Do You Really Need To Track Mileage?

Updated: Aug 7, 2020

When it comes to the question of tracking mileage the short answer is yes. The long answer is yes. In fact there is not one thing that you will do that will save you more money in delivery or rideshare than this one simple task.

So you have your delivery job and you’re just using it as a stop-gap right? I mean, you just took that UberEats job as a trial thing…right? You aren’t going to be doing it that long…only you are. Even if you only use the job like most folks do as filler, something to make a little extra cash, you not only could be but you are missing out on real money if you aren’t recording your mileage every time you’re on the road working.

The first few months I spent driving I kept telling myself I wasn’t going to need to record my mileage because I wasn’t driving enough or I wouldn’t be doing the job long enough to bother with it, or…it simply wasn’t worth the time and hassle. WRONG.

The facts are, the miles add up, you will be doing it longer than you thought, and with no need for tinkering with paper and pens and driver mileage logs and everything that comes with that because of the wide range of tracking apps available you can just switch the app to on and go. In some cases the app senses that you are driving and reminds you to turn it on.

Not Your Fathers Mileage Log

The most valuable things you will own in this job will be your car and your phone. Nothing happens without either one and both together. Your car gets you where you’re going and the phone shows the way, maps the course, tracks the miles, and helps you stay in contact with your customers and your contractor.

I remember in several of my corporate jobs prior to the advent of the smartphone I had to make the sojourn to the local Staples or Office Depot to get my mileage log. Since my job entailed traveling from store to store and then business meetings at different offices and to catch flights and etc., etc., it was a necessary evil and I had to make a copy and turn it into accounting and get my weekly expense check.

Today’s mileage apps track your mileage, compile the data, and save it for tax time. All mileage apps have similar features and some have different touches that give them the advantage but the thing to remember is that they are so simple to use that you have no excuse not to download one.

The one I like in particular is the Stride Tax app. It reminds me of when I start moving in the car to start recording my mileage. It provides me a map gif image that shows everywhere I went throughout the tracking process during that day.

I can make notes to particular logs and it saves all my logs and applies the government stipend to each mile it records giving me a total in both miles and dollars for each log that I can look forward to adding to my savings. What more could you want? How about FREE? You can download the Stride Tax app by clicking here.

No one really ever just spits it out and says it but yes… you do get to get a tax credit in real dollars for those extra miles.”

Perfection? Nope.

Are any of these apps perfect? No. When your phone can’t get reception or it goes dead then so does the app of course. Location is not always perfect on GPS therefore it is imperfect on the apps. This is true for all mileage tracking apps. You can plan on missing some miles being recorded at any time on any app. That’s life.

How do you make your decision about which app to get? That’s one reason you’re here, we do it for you. I endorse getting an app period. It doesn’t have to be the one I recommend as long as you get something to track your mileage, but the one I use is tried and true…and free.

One More Thing

Don’t look for Uber or Grubhub or any of the other companies to help you on the tracking front. They will provide the mileage they’re reimbursing you for but you will easily drive three or four times that number for mileage in-between and en route to pick-up orders and return to a decent restaurant “zone”.

A mileage tracker app records all that too. No one really ever just spits it out and says it but yes, you do get to get a tax credit in real dollars for those extra miles. Simply put, just get a tracking app before you drive another mile. There is not one single good reason to be turning down free money…none.

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