August 13th, 2008 kmr2
Thanks to some great user feedback (props to Rachel for first bringing it up), we have added the ability to change the category (or expense account, in QuickBooks and accounting parlance) that Paybackable tracks mileage expenses under. Until now, we simply defaulted it to “Car/truck expense”, as that was a very common expense account used in QuickBooks. However, you may now change the category/account to whatever you wish.
To make the change, simply log in, go to the “Settings” tab and click on the “Categories” link on the left hand side. You will then see a screen like this (the key section is circled in red):
Simply change the name of the category/account to the one you want (copying and pasting is probably a good idea if you’re trying to use a specific category from QuickBooks) and click the “Update mileage account name” button. You’re good to go.
Posted in Expenses, Mileage, Release | No Comments »
July 18th, 2008 kmr2
Based on popular demand, we are currently working to finish manager approvals of expense reports, with the ability to forward approved expense reports to a bookkeeper or whoever cuts the checks. In addition, we are working on the ability to attach scanned receipts to individual transactions, thereby making it possible for offices to go paperless (at least for their expense reporting, that is.
Should be a busy weekend:-)
Posted in Expenses, receipts | No Comments »
July 9th, 2008 kmr2
For all of you self employed folks out there, we just opened up our Bootstrap web site to the public today (it had been in private alpha.) It’s goal is to simplify the hassles of running very small businesses, starting with financial record keeping, estimated taxes, and 1099s. Think of it as the absolute simplest bookkeeping software. you can find for people who have the file a Schedule C at the end of the year.
Posted in Expenses | 1 Comment »
June 24th, 2008 kmr2
For those of you (and there are a lot) who have to drive for business, a little good news to go along with the record gas prices. The IRS announced today that the standard mileage rate for business miles will increase 8 cents to 58.5 cents per mile, effective July 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008. You can read the full details on the IRS web site.
Naturally, we will be updating Paybackable to reflect the new rate, so any mileage expenses you enter during that time will have the correct mileage rate based on your date of travel. See? More savings for you, no additional work required:-) But we’d certainly appreciate you telling your friends and business associates about us!
Posted in Expenses, Mileage | No Comments »
May 21st, 2008 kmr2
We came across a very interesting tool the other day that provides some insight into how employees think about expense reports.
There’s a simple tool out there called Tweetscan that let’s you search public comments on Twitter. On a lark, I typed in “expense reports” and saw a long list of complaints from regular people. I just did so again this morning and received an even longer list. What’s amazing is the consistency in language - lots of uses of words like “hate”, “dread” and “ugh.” Try it yourself and see: http://www.tweetscan.com/index.php?s=expense+reports
Two things about these tweets (lingo for posts on Twitter) were of particular interest to us:
1. The vast majority of expense reporting solutions in the market are designed to make company controllers and senior management happy by solving for things like cost controls and policy enforcement. Actual ease of use for the employees is a complete afterthought - hence the dread of using software like this.
2. When I ran these searches on Twitter, they were during normal business hours. This means company employees, during the hours they are getting paid, are doing their expense reports. That means that the longer it takes them, the more frustrated they become, the more money it costs the company. Wouldn’t it save a ton of money to make the expense reimbursement process simpler? We sure think so. Maybe they could convince their companies to try some easy to use expense reporting software 
Posted in Expenses | 1 Comment »
April 11th, 2008 kmr2
Read an interesting blog post from a couple of months ago about making sure you’re not taxed twice on out of pocket expenses. The crux is that sometimes employers who reimburse their employees through payroll additions may make mistakes and withhold taxes on those reimbursements (which of course is wrong.)
That’s actually why we built Paybackable to handle online experts reports as bills that get submitted to the employer for payment. That way, it doesn’t go through payroll. In fact, if you use the export to QuickBooks feature, it actually creates a bill payable to the person submitting the expense report. No payroll confusion.
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March 25th, 2008 kmr2
If you go to a class on bookkeeping, or ask an accounting professional about how best to keep records for business miles, most of the time you will be given a little paper journal that asks you to record the date, the destination/purpose/contact, the starting and ending odometer readings, and the mileage.
Odometer reading? Yes, I’m sure everyone remembers to write down their odometer readings every time they travel for business. But one can understand why that information is requested. For years, it was simply the only way to calculate miles traveled. That is, however, until mapping on the web arrived, bringing with it GPS-based distance calculations. Now, instead of having to read your odometer, you can simply enter your starting address and destination in mapping web sites to get the distance. But what if the “route” they suggest is different that the one I chose? Well, fortunately, you can drag the “route” to match the way you actually drove, and the site will recalculate the mileage. This method works great, and allows you to calculate the mileage after the fact because, admit it, how many people remember to do this while they’re driving?
But don’t you have to have the odometer readings? In a word - no. If you look up mileage expense deductions on the IRS web site, the word odometer is not used. Instead, you will find the following: “To claim the deduction, keep adequate records such as a written travel log with complete and accurate mileage records for each business use of your car. If you are unable to produce a clear and accurate business mileage record, the IRS may disallow the deduction.”
In From IRS publication 463, you will find the following: “You cannot deduct amounts that you approximate or estimate” and “You must generally prepare a written record for it to be considered adequate. This is because written evidence is more reliable than oral evidence alone. However, if you prepare a record in a computer memory device with the aid of a logging program, it is considered an adequate record” and even “You do not need to write down the elements of every expense on the day of the expense. If you maintain a log on a weekly basis that accounts for use during the week, the log is considered a timely-kept record.”
In short, odometer readings are an antiquated notion - there’s a much easier way to track business miles driven.
We have now added a link from Paybackable’s mileage tracking screen to the directions page on Google Maps. Just click on the “Miles” column title to go to Google Maps. Not only will you get the distance driven, but Google Maps remembers addresses you’ve typed in, so it learns and saves you time the more you use it. Happy tracking!
Posted in Expenses, Mileage | 1 Comment »
February 15th, 2008 kmr2
It will probably come as little surprise to learn that gasoline prices have doubled in the last 7 years, from a US average of $1.50 per gallon in 2001 to $3.00 a gallon in 2008. In fact, you can see a 2006 congressional chart showing the growth.
Now compare that to the standard business mileage deduction. Over the same period of time, the government has increased the deductible rate for small business owners like us from $.345 to $.505, an increase of 46% (see this IRS page for the rate changes over time.)
Posted in Expenses, Mileage | No Comments »
