How is everyone tracking their mileage? I see there are many apps and I have noticed there is a device called The Mileage Ace.
It would be nice if there was a device that I could leave in my bag that only goes with me on inspection.
With the apps I can see myself spending a lot more time managing it than I would like and for getting to turn it to business / personal.
Getting a device that connection to my vehicle and reads everything about how I drive seems very big brotherish.
After examining the different options out there, I am still just using a basic spreadsheet with data entered manually. Pain in the butt, but I just take time once a month or so to enter everything in.
Everything else seems to require much more effort (if you use your vehicle for personal and business).
I too would be open to better options.
I simply do Google Maps, to and from each job… Add if I have multiple trips. Set your odometer if you want, but remember all the side trips on the way there and back.
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I use Triplog for the pasts several years and it works great. I have the app on my phone and a USB that plugs into my truck. It automatically starts recording once you exceed 5mph. I have tried a few others, but they failed to record sometimes. I highly recommend it for $60 per year.
Google maps timeline. I got monthly reports to everywhere I went.
I also use Triplog. It works pretty good. I just have to go through and make sure they are labeled Home Inspection, Private, etc. Easy to do.
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My business owns Multiple vehicles, with my Primary vehicle for inspections being a ‘Dedicated’ vehicle (Business only), so 100% of it’s mileage is business related.
Vehicle #2 (Incognito for ‘special’ jobs) has limited business mileage, and is easily tracked.
Vehicle #3 has nominal business use, so I simply do some quick calculations every couple of months (quarterly).
I’ve been using MileIQ for a decade and love it. I have one vehicle but I have a Handyman business as well as Home Inspection and the app allows me to pick which business each trip pertains to very easily with an unlimited amount of categories that you can create. When the trip is not business related, I input it into my “Personal” category.
The tracking is done automatically on my iPhone. I have not tried it on an individual device because there is no need to with MileIQ, unless you don’t carry a smartphone with you at all times.
Edit: I’ve paid $5.99/mo for the last decade but this year it was raised to $8.99 and still very worth it. Not sure if that is a new customer price.
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Ryan,
I use an app called Spectora. It’s a new company but they make software for home inspection and they include lots of extras like the calendar and a bunch of automated actions like sending emails to customers and realtors before and after the inspection. They even make web pages and handle processing of credit card payments from customers. They even send a 1099 at tax time that I give to my accountant.
If Spectora were a chick, my wife would not let me near her.
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Now that’s some funny… LOL 
IDK about Spectora Advanced for mileage 'cause I don’t use Advanced but if you don’t either, I’d recommend checking out MileIQ 
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Sounds pretty cool.
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I do it pretty much the same way as Bob, the old fashioned way.
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I use a simple Excel spreadsheet to record the business-only use of my personal vehicles per inspection job using the Google Maps straight-distance mileage most of the time, but using the trip meter when the business use is more complicated. I might add that having your company pay yourself mileage (now $0.70 per mile) is a great way to get money out of the company without paying any taxes on it. And, tracking business mileage per specific job (at a specific street address) should easily pass muster in any IRS audit.
Randy, I heard about some apps that when you are stopped for too long on your route the app thinks you have arrived at your destination. Is this the same for Triplog?
Thanks all for your time.
Does anyone use Mileage Ace device or heard of anyone using it?
I consider myself old school type of person (writing down info), but I do like the idea of saving time with the smaller things of life.
It’s far easier to simply keep a little notebook in the car. When you leave in the morning write the mileage down. when you arrive at each job write the mileage down. when you reach home in the evening write the mileage down. At bare minimum you should have three numbers: depart, arrive, home. Tear the page out of the notebook and transfer it to your books along with the address of each job (in order) and the mileage.
For taxes you will need the beginning (year) mileage and the end of year mileage.
You can’t save much time with the small things in life. Details are all small things - but of great importance!
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