Introduction
If your employees drive for business, you’ll know just how important it is for business mileage to be tracked properly and efficiently. Besides fair and accurate tracking, business mileage needs to be accounted for according to IRS guidelines for tax-free reimbursement — making it all the more critical to ensure that mileage is tracked properly and accurately. Using a trusted and robust business mileage tracker app is the simplest and easiest way to achieve this. An app can save your business and your employees significant time and hassle, compared to the tedious and dated process of manually keeping records of business mileage.
If you’re deciding to use a business mileage tracker app company-wide, it’s essential to choose the best one that fits the needs of your business. Read on to discover how to choose the best app for accurate business mileage tracking and optimized expense management.
Why business mileage tracking matters
Tracking the mileage that your employees use for business is essential. It’s key to accurately track and report mileage, so that miles driven for business and personal use are properly separated and reimbursements are fairly made. Compared to paper records and clunky spreadsheets, automatic business mileage tracking through an app helps to ensure that miles tracked and reimbursements are accurate.
Importantly, the IRS allows for business mileage reimbursements to be tax-free when accounts of business mileage are kept according to the IRS guidelines on tax-free vehicle allowances. A tax-free vehicle reimbursement program offers the potential for saving up to 30% on total vehicle reimbursement, compared to taxed vehicle allowances.
Additionally, effective mileage tracking leads to improved financial visibility for companies, and can help you better understand how business mileage is being used. This can help you uncover possibilities to optimize the logistics and operations of your reimbursement program.
What are the limitations of free mileage tracking apps?
As accessible and enticing as they might seem, free mileage tracking apps typically don’t do enough to meet the needs of businesses — often making them more hassle than they’re worth. Free mileage tracking apps generally lack the specialized features that companies need to run effective and best-in-class vehicle reimbursement programs. It’s worthwhile to take a critical look at what the realistic needs of your business are, to make sure that you implement the right app from the beginning — as opposed to having to switch down the line, after realizing that your chosen app doesn’t quite fit your company needs.
It’s important to note that free mileage tracking apps aren’t always IRS-compliant, which is an essential part of proper business mileage tracking, as mentioned above. Since the IRS encourages companies to store mileage correctly according to guidelines (see Publication 463) to be reimbursed tax-free, it’s key to have an app that collects the necessary information required by the IRS. Free apps might not include important compliance features, like the ability to easily generate IRS-compliant reports, accurate and detailed mileage tracking, and more.
Dedicated user support is another key feature that’s often missing from free mileage tracking apps — having a library of resources and exceptional one-on-one customer support is an important part of any effective business mileage tracker program. If questions from you or your employees come up about using your mileage tracking app, you’ll want a quick resolution and to be able to easily get the support that you need.
Lastly, free mileage tracking apps tend to not have integrated expense management, which can make it a clunkier process for employees to be reimbursed for their time spent driving for work. Having expense management in-app — through features like mileage reports, payment processing, the ability to add and remove drivers, and more — can help to streamline your reimbursement process.
Meet Cardata: Best-in-class mileage tracker for businesses
Cardata Mobile, Cardata’s mileage tracker, is a robust solution designed for businesses for comprehensive and effective mileage tracking. Available to Cardata clients in the Google Play Store and the Apple Store, Cardata Mobile makes it simple to incorporate better mileage tracking within your team. With top-of-the-line GPS-powered mileage capture technology, Cardata Mobile creates accurate trip reports so mileage reimbursement is fair and precise.
Apart from accurate mileage tracking, the app offers IRS-accountable records, alongside other important features like expense management and advanced reporting. Designed to be simple and intuitive to use, Cardata Mobile allows employees to automatically track their mileage in a matter of just a few clicks. Cardata offers enterprise custom solutions, helping businesses custom-create a vehicle reimbursement program that suits their specific needs and goals.
Benefits of Cardata Mobile
Cardata stands above as a business mileage tracking app, with precise, automated tracking that limits the possibility for error compared to manual tracking. This helps to make sure that employees are being properly reimbursed their work travel, and gives peace of mind that trip tracking is accurate and reliable.
Cardata Mobile also seamlessly integrates with many expense management systems, making the process of paying vehicle reimbursements simpler and more efficient. Additionally, Cardata offers advanced reporting and analytics to help companies gain insight into how miles are being tracked and expenses are paid out. And importantly, Cardata is also equipped with compliance features to ensure adherence to IRS regulations and enable tax-free reimbursements for employees.
Streamlined business expenses
Tracking business mileage is only half of it, and expensing business mileage is just as essential. Cardata simplifies expense management through it’s real-time tacking of business mileage which eliminates unnecessarily time-consuming manual efforts, like paper records or DIY spreadsheets.
Cardata Mobile is fully integrated with reimbursement systems to make expense reporting simple and easy. With Cardata Cloud, companies can access vehicle reimbursement program information all in one place. A straightforward and user-friendly interface makes it easy to manage drivers, monitor trips and get full visibility into mileage, and approve and pay out expenses to employees.
Besides simpler day-to-day admin management, Cardata Cloud also allows for a high-level look at business travel and expenses, enabling you to find potential ways to optimize your business operations and make data-driven decisions. Additionally, customizable expense categories and labels help uplevel your expense tracking, giving you the organizational power and personalization to suit your business.
Hear from our clients
A robust enterprise solution, Cardata Mobile has made a difference for both businesses and employee drivers, ensuring accurate reporting and optimizing business mileage tracking. Teams at Viemed, Crayola, TaylorMade, Arrow, Medtronic, and more are already using Cardata.
Cardata has a strong collection of case studies that support its substantial impact on businesses — in employee attraction and retention, optimized company processes, finances, and more. From a beverage distributor that saved $420,000 (not to mention greatly reduced administrative work) through switching to Cardata’s Fixed and Variable Rate (FAVR) program to a parts distributor that switched to a FAVR program and saved 25%, taking a renewed look at your businesses vehicle reimbursement program could have a significant benefit.
Learn more about the businesses Cardata has helped and dive deeper into case studies with companies that have chosen to use Cardata for their vehicle reimbursement programs.
Conclusion: Try Cardata for superior mileage tracking
Using an effective, accurate, and comprehensive app is a critical tool for simple business mileage tracking. Designed specifically for businesses, Cardata Mobile is a trusted and effective solution for mileage tracking, helping you to both track accurate, IRS-compliant records, but also optimize expense management.
With extensive features and capabilities that go well beyond free mileage tracking apps, Cardata Mobile is incredibly simple and user-friendly, yet with the functionality needed for businesses.
Cardata is a specialized solution that’s designed to help companies avoid tax waste, become compliant, and streamline their processes. Interested in learning more? Discover Cardata’s mileage tracking app in-action by booking a call, and find out more about how Cardata Mobile can help meet the needs of your business — streamlining expense tracking and maximizing financial efficiency.
Disclaimer: nothing contained in this blog post is legal or accounting advice. Consult your lawyer or accountant and do not rely on the information contained herein for any business or personal financial or legal decision making. While we strive to be as reliable as possible, we are neither lawyers nor accountants. For several citations of IRS publications, on which we base our blog content ideas, please always consult this article: https://www.cardata.co/blog/irs-rules-for-mileage-reimbursements. For Cardata’s terms of service, go here: https://www.cardata.co/terms.
Share on:
