Record a new mileage claim on mobile

This article explains how to use the FreeAgent mobile app to record mileage travelled in your own car for business purposes.

 Tap the ‘☰’ (mobile app navigation menu) button and select 'Expenses'.

Expenses highlighted in the FreeAgent mobile app menu

Navigate to the ‘+’ in the top-right (iOS) or the green '+' at the bottom (Android) and select ‘New mileage’ from the menu.

'New mileage' button highlighted on Expenses page.

Complete the mileage claim details

Next, you’ll need to complete the following details for the mileage claim.

Claimant

If there is more than one user on your FreeAgent account and you have level 7 access or above, you will see the option to select the relevant user from the ‘Claimant’ field.

If you are the only user or have a lower access level, you won't see the options and your name will be selected automatically.

'Claimant' field highlighted with user selected in New mileage page.

Date

Select the date that you made the journey.

Date field highlighted on New mileage page.

Mileage details

Enter how many miles you travelled, remembering that you may need to double the mileage for a return journey. Enter a description of the journey and select the type of vehicle you travelled in using the 'Vehicle type' field.

Please note that sole traders and partners in partnerships cannot claim bicycle mileage.

'Mileage', 'Journey description' and 'Vehicle type' fields highlighted on New mileage page.

Reclaim the mileage

If you would like to reclaim the mileage, toggle the ‘Reclaim mileage’ button on. FreeAgent will apply the HMRC approved mileage rate according to the type of vehicle that you selected. Find out more about claiming motor expenses.

Please note that the reclaim rate does not need to be the same as the re-bill rate.

'Reclaim mileage' toggle highlighted on New mileage page.

Reclaim VAT on the fuel

If your business is registered for VAT and you have a VAT receipt for fuel enough to cover the mileage travelled on this journey, you may be able to reclaim VAT on the fuel. Please note that you can only reclaim VAT on the fuel, not the full cost of the mileage travelled.

To reclaim VAT on the fuel, toggle the ‘Reclaim VAT on fuel’ button on and enter the fuel type of your vehicle and the capacity of its engine. FreeAgent will work out the correct VAT reclaim for you.

'Reclaim VAT on fuel' toggle, 'Car engine type' and 'Car engine size' fields highlighted on New mileage page.

Rebill the mileage

If you would like to rebill this mileage to a customer because it was incurred while working on a particular project, select the relevant project from the ‘Link to project’ menu and then set the rate at which you're going to charge it to the customer.

If you don’t want to rebill, but just want to link the mileage to a project, tap the ‘Don’t rebill the expense, just link it’ option.

'Link to project' button highlighted on New mileage page.

Set up a recurring claim

If you will be taking this journey again, tap the ‘Recurring options’ field and select the relevant frequency from the menu to enter the future journeys into FreeAgent now.

'Recurring options' field highlighted on New mileage page.

Add an attachment

If you want to add an attachment, select ‘Choose attachment’.

'Choose attachment' button highlighted on New mileage page.

Make sure you’ve given FreeAgent permission to access your files on your phone.

Choose the file from your phone’s saved files and then select ‘Attach’.

'Attach' button highlighted on attachment page.

Once entered the relevant details for the mileage claim, select ‘Save’ to complete the process.

'Save' button highlighted at top of New mileage page.

Recording mileage rates for a company car

The mileage rate that FreeAgent automatically uses is for business travel in private cars only, but you can create additional mileage rates, for example for a company car.

To do this, work out your mileage manually and enter it as a new expense instead of mileage claim.

You can also add a new category to track these expenses, for example 'Company car mileage'. Please note that you won’t be able to name the category 'Mileage' as FreeAgent uses this automatically for business mileage in private cars.

Need the total miles for the tax year?

To find your total mileage for the tax year, begin by exporting all data from your FreeAgent account. Next, navigate to the 'Expenses' tab of the exported spreadsheet file and then total up the numbers in the column that details your mileage entries.

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