Mileage tracker vs spreadsheet

What any mileage log needs

GOV.UK is clear that the format is up to you: “There are no rules on how you must keep records. You can keep them on paper, digitally or as part of a software program.” What matters is the content. HMRC can charge a penalty if records are not accurate, complete and readable (GOV.UK: Keeping your pay and tax records).

• Self-employed: if you use simplified expenses, GOV.UK says to keep records of your business miles, and your records must be accurate. You don’t send them in with your tax return, but you must be able to show them to HMRC if asked (GOV.UK: simplified expenses; GOV.UK: what records to keep).
• Employees claiming tax relief on their own vehicle: GOV.UK says to keep records of the dates and mileage of your work journeys. When you claim, you must send HMRC copies of your mileage logs showing the reason for every journey and the postcodes for the start and end of every journey (GOV.UK: vehicles you use for work).

So whichever tool you use, a sensible log has the date, the start and end points with postcodes, the business reason, the business miles and the vehicle. Our free mileage log template has those columns ready to use.

The case for a spreadsheet

• It’s free. Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers will all do the job, and you probably have one already.
• You control the layout. Add a column for a client or job number if that helps you.
• It’s easy to total and share. A SUM formula gives you the year’s miles, and your accountant can open the file.
• It suits regular, repeated trips. If you drive to the same three customers every week, copying a row is quick.

The weak spot is you. A spreadsheet only knows what you type into it. You have to look up each distance and postcode, and it’s easy to fall a few weeks behind and then rebuild trips from memory, which is where mistakes creep in. You also have to set up the 10,000-mile split yourself: for 2026–27, GOV.UK lists 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a car or van, then 25p (GOV.UK).

The case for an app

• Less typing. A tracker records the date and distance while you drive, and many show the start and end points too, so the postcodes are there when HMRC asks for them.
• The sums are done for you. Many apps apply the HMRC rates and the 10,000-mile split.

Apps have downsides too. Some cost money, some need an account and keep your log in the cloud, and some keep export behind a paid plan, so check before you start. You still have to mark each trip as business or personal and add the reason. And the miles come from your phone’s location, so glance over any trip that looks wrong.

How to choose

• A handful of regular trips and you like a keyboard: a spreadsheet is fine.
• Lots of different journeys to different postcodes: an app will save you time.
• An employee claiming tax relief: whichever you use, make sure every journey has the reason and both postcodes.
• Either way, fill it in on the day, not at the end of the tax year.

Using both

You don’t have to pick one. Most apps export a CSV that opens in any spreadsheet, so you can capture trips on your phone and keep the spreadsheet as your master copy. The rates are the same whatever you use: 25p over 10,000 miles now, rising to 35p for miles over 10,000 from 6 April 2027 (GOV.UK: Budget 2026). See HMRC mileage rates 2026–27 for worked examples, or try the mileage claim calculator.

If you’d rather not type trips up, Quidometer is the iPhone mileage log I make: you press Start, it records the miles and shows the start and end postcodes, and it exports a CSV you can open in any spreadsheet.