Expenses & Tax Vault

Expenses and mileage from a photo

Your techs photograph the receipt and the odometer. IntelliDrive fills in the expense, logs the miles and flags the fill-ups that do not add up.

In short

Expenses are part of every IntelliDrive OS account at $79/month. A technician photographs a receipt and IntelliDrive reads the vendor, date, amounts and category, and for fuel the gallons; an odometer photo adds the mileage.

Fuel entries are checked against the last fill-up for odd miles per gallon, cost per mile and odometer readings, and a receipt submitted far from the vendor’s address is noted. Owners and admins approve, reject or flag each one.

Tax Vault tracks the sales tax on payment-link sales and paid invoices and, with Square Savings, works out how much Square should set aside for you.

How does it work, step by step?

  1. 1

    Photograph the receipt

    On the Expenses page, take a photo of the receipt or upload one. IntelliDrive reads the fields and suggests a category.

  2. 2

    Add the odometer for fuel

    For a fuel expense, add a photo of the odometer. IntelliDrive reads the number and logs the miles since the last fill-up.

  3. 3

    Check and save

    Review the fields and save. Duplicate receipts are refused, and odd fuel entries are flagged automatically.

  4. 4

    Approve or reject

    An owner or admin approves, rejects or flags each expense that is waiting. Their own expenses are approved as they submit them.

  5. 5

    Record what you paid back

    When you reimburse someone, record the amount and how it was paid, so the weekly report shows what is still owed.

How does receipt scanning work?

Take a photo of a receipt, or upload one, on the Expenses page. IntelliDrive reads the store name and address, the date and time, the subtotal, tax and total, the line items, the payment method and the card’s last four digits. It suggests a category: gas, DEF, tire repair, fuses, parts, tools, supplies, food, parking, toll or other. For fuel it also reads the gallons, the price per gallon and the fuel type.

You check the fields before you save. A second expense from the same vendor on the same date for the same total is refused as a duplicate.

How is mileage logged?

For a fuel expense, add a photo of the odometer and IntelliDrive reads the number. The miles since that person’s previous fill-up are logged as a trip automatically. You can also log a trip by hand with the date, the starting and ending odometer, the vehicle and a note.

Which fuel checks does it run?

Each fuel entry with an odometer reading is compared with the same person’s previous fill-up. Any of these marks it Flagged for review:

  • The odometer went backwards.
  • Miles per gallon below 5 or above 30.
  • More than $1.50 of fuel per mile driven.
  • Money spent with no miles driven, or under 30 miles since the last fill-up for more than $15.

How is the receipt’s location checked?

When someone submits an expense, the page asks for the device’s location. If it is more than 5 miles from the address printed on the receipt, or from where that vendor is found, the distance is noted on the expense so a reviewer can ask about it.

Who approves expenses, and how do reimbursements work?

Expenses submitted by owners and admins are approved as they are saved; everyone else’s wait for an owner or admin to approve, reject or flag them.

When you pay someone back, record the reimbursement with the amount and how it was paid. IntelliDrive keeps the record; the money itself goes through your own bank or payroll.

The weekly report totals each person’s expenses by category with their reimbursements and what is still owed, and the fleet report shows mileage and fuel by day, week or month, with the flagged entries.

What is Tax Vault?

Tax Vault keeps a ledger of the sales tax collected on sales paid through payment links (QuickBooks Payments, Square or Stripe) and on paid invoices, and takes refunds off. It shows the tax collected this month, what is still to be set aside, and the next filing date, and you can generate a report for each period and mark it paid once you have filed.

It never holds or moves your money, and it does not file or pay your return.

How does Tax Vault work with Square Savings?

If you take card payments through Square and have Square Savings, Tax Vault works out the percentage of each card sale to put into a Sales Tax savings folder. You enter that percentage in Square’s Automated Savings and Square sets the money aside. The percentage is higher than your tax rate on purpose, so card sales also cover the tax on your other payments; Square caps automated savings at 75%, and when you need more IntelliDrive tells you how much to move by hand each month.

It needs about 30 days of sales before it suggests a percentage, and it checks your sales against the percentage you confirmed and alerts you when they drift. Square does not let apps read savings balances, so the balances Tax Vault shows are estimates; your real balance is in your Square Dashboard.

Is Tax Vault only for Texas?

Its figures come from your own sales, but the filing date it shows is the Texas monthly filer date, the 20th of the following month, and its setup guide refers to Texas filing. If you file in another state, check your own state’s due dates.

What doesn't it do?

  • IntelliDrive records reimbursements; it does not send the money.
  • Tax Vault does not yet include sales paid at the register in cash or by check. The Taxes report in Reports covers the tax on every completed sale.
  • Tax Vault never moves money, cannot read your Square Savings balance, and does not file or pay your return.
  • The automatic set-aside needs a Square account with Square Savings.

Frequently asked questions

Can my technicians submit expenses from their phone?

Yes. They photograph the receipt on the Expenses page and IntelliDrive fills in the vendor, date, amounts and category for them to check. For fuel, a photo of the odometer adds the mileage.

How does IntelliDrive catch a suspicious fuel receipt?

Each fuel entry is compared with the same person’s previous fill-up. A backwards odometer, miles per gallon below 5 or above 30, more than $1.50 per mile, or very few miles for the money marks it Flagged for review. A receipt submitted more than 5 miles from the vendor’s address is noted on the expense.

Can it stop duplicate receipts?

Yes. A second expense from the same vendor on the same date for the same total is refused as a duplicate.

Does IntelliDrive reimburse employees?

No. You record each reimbursement, with the amount and how it was paid, so everyone can see what has been paid back. The money itself goes through your own bank or payroll.

What does Tax Vault do?

It records the sales tax on sales paid through payment links and on paid invoices, shows what you collected this month and what is still to set aside, and lists the next filing date. With Square Savings it tells you what percentage of card sales to set aside automatically. It never moves money and does not file your return.

Is Tax Vault only for Texas?

Its figures come from your own sales, but the filing date it shows is the Texas monthly date, the 20th of the following month, and its setup guide refers to Texas filing. If you file in another state, check your own due dates.

What do expenses and Tax Vault cost?

Nothing extra. Expenses, mileage, fuel checks and Tax Vault are part of every IntelliDrive account at $79 a month per business. Square Savings is Square’s own product.

Ready to stop chasing paper receipts?

30 days free. A card is required at signup and the first charge is on day 31. Cancel in Settings, Billing before then and you pay nothing.