Mileage does not show as an expense UK

Hello there, aziz3210.

Welcome to QuickBooks Community! Let me show you how to add mileage to your expenses.

We can create an expense transaction for the mileage. But first, you'll have to add yourself or your employee as a supplier.

Then, go to your Chart of Accounts and set up an expense account that we'll use in tracking it. Simply go to the Accounting tab, select Chart of Accounts, then click New.

Once done, let's set up mileage as a product or service. You can follow these steps:

1. Go to the Sales or Invoicing tab and select Products and Services.
2. Click New, and then select either Non-stock or Service.
3. In the Sales information section, check I sell this product/service to my customers.
4. In the Purchasing information section, check I purchase this product/service from a supplier.
5. Enter a description and the cost that you pay per mile, then assign the mileage expense account you just created.
6. Hit Save. 

We can use the Bill or Expense feature when tracking it. Simply go to the + New button and select either of the two. You can refer to this article if you need to make as a billable expense.

Please feel free to keep in touch if you have more questions. We'll respond as soon as we can.

Hi how can i add myself as a supplier?

How do i set up an expense account from chart of accounts?

When everything is set up properly does the expense automatically increase as you do further miles or do you need to create another mileage expense transaction or edit it with those instructions you have given?

I'll provide the details and fixes for this, @aziz3210. 

First, let's go to the Supplier Information window to add yourself as a supplier. You can add "Mileage" to the end in the "Display name as" field since the system doesn't allow duplicate names. I'll guide you how. 

1. Go to Expenses from the left menu and select Suppliers.
2. Select New supplier.
3. In the Supplier Information window, enter the same name format with your profile. 
4. Add "Mileage" to the end in the "Display name as" field to determine which supplier profile to pick to track mileage. For example, I used "Sample Supplier Mileage" for this. 
5. Click Save.

The screenshot below shows you the last three steps.

Second, let's go to the Chart of Accounts menu to set up an expense account. I'd suggest consulting your accountant to determine the appropriate detail type for mileage reimbursement. Once confirmed, proceed with the steps below. 

1. Go to Accounting from the left menu and select Chart of Accounts.
2. Click New.
3. From the Account Type drop-down menu, select Expenses.
4. Choose the appropriate Detail Type. 
5. Enter the account name, such as Mileage Expense. 
6. Select Save and Close.

See the screenshot below to show you the last four steps. 

Once done, you can follow the steps provided by AlexV above on how to create an item for the mileage. Then, use Bill or Expense from the + New menu to track it. To learn more about this process, see Steps 1 - 2 through this article: Set Up Manual Tracking For Mileage and Vehicle Expenses. 

For your third concern, you'll need to create another mileage transaction since the expense doesn't auto-increase as you do further miles. If you want to automatically track trips from start to finish, I'd suggest using the QBO mobile app. For more information, check out this article: Automatically Track Mileage. 

Lastly, I recommend running the Account QuickReport of mileage expense to view its associated transactions within a particular period. Just go back to the Chart of Accounts menu, locate the name, and click Run report from the Action column. The screenshot below serves as your visual guide. 

I'm here anytime you have other concerns. Stay safe, @aziz3210. 

Hi i have tried to follow AlexV on how to create an item for mileage.

There is no option to select to do the following

"

1. In the Sales information section, check I sell this product/service to my customers.
2. In the Purchasing information section, check I purchase this product/service from a supplier."

Please have a look at the image attached

I would appreciate if you can do a step by step tutorial of this with screenshots as you did previously?

Thanks

Thanks for getting back to us, aziz3210. I appreciate the screenshot you've added along with the details.

Let me share a few details about the options you've want to select, as suggested by my colleague AlexV. You may be using QuickBooks Online Simple Start, that's why the Sales information and Purchasing information is not showing when creating items in QBO.

To visualize these things, you can take a look at these sample screenshots for additional reference:

These two sections can be seen in QuickBooks Online Plus. If you want to use it, you can upgrade your book by following these steps. Here's how:

1. Go to the Gear icon.
2. Select Account and Settings under Your Company.
3. Within the Billing and Subscription tab, select Upgrade.
4. Choose the Plan you want. Then, click Upgrade again.

For additional details about adding product and services items within your book, you can check this article in your free time: Set up product and service items you buy and sell. 

If there's more I can help you with, please let me know by commenting below. Take care and have a good one!

Absolutely ridiculous number of steps to take in order to have Mileage, THAT HAS IT'S OWN TAB ON THE MENU, added to the Expense report .... There has to be an easier, quicker, more logical way than all this rubbish !

Agreed. Surely you should just be able to click a 'Reimburse this amount' and select an employee name!? That would make far more sense to me.

How can I do this on self employed version as it’s only showing as “potential deductions” all my business miles are travelling to and from different clients to deliver goods and or services, please help! 

Hi Sarahkeane, thanks for joining this thread - are you using the simplified expenses method (pence/mile) or are you accounting for you expenses individually?

Hello, the pence per mile! 

I got your back, @Sarahkeane. I'm here with the steps to help you add mileage as expenses in QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE). Follow along below to finish this right away. 

To achieve your goal, you may consider creating a manual entry like a split transaction as an expense. If this needs to be allowable, just select the travel category (on the business side of the transaction), or else this will go into the disallowable section. I'm happy to guide you on how:

1. In your QBES account, navigate to the Transaction menu.
2. Next, select Add Transaction.
3. Then, enter the amount and a description.
4. In the Select a category menu choose the best category to organise your transaction. I also suggest reaching out to an accountant to make sure you select the correct category.
5. When you’re done, click Save.

For your reference in using the Simplified Expenses mileage method, feel free to visit this article: Simplified Expenses mileage method (with flat rates) versus Actual costs for vehicles. 

QBSE makes it easy to monitor and track your business trips. To have a summary of this info, simply open the mileage log by going to the Reports menu. 

It's my priority to ensure that your questions and concerns were addressed. If you have any follow-ups about the process I provided above or additional details that need to add, please leave a reply below. I'm willing to help you further. Have a great week ahead. 

This doesnt work on my self-employed version. When clicking add transaction.. i have to select one of the following:

Import transactions 

Add account

Manage rules

Export receipts.

None allow me to simply put my own amount in to manually add milage

Hi Chaker, thanks for joining this thread - if you're not using the automated mileage tracker in QB SE, mileage can instead be entered manually by entering details of the transaction on the transaction screen. Here, select the date, enter a description, and select the relevant category (choose 'travel expenses' to claim allowable expenses, this will then populate in box 20 of your Tax Summary) and enter the amount. :)

Im slightly confused as ive been adding the transactions individually into the mileage section. So are you saying that i need to also add them individividually as transactions in the transaction section which match up with what ivve put in the mileage section? If so, what is the purpose of the mileage section?

Hello Charker there is two ways to enter mileage into your QBSE account you can manually add it in or you can set it up so it automatically track mileage.

Hi, yes i understand but that is not what i am referring to. I am aware of the two ways to input mileage. I am enquiring regarding how you add the mileage total so it is actually listed as an expense coming out of your expenses.  My mileage trips  have been put in and are at £681 but they are not listed under my expense section or in my reports 

I can help you add the mileage total, @Charker.

We track mileage as a detailed log of all the business miles you can deduct during tax time in QuickBooks Self-Employed (QBSE). It's why you cannot see it as an expense on reports since this is a liability.

In your case, I suggest manually importing transactions into QBSE. It will help you categorise the total mileage entry into an expense type. This way, you can see it in your report, specifically Profit and Loss. I also encourage seeking accountant help for accounting advice to keep your tax data accurate about this query.

Additionally, you may want to learn more things about travel expenses and to claim mileage for business use of your car in QBSE:

• About car, van, and travel expense
• Vehicle Info settings and Miles page

Let me know if you have other mileage questions in QBSE. I'll be here to help. Stay safe and well!

Hello Community Users, We just wanted to come into this thread to clarify that the mileage feature records the trips and shows the cost per mile but it does not create an expense from that. It would be a case of manually creating the expense as a transaction and allocating an expense account. Any questions feel free to ask 

Hi i am confused how to add the billable expense part and I have done the rest. Have you got screenshots for this?

I understand that adding a billable expense in QuickBooks can be confusing, but I'm here to help, aziz3210. I also got some screenshots to help you resolve any confusion you have. 

Are you using QuickBooks Online? If yes, you'll need to enable the billable expense feature in your settings. Once this feature is turned on, you should be able to easily add billable expenses to your transactions.

1. Go to Settings ⚙, then select Account and settings.
2. Go to the Expenses tab.
3. From the Bills and expenses section, select Edit.
4. Turn on the following:
   • Show Items table on expense and purchase forms
   • Track expenses and items by customer.
   • Make expenses and items billable.
     

Please note that the ability to record billable expenses is only available in QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced. If you are using a different version of QuickBooks Online, you may not have access to this feature. You can upgrade your subscription plan, I recommend using this article for more details: Upgrade your QuickBooks Online subscription.

Then, you can use this article to learn about adding billable expense. Go to Step 2 and 3 for more details: Enter billable expenses.

 As always, you can refer to QuickBooks help center or community forum for additional guidance and support. We want to ensure that you have a clear understanding of the process and feel confident in using QuickBooks to manage your finances.