The easiest way to record mileage is an expense category with a unit price, such as a rate per mile or per kilometre. Your team enters the distance, Avaza works out the amount, and everyone uses the same rate.

Set up a mileage category

Administrators and Finance Managers do this once for the whole account.

  1. Go to Settings › Expense Settings and click Add Category. To use a category you already have, click it instead.

  2. Enter a Name, such as "Mileage".

  3. Tick Set a Unit Price. Enter the price, and after per type the unit, such as "km" or "mile". Both are required.

    The Add Category popup for Mileage with Set a Unit Price ticked and $0.70 per Mile

  4. Click Save.

The unit price is in your account currency. To bill mileage to customers at more than cost, add a markup to the same category: see markup on expenses.

Record a trip

  1. Go to Expenses and click Add Expense.

  2. Choose the mileage category as the Expense Category.
    A Quantity field appears with the unit next to it, and the rate beside it, for example "0.7 per Mile".

  3. Enter the distance as the Quantity. Avaza fills in the Amount, which you can't change.

    The New Expense popup for a Mileage expense: 86 Mile at 0.7 per Mile gives an amount of USD 60.20, reimbursable and billable to Harvest & Co. for the Website Redesign project

  4. Complete the rest as for any expense, such as the Tax, and the route in Notes. To charge the trip to a customer, choose the Customer, tick Billable and pick the Project. Then click Verify & Save.

    Expense Details for the saved mileage expense, showing 86 Mile at 0.7 per Mile and a total of USD $60.20 for Harvest & Co.'s Website Redesign project

Anyone who can record expenses can use the category: Administrators, and people with the Timesheet/Expense User role, including external contacts such as contractors. The rate shows to everyone who picks the category. See getting started with expenses.

Keep in mind

  • Keep mileage in your account currency. Avaza multiplies the quantity by the unit price in whatever currency the expense is in. The currency starts as the one you used last, so check it after a trip abroad.
  • When the rate changes, update the unit price. Mileage expenses already saved keep their amount. But if someone edits and saves an older one, Avaza works out its amount again at the new price.
  • One rate per category. For different rates, such as cars and motorbikes, create a category for each.
  • Recurring expenses take an amount, not a quantity, so the unit price isn't used there. See recurring expenses.
  • Reports. The Expense Details report can show each expense's Unit Price and Quantity.

The same approach works for anything you charge per unit, such as a day rate: see tracking day rates.