Mileage and Journey Log Book

Who this is for

A bound-book style mileage record kept journey by journey. Every line carries the odometer at the start and at the end, so the readings run on from one page to the next and the distances can be reconciled against the vehicle rather than trusted.

Drivers who have to be able to show where a vehicle went and why — company car users, pool car keepers, self-employed drivers, charities running a minibus and anyone keeping a book in the glovebox.

What this helps you track

• Every journey in the order it was driven, with both odometer readings
• The distance for each journey, worked out rather than estimated
• Business and private journeys marked and counted separately
• Business distance carried in its own column, ready for whatever rate applies to you
• The total distance covered since the opening reading at the top of the sheet

How to use it

1. Write the vehicle, the registration, the driver and the odometer reading the book opens on at the top.
2. Fill a line before you drive away and finish it when you arrive — the end reading of one journey is the start reading of the next.
3. Say where you went and, in a few words, why. The purpose column is the one a claim or an audit is judged on.
4. Mark each journey business or private; the business column fills itself from that choice.
5. Distance and business distance work out on screen and in the workbook; on paper, subtract the readings.
6. Compare the last end reading with the vehicle's odometer when you close the sheet — they should agree.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is this different from the mileage and business travel log?

That one is built around a claim: journeys, expenses and what you are owed. This is the book kept in the vehicle, where every reading follows on from the last and private journeys are recorded alongside business ones.

What rate should I apply to the business column?

Whatever your tax authority or employer sets. Rates differ by country, vehicle and year, so none appears here. The sheet gives you a clean business distance to apply yours to.

Do I have to record private journeys?

That depends on why you are keeping the book — for some purposes the unbroken odometer sequence is the point, and gaps in it raise questions. Check what is expected of you where you are.

The readings do not run on because someone forgot a line.

Add a row for the missing journey with what you know, mark it in the notes, and carry on. A noted gap is worth more than a tidy book that has been adjusted.

Can I use it for a van, a minibus or a machine with an hour meter?

Yes. The columns work the same way for anything that counts up. Put hours in the odometer columns if that is what the machine records.