Enter Vehicle Mileage is your vehicle logbook. Record each trip in a company vehicle: which vehicle, the dates, the odometer at the start and the end (or just the distance), and, when the trip is for a customer, whom to bill. SeroBooks keeps the log for the mileage reports, and a billable trip becomes a line waiting in Add Time/Costs, priced at your mileage rate, ready to add to that customer's next invoice.
Recording a trip does not post anything to your books. A billable trip reaches the books only when you put it on an invoice.
Before you start: add your vehicles
Trips are recorded against a vehicle from Lists ▸ Customer & Vendor Profile Lists ▸ Vehicle List. If there is no vehicle yet, clicking New Trip shows Add a vehicle first — Lists › Vehicle List. and opens the Vehicle List for you. See Vehicle List.
Opening Enter Vehicle Mileage
Company ▸ Enter Vehicle Mileage…
It opens over the Home Page; Esc takes you back to the Home Page. It needs permission for Jobs.
The screen
Header
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| From and To | The dates shown. Trips are listed when their end date is in this range. The screen opens on 1 January of this year to today. |
| Mileage Rates… | Opens the Mileage Rates window. |
| Vehicle List | Opens the Vehicle List. |
| New Trip | Opens the Enter Vehicle Mileage window for a new trip. |
The trip list
Newest trip first.
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | The vehicle. |
| Trip Start | The first day of the trip. |
| Trip End | The last day of the trip. |
| Distance | The distance, to one decimal place. |
| Billed To | For a billable trip, the customer, and the job after a colon (Customer:Job). — for a trip that is not billable. |
| Amount | For a billable trip, what it will be charged: distance × the mileage rate. |
| Status | Not billable, Unbilled (waiting in Add Time/Costs), Invoiced (on an invoice) or Written off. |
| (bin) | Delete trip. Not available for an invoiced trip. |
Under the list: N trips · total distance for the trips shown.
Double-click a trip (or select it and press Enter) to edit it. An invoiced trip cannot be opened for editing.
Record a trip
- Click New Trip. The Enter Vehicle Mileage window opens.
- Fill in the fields:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | The vehicle used. The first vehicle on your list is chosen at the start. |
| Trip Start Date | The day the trip began. |
| Trip End Date | The day it ended. Must be the same as or after the start date. |
| Odometer Start | The odometer reading when you set off. Numbers only. |
| Odometer End | The reading when you got back. |
| Total distance (without odometer) | Shown only while one of the odometer fields is empty. Enter the distance when you did not note the readings. When both readings are entered this field is replaced by Total distance: worked out as end less start. |
| Billable | Tick when the trip is to be charged to a customer. |
| Customer (Search customer…) | Shown when Billable is ticked. The customer to bill. Type part of the name and choose from the matches. |
| Job | Shown when Billable is ticked and you have jobs. Choose one of that customer's jobs, or No job — the customer to bill the customer directly. Choosing a job without a customer bills the job's customer. |
| Notes | Optional: where you went and why. |
- Click Save.
You see Trip saved., or for a billable trip Trip saved — it waits in Add Time/Costs for the customer.
What happens to a billable trip
When you save a billable trip, SeroBooks creates one unbilled line in Add Time/Costs for that customer (and job):
- Description: Mileage: distance × rate, then the vehicle and dates — for example Mileage: 142 × 0.72 (Van 2, 2026-09-14 to 2026-09-15).
- Amount: distance × the mileage rate in effect on the trip's end date, rounded to the cent.
The next time you create an invoice for that customer, the line is offered through Add Time/Costs. See Add Time/Costs to an invoice.
While the line is Unbilled:
- editing the trip updates the line (a new distance, rate date or customer changes it);
- unticking Billable removes the line;
- deleting the trip removes the line.
Once the line is on an invoice the trip shows Invoiced and is fixed: it cannot be changed or deleted.
Mileage rates
Click Mileage Rates…. The window explains: The rate a billable trip is charged at, by the date it takes effect.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Effective | The date the rate starts. |
| Rate | The amount charged per unit of distance, for example 0.72 per kilometre. |
| × | Removes that rate. |
| Add a rate | Adds a line for a new rate, dated today. |
Click Save. You see Mileage rates saved. Each trip is priced at the rate with the latest Effective date on or before the trip's end date. A trip before every rate's date is priced at 0.
Saving replaces the whole list with the rates shown in the window. A line with no amount is ignored.
Messages you may see
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Choose the vehicle (Lists ▸ Vehicle List). | The vehicle was not found. Choose one from the list, or add it to the Vehicle List. |
| The trip needs a start date and an end date after it. | The end date is before the start date. Correct the dates. |
| The odometer at the end has to be past the start, or give the distance. | The distance works out as zero or less. Check the readings, or clear them and enter the distance. |
| A billable trip needs the customer or job it is billed to. | Choose the customer, or untick Billable. |
| This trip is on an invoice already; it cannot change. | The trip was invoiced. See above. |
| This trip is on an invoice already; it cannot be deleted. | The same, when deleting. |
| Each rate needs a date and an amount. | A rate line has no date or a negative amount. |
Reports
Reports ▸ Jobs, Time & Mileage has Mileage by Vehicle Summary, Mileage by Vehicle Detail, Mileage by Job Summary and Mileage by Job Detail. See Jobs, Time & Mileage reports.
Permissions
- To see and record trips your role needs view access to Jobs or General Journal Entries.
- Deleting a trip needs the right to record time on Jobs or Add Time/Costs, or to create general journal entries.
- Changing the mileage rates needs the right to edit Jobs or to create general journal entries.
See Roles and permissions explained.
Tips
- Note the odometer at the start and end of every business trip; the readings are your evidence if the distance is ever questioned.
- Record non-billable trips too. The mileage reports then show all business use of each vehicle.
- Update the mileage rate when your rate changes, dated from the day it changes, so older trips keep the old rate.