
Once employees clock in, the app automatically begins capturing mileage and stops when they clock out, ensuring accurate tracking for payroll and reimbursement purposes. The app runs continuously in the background, creating a comprehensive record of all drives, with the ability to set schedules around pick-up and drop-off points for added convenience.
2. Accurate data for miles traveled
Accurate mileage tracking is essential for ensuring that employees are reimbursed based on the actual distance traveled while in the field. With the allGeo app, mileage is recorded using precise GPS data, providing full visibility into the routes taken by field staff and automatically calculating mileage expenses.
This not only eliminates the need for manual data entry but also helps prevent reimbursement fraud. While most employees are trustworthy, it’s worth noting that businesses lose an average of 5% of their annual revenue to fraud.
By using a mileage tracking app, you can safeguard your business against such losses, control expenses, and optimize mileage reimbursements with built-in security and privacy controls.
3. Dynamic Pay Rates & Custom Workflow
Customization features are beneficial while tracking mileage for work. They enable you to tailor to your specific business requirements. By offering the flexibility to build custom workflows, businesses can seamlessly integrate time tracking with mileage tracking, providing a comprehensive solution for managing both aspects of field employee management.
For example, in the construction industry, employees often travel extensively between job sites. Here, dynamic pay rate features enable companies to set up custom mileage reimbursement rates based on location or state. This could involve higher reimbursement rates for longer distances traveled to remote job sites or specialized rates for different types of vehicles used in construction projects.
4. Smart Alerts and Notifications
Incorporating smart notifications and alerts can enhance the app experience significantly. These notifications provide real-time updates on traffic conditions and safety risks etc. By customizing rules to guide employees around traffic congestion and unsafe areas, companies can optimize routes to save time, fuel, and travel costs.
Additionally, setting up alerts to remind field employees of safety protocols enhances their safety and reduces risks. Integrating safety features such as threat escalation adds an extra layer of protection for employees, improving their overall experience and ensuring labor law compliance.
Can a Free App To Track Mileage Give Similar Results?
- Limited Features for Business Needs: Free apps often lack the specialized features necessary for effective vehicle reimbursement programs, leading to inefficiencies and additional hassle.
- Time and Efficiency Costs: While they may be free, you end up paying with your time and efficiency due to missing features and limited automation.
- Non-compliance with IRS Standards: Many free mileage tracking tools do not comply with IRS standards, hindering proper business mileage tracking and tax-free reimbursements. They often lack essential compliance features, such as IRS-compliant report generation.
- Absence of Detailed Reporting: Free apps frequently do not offer the ability to generate custom mileage tracking reports, making it difficult to track and verify trips.
- Lack of Dedicated Customer Support: Most free apps come without dedicated customer support, making it challenging to resolve issues or get timely assistance, which is crucial for seamless operation.
- Missing Key Features: Critical features like mileage reports, payment processing, and payroll integration—which streamline the reimbursement process—are usually missing in free versions.
Opting for a more robust, paid solution can save your business time, enhance efficiency, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
Conclusion
Your mileage tracker should enhance your overall workflow and not just calculate miles or gas consumed. There are many features you should consider before investing in one.
If the app offers customization features, including route optimization, safety alerts, and compliance with labor laws, you can benefit in many ways. Investing in a comprehensive mileage tracking solution with enhances operational efficiency.
Making a strategic investment in such apps contributes to a positive employee experience. Therefore, it’s crucial for to prioritize additional features beyond basic reimbursement calculation to maximize the benefits. Sign up for a free trial to experience the benefits yourself. Track mileage seamlessly with allGeo’s automation capabilities designed to streamline your business workflow.