Overview
Logging a trip records where you drove, in which vehicle, and on what date. Smartbills routes the addresses, calculates the distance, and shows what the trip is worth at your business’s mileage rate. Start from Mileage Trips in the sidebar, then New trip. The screen is split in two. The map on the left previews your route as you type. The form on the right holds the trip details.Fill in the trip
1
Name the trip
Trip name is required. Use something an approver will understand without asking, such as “Client visit downtown”. This is the label that appears on the expense and on the expense report.
2
Choose a vehicle
Vehicle is required. The vehicle sets whether the trip is measured in kilometres or miles, so pick it before you check the distance. If the car is not in the list, use Add a new vehicle to create it without leaving the form.
3
Set the travel date
Defaults to now. Change it if you are logging a drive from an earlier day.
4
Enter the route
Type the start address, then the destination. Pick each address from the suggestions rather than typing it freehand. Smartbills needs the resolved place in order to route it, and an address that was typed but never selected will block saving.To add stops along the way, see Multi-stop and round trips.
5
Toggle round trip if you drove back
Turning on Round trip includes the return leg in the distance. The field notes “Includes the return trip” so you do not double it by hand.
6
Check the distance
The Distance field fills in from the calculated route. Leave it alone unless the real distance differed, for example because of a detour.
7
Add notes if useful
Optional context for whoever approves the claim.
8
Save
Save trip creates the trip and opens its detail page. Its status is Logged until you convert it into an expense.
Overriding the distance
The distance box is editable. Type a different number and it becomes a manual override, which is what gets claimed instead of the routed distance. Two behaviours are worth knowing:- A Reset to calculated link appears once you have overridden the value. Use it to go back to the routed distance.
- Typing a value that matches the calculated distance clears the override rather than storing it. Smartbills treats “same as the route” as no override at all, so later route changes keep flowing through.
The map preview is an estimate produced in your browser. When you save, the server recalculates the route and that result is what your claim is based on. Small differences between the preview and the saved trip are normal.
Validation
Saving fails with an inline message when something is incomplete:Edit a trip
Open the trip and choose Edit. The edit screen is the same form.Clone a trip
For a drive you repeat, open the trip menu in the list and choose Clone. Cloning copies the route and vehicle into a fresh logged trip dated today, which saves re-entering a regular commute between sites.What’s next
Multi-stop and round trips
Add and reorder stops along the route
Convert to an expense
Turn the logged trip into something you can claim