Would you like an easy way to save $300 to $1000 this year for your direct sales business?

In Our Story, when we, the founders, got serious about our direct sales business, we learned a very expensive lesson.

We had the privilege (please read the sarcasm here) of paying the IRS thousands of dollars that we were not planning on paying.

In our Direct Sales Tax Deductions article, I wrote about the mileage deduction and the phone app I use to track my mileage.

This article is my MileIQ Review, where I discuss why I love using this app as well as how exactly it works.

How Much Can You Save

If you drive 20 miles each way to a home party, you can write off $21.40 per drive from your taxes.  If you have 2 parties per week for 50 weeks a year, you can write off $2,140 per year!

That saves you over $300!!!

Remember you can track and deduct mileage when you drive to home parties but don’t forget about other business driving.

You can also deduct mileage when you drive to pick up office supplies, deposit party checks at the bank, and when you drive to the post office to mail host packets; anytime you drive anywhere for your business.

The mileage deduction is often one of the largest tax deductions for a direct sales consultant, especially if you do a lot of parties and vendor events.

The mileage tracking app I use and recommend is MileIQ. The paid plan tracks unlimited drives. MileIQ counts every time you drive your car anywhere as a drive, so unlimited drives are a must for me.

Using the 20% discount, the annual plan will cost you around $48. Would you pay $48 to save $300 per year?  That sounds like a no-brainer, right?

What I Like About MileIQ

My first attempt at mileage tracking for my direct sales business was using the pad of paper method.  The problem I ran into was either forgetting to write a drive in the pad or hurrying with the plan to write it down after the drive and not getting around to it (read, forgetting again).

The MileIQ app tracks every drive you make. Whether it is for work or not. After you drive anywhere, you get a reminder to classify the trip as business or personal.  You simply swipe to the left or to the right, and you are done!

Simple! Just like our application’s philosophy!

How to Setup MileIQ

Step 1:  Use the MileIQ link to save 20% on your subscription.   You actually sign up free to try it with 40 drives per month and get 20% off if you want to upgrade. I blew through my 40 drives quickly and upgraded.

Step 2:  Add your vehicle by clicking on “settings.”  Then click on “Vehicles and Odometers” down the left side of the page.  After that, click the green “Add New Vehicle” button and fill out the form with your vehicle’s information.

Step 3:  Next, add your Custom Purposes which you will use when you classify your business drives.  Click on “Custom Purposes” down the left side of the page.  Under business, click “Add Business Purpose.” After that, add anything you want, such as “Home Party,” “Vendor Event,” and “Recruiting Meal”; whatever you want. Once you have your purposes, you can drag them up to the top of your list to make it easier to classify on the app.  The IRS requires a purpose for each business drive.

Step 4:  Next, you will need to download the app from your phone’s app store.

Step 5:  Log into the mobile app on your phone with the username and password you set up in step 1 above.  It may prompt you to turn Drive Detection on. If so, do this to allow it to record your drives.

Bonus Step:  If you want to refer someone and give them 20% off and get a $25 gift card for yourself, you find your link by logging into the app and selecting Refer a Friend in the menu.  From there, simply text or email your referral link to whomever you choose.

How to Use MileIQ for Your Direct Sales Business

After you drive anywhere, MileIQ will remind you to classify your drive.  You will see something similar to the screenshot below (left image) showing the beginning and ending maps as well as the number of miles and the potential dollar amount that could be deducted for that drive.

It is very simple.  You drag the image to the right to classify the drive as a business drive and to the left as a personal drive.  If, when you swipe, you swipe slower and pause at the end of swiping, you can add the purpose that you set up previously to each drive (right image below).

MileIQ Review by Direct-Sidekick - Classifying a Drive
MileIQ Review by Direct Sidekick - Adding a Drive Purpose

If you ever miss a drive (or forget your phone at home) you can add in the drive later.  Just log into your dashboard and clicking the “Add a Drive” plus button at the top of the drives list.  After you choose the type of drive all you have to do is enter the starting and ending addresses and click save drive.

How to View Your MileIQ Mileage Report

To view you MileIQ mileage report you simply have to log into your dashboard on the website, click the reports tab at the top of the page, then enter the dates for the report and click the Create this report button.  You will then have access to both a csv report and a pdf report that you can download and save for your records.

What Next?

The last thing I do at the end of each month is add the mileage deduction to Direct Sidekick under the transactions tab.

MileIQ Review - Mileage Tracking for Direct Sales Consultants

Simply add the mileage in as an expense using the following steps:

  1. Log into your Direct Sidekick account,
  2. Click the “Transactions” tab on the left menu,
  3. Click the “+ New Transaction” button in the upper right of the page
  4. Fill in the form and click the submit button.

Simple and done!

I highly recommend tracking your mileage with an easy to use phone app for your direct sales business.  It makes it simple and simple is good.  Simple leads to things getting done and not being missed. As I said above tracking your mileage can be a great tax deduction for your business.

Thank you for reading this MileIQ review!  Please let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

FYI: Direct Sidekick is accounting software built for direct sellers, network marketers, crafters, vendors, VRBO owners, and many other home-based business owners. Create an account and start tracking your income, expenses, and inventory.

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