Every season seems to be tax season! To simplify your admin and make sure you have a foolproof system and logbook to keep track of your business travel, we’ve developed a simple logbook you can use.
Whether you’re an individual or a business operating any size fleet, keeping clear records of your business travel or fleet vehicle movements is necessary for tax purposes. Thankfully, there are much better options available than the tattered notebooks that used to get wedged under the seat.
In short, a vehicle logbook provides a report of when and how the vehicle was used, specifically for business purposes. This information must be submitted to SARS to calculate your private or company tax return. Vehicle log books form part of your overall tax return.
Guessing is a bad idea
If you’re notoriously bad at filling in a logbook, do not try to guess and fill in random destinations or trips. Not only is it illegal to submit inaccurate information to SARS, but your guesstimates could cost you money.
If the information in your logbook doesn’t align with the rest of your SARS documentation, you could be put forward for an audit. This is a lot of risk and unnecessary admin to go through just because you didn’t have a proper logbook system.
Fleet logbooks
The fleet industry has a variety of solutions to track vehicles and ensure all your fleet information is ready to submit to SARS. Many of these systems are automated and rely on GPS tracking to collect all details from mileage to refueling and even keeping track of any fines.
Even if your company has a small fleet of just 5 vehicles an automated vehicle tracking system is still going to save you time and money in the long run. We’re all busy and relying on employees to manually complete log books and keep receipts for fuel is no longer efficient.
Read case studies on how EQSTRA has saved money through efficient fuel management on our blog.
Automated systems reduce the risk of incorrect information being logged and will automatically allocate fuel or other vehicle expenses to the right car. This way you have a self-generating logbook for each vehicle on your fleet with a system that can generate the exact reports and information needed for SARS each tax season.
Not only will this streamline your SARS reporting, but the information collected by an automated fleet system gives you insight into your true fleet expenses and operations. Access to accurate fleet information allows you to see when or where changes are required to reduce fuel, maintenance and even repair costs. Read more about this in our article on ‘Using reporting data to save costs with your fleet’.
No matter the size of your fleet, an automated vehicle tracking system is the ultimate solution for reducing fuel costs and ensuring your SARS reports are ready to go when needed.
Small businesses/individuals
Many smaller businesses often use vehicles for personal and business use. In this case, it’s even more important to keep accurate records of your business travel as it will have an impact on your company and personal SARS returns.
If you’re hesitant about acquiring a fleet partner while your business is just starting, take a look at our logbook template. This easy format will help you track as long as you have a good rule or system in place to ensure everyone fills in the details after each personal and business trip.
That said, we encourage any size company with fleet requirements to reach out for a consultation. Even if you don’t want a full fleet tracking solution just yet, you can get a better idea of solutions that can be tailored specifically to your business as your company grows.
