5 Things Mileage Reimbursement Really Needs From GPS

More and more businesses with mobile workforces are incorporating GPS technology into their mileage reimbursement workflows. Some of those GPS systems continuously track an employee’s location throughout their entire workday.

While that level of tracking is certainly thorough, it can collect far more information than mileage reimbursement requires. If an employer records where employees go during lunch, personal errands, breaks, or off-the-clock hours, it may create unnecessary privacy concerns, and potentially even legal exposure.

So, what does an accurate and accountable mileage reimbursement program actually need from GPS? Here are five things to consider.

1. GPS Tracking Should Focus on Business Travel

Continuous GPS tracking typically records an employee’s location through a mobile app or in-vehicle device at set intervals throughout the day.

Because the tracking is always running, it may continue during:

• Lunch breaks
• Personal errands
• Medical appointments
• School or childcare pickups
• The employee’s commute ome
• Other of-the-clock activities

This creates a complete record of all of the employee’s movements, not just the ones involving reimbursable business mileage.

For mileage reimbursement purposes, the goal should be to accurately document eligible business travel, not to create a full, uninterrupted account of the employee’s day.

2. More Location Data Can Create Privacy Concerns

Companies that do monitor employees outside of working hours have faced legal challenges.

In December 2024, an Apple manager filed a lawsuit in California state court alleging that the company monitored employees’ private lives through devices used for work. According to the complaint, company-issued devices could record employees’ locations and other personal information during off-the-clock hours. Apple disputed the claims.

The case highlights an important concern: continuous tracking can capture an employee’s location even when that information has nothing to do with their work or mileage reimbursement.

Collecting only the information needed for a legitimate business purpose helps companies respect employee privacy while still maintaining reimbursement accountability.

3. Mileage Logs Only Need Specific Trip Details

According to IRS guidelines, milage may be reimbursable when an employee travels:

• From One business location to another
• To visit clients or customers
• To attend business meetings
• From home to a temporary work location when the employee has one or more regular work locations

An employee’s normal commute generally does not qualify.

For mileage reimbursement payments to remain accountable, and generally nontaxable, mobile employees must maintain a business mileage log. The log should document:

• The date and time of each trip
• The trip’s starting point
• The trip’s destination
• The number of business miles traveled
• The business purpose of the trip

Mileage records should also be accurate and completed as close to the time of travel as possible.

A full day of continuous location data may contain these details, but it also captures personal information that will never be used to calculate a reimbursement. If the information isn’t needed to determine business mileage, there may be little reason to collect it.

4. Accurate Records Don’t Require Continuous Surveillance

A 2017 overtime lawsuit involving Angie’s List also placed GPS location data before a federal court.

Three former sales representatives sued the company for unpaid overtime. Angie’s List sought GPS and location data from the employees’ personal phones and laptops to help reconstruct their working hours.

The employees argued that the information would invade their privacy and would not accurately represent their actual hours worked. The request was denied, with the judge determining that the potential benefit of the GPS data was outweighed by privacy and confidentiality concerns.

The case reinforces a useful principle for mileage reimbursement: location data should be limited to what is reasonably necessary to document and calculate reimbursable travel.

5. Point-to-Point Tracking Can Provide Auditability Without Overreach

A mileage reimbursement program must satisfy several stakeholders:

• The employee submitting the expense report
• The manager responsible for approving it
• The auditor reviewing the company’s records
• The IRS requirements governing accountable reimbursements

Recording the necessary information for each business-related stop can provide the documentation these stakeholders need without tracking the employee continuously.

At the end of the day, the employee can review their business stops, make any necessary corrections or omissions, and submit the mileage log for approval. The manager then receives a compliant record that can be compared with the employee’s client visits, assignments, or other business activity.

The company gets an accurate and auditable mileage record without collecting a continuous stream of personal location data.

How CompanyMileage Keeps GPS Tracking Simple

At CompanyMileage, our goal is to provide simple, accurate, and efficient tools for managing business mileage reimbursement. That’s why our system is designed without continuous GPS tracking.

Our mileage reimbursement platform, SureMileage, uses a point-to-point method. Employees enter the starting point and destination of each business trip, and the system calculates the appropriate route, mileage, and reimbursement amount.

Employees can also update mileage logs and submit expense reports through our mobile app, SureMobile. With Quick Capture, employees tap a button when they arrive at each business location. The app records their GPS location and a timestamp at that moment. When they reach their next business stop, they tap again to capture the new location and time. This gives the employer verification that employees were where they were expected to be—without continuously tracking their movements throughout the day.

CompanyMileage provides businesses with accurate, auditable mileage records while allowing employees to maintain their privacy throughout the rest of the day.

Ready to simplify mileage reimbursement without continuously tracking your employees? Book a demo to learn how CompanyMileage can help your organization improve accuracy, save time, and control reimbursement costs.