QuickBooks 2011: The Missing Manual

Tracking Mileage

If you charge your customers for mileage, keeping track of the billable miles you drive helps you get all the reimbursements you’re due. But all business-related mileage is tax-deductible, so tracking nonbillable business mileage is important, too. Customers and the IRS alike want records of the miles you drive, and QuickBooks can help you produce that documentation.

The mileage tracking feature in QuickBooks tracks only the miles you drive using company vehicles, not other vehicle expenses, such as fuel or tolls. Likewise, you don’t use QuickBooks mileage tracking to record miles driven by employees, vendors, or subcontractors, which instead go straight to an expense account. For example, if a vendor bills you for mileage, when you enter the bill in QuickBooks (Recording Reimbursable Expenses), you assign that charge to an expense account, such as Travel-Mileage. When you write a check to reimburse an employee for mileage driven, you assign that reimbursement to the expense account for mileage.

Adding a Vehicle

To track mileage for a company vehicle, you first have to add the vehicle to the QuickBooks Vehicle List. Here’s how:

1. To open the Vehicle List window, choose Lists→Customer & Vendor Profile Lists→Vehicle List.

   The Vehicle List window opens.

2. To add a new vehicle, press Ctrl+N or click Vehicle→New.

   The New Vehicle dialog box (Figure 8-6) opens.

   

   Figure 8-6. QuickBooks ...