These days, many entrepreneurs and self-employed people are looking to get the most out of their mileage tax deductions on their iPhones by tracking their car mileage on them. While iPhones certainly exist at the cutting edge of smartphone technology, offering some tracking features, a mileage app for iPhones is certainly the way to go, especially if you want to take advantage of the fantastic features available on an app like ours.
On this page, we answer some of your burning questions about iPhone usage in the context of mileage tracking, while also exploring why MileageWise’s automatic miles tracker app for iPhones is among the best choices on the market today.
How can you track miles on Google Maps?
There is no default app to track mileage on an iPhone, nor can you really track miles via Google Maps. Most phones do, however, offer a feature called location history tracking – this can be set up through your Google account, and is actually available on both Android and iPhone. The problem is, even though this setting will show the places you have been to – potentially tracking the distance between them – it does not collate that data into a mileage log or any real digestible format.
Moving forward, we will show you how you can use that data.
Using your Google Maps Data to Create a Mileage Log
If you do use location history tracking on your iPhone, you can download that data; it’s just that it will be in the form of a JSON file. This basically means that if you’re not a web developer who understands JavaScript then there’s no real way you can use that data to your advantage as some kind of pseudo-free mileage tracker.
On the other hand, that data does have some use – MileageWise’s Concierge Service can prepare your mileage logs for you, and we also have a guide where we take you through this “Google Timeline to a mileage log” process step-by-step, thus helping you to construct one of the many things we specialize in: an IRS-proof mileage log.
Does my iPhone Track Distance When It’s Dead?
Your iPhone won’t specifically track distances as we describe them above (i.e., location history tracking), though it does count your steps through the frequently used Health app that comes as stock standard on iPhones. This is because the M-series chips used in modern iPhones contain some level of reserve battery specifically for that purpose – even when their batteries are supposedly drained. This was first discovered with the iPhone 5S using an M7 chip at the time.
Regardless of these facts, tracking your steps is simply not relevant to tracking business miles the way that various mileage trackers can, which is why so many software providers have put the time into developing applications that serve this particular purpose.
Mileage Tracking for Vehicles on your iPhone
As you might’ve guessed, the point we’ve been moving toward is true that the best way to do the above is through a mileage tracking app.
Luckily for you – the customer – we’re confident that MileageWise has built one of the best mileage and expense apps available today, and we’ve got the proof needed to back such a statement up: all of our features are available for your perusal here, and you can download our software directly through the App Store.
Below is a short breakdown of some of our most sought-after features can be found below:
3+1 auto-tracking functions
Let’s face it: you don’t want to be messing around with your phone constantly worrying about using an app when you arrive at a client’s business or do a work-related errand. With the choice between Bluetooth auto-tracking, Plug ‘N’ Go auto-tracking, and finally vehicle movement monitoring, we’ve got all your bases covered.
Retrospective mileage reconstruction
Have the IRS contacted you about an audit? Do you need mileage logs for previous years where your logs were patchy at best? Our revolutionary software can help you rebuild your logs based on your clients’ locations and typical driving habits.
MileageWise’s Concierge Service
Are you short on time? Do you need to focus on your business rather than the creation of mileage logs that are IRS-proof? We’ll sort it out for you – just contact one of our representatives and they will do it for you.
Free mileage tracker trial
Finally, we offer a full version of our software completely free for 14 days. You don’t need to give us your credit card – just try the software out and see if it works for you first. We’re confident you’ll be impressed.