Fill Out a Mileage Claim
Mileage allowances reimburse you for business trips made in your personal vehicle. This article explains what's covered, how the reimbursement is calculated, and how to submit a claim.
For: Employees who use a personal vehicle for business travel. Account Owners manage feature activation and rate settings.
Table of Contents
Before you start
What's covered
How the reimbursement is calculated
Submit a mileage claim on desktop
Submit a return trip
Submit a mileage claim on mobile
Troubleshooting
FAQs
Before you start
Requirement | Detail |
Feature activation | Your Account Owner must activate Mileage allowances under Settings > Company Rules > Payment methods > Expense claims |
Eligible vehicle | Your personal vehicle only — company cars are not eligible for mileage allowance |
Rate source | Your Account Owner selects the rate model for your company: France (URSSAF), UK (HMRC), Germany (Bundesministerium der Finanzen), or a custom rate |
Approval | Your manager or Account Owner approves or rejects the claim |
🔒 Access: Mileage allowances require your Account Owner to activate the Expense Claims feature under Payment methods.
What's covered
Mileage claims are designed to cover the running costs of your personal vehicle, including:
Fuel
Servicing and repairs
Car insurance
Depreciation (the vehicle's decreasing value over time)
Tolls and parking are not included in a mileage claim. Submit these as a separate expense claim, or pay with your Spendesk card.
How the reimbursement is calculated
Your Account Owner selects one rate model for your company. The same rate can apply to all requests across all company wallets.
Market | Rate authority | Rate depends on |
France | Vehicle type, fiscal power, and kilometres already reimbursed this year | |
United Kingdom | Vehicle type and miles already reimbursed this year | |
Germany | Fixed rate per km | |
Custom rate | Set by your company | Fixed rate per km, configurable per vehicle type |
To set up a custom rate, contact your Customer Success Manager or Spendesk support.
The reimbursement amount is calculated automatically based on:
The distance of your trip
Your company's selected local rate
The amount may differ between the outward and return trip, because the calculated distance can vary by direction.
For cars and motorcycles, Spendesk calculates the fastest route between the two addresses, prioritising high-speed roads.
For bicycles, Spendesk calculates the shortest route between the two addresses.
If the calculated distance is inaccurate (for example, due to a road deviation), you can manually edit the total distance before submitting. Manual edits are marked "edited manually" on all relevant pages and exports.
If you have an electric vehicle on a French (URSSAF-rate) account, you can tick the Electric car option when submitting your claim.
Submit a mileage claim on desktop
Navigate to the Requests tab.
Click Make a new request in the top-right corner.
Select Request a reimbursement.
Select Mileage Allowance at the bottom of the list.
Enter your trip details (vehicle type, dates, and addresses).
Tick Electric car if you drive an electric vehicle on a French/URSSAF-rate account.
Click Add stop if your trip includes multiple stops.
Edit the total distance if the calculated route doesn't match your actual trip.
Click Continue.
Give some context about your mileage request in the Description field, and fill any additional Cost centre, Expense category or analytical fields required.
Click Continue.
Review your mileage request details and check the expected reimbursement amount.
Click Submit.
Your approver (your manager or Account Owner) then approves or rejects the request as usual.
Submit a return trip
To submit a "return trip", use the multi-stop feature.
Same-day return:
Add your starting point (Point A).
Add your destination (Point B).
Add a third stop equal to your starting point (back to Point A).
Spendesk calculates the total round-trip distance automatically.
Return on a different date:
Submit two separate mileage claims: one for the outward journey and one for the return trip.
Submit a mileage claim on mobile
You can submit, track, and get mileage claims approved directly in the Spendesk mobile app. Recurring addresses and vehicles are auto-saved on mobile for faster submission.
For full mobile steps, see Submit mileage allowances on mobile.
👥 Roles: Approvers (your manager or Account Owner) review and approve or reject every mileage claim, on both desktop and mobile.
Troubleshooting
Symptom: The calculated distance doesn't match the route you actually took.
Cause: Spendesk calculates the fastest (car/motorcycle) or shortest (bicycle) route, which may not match road deviations or closures on your actual trip.
Resolution: Edit the total distance manually before submitting. The edit is marked "edited manually" on all related pages and exports.
Symptom: An error appears even though all form fields are filled in correctly.
Cause: This can be caused by an issue with the reimbursement rate calculation for your market.
Resolution: Contact Spendesk support if the error persists after re-checking your entries.
Symptom: Your reimbursement seems to use an outdated rate.
Cause: Local government rates are updated periodically, and there can be a short delay between an official rate change and Spendesk applying it.
Resolution: Contact Spendesk support with your claim date and market so the team can review and correct the rate applied.
FAQs
Can I claim a mileage allowance if I drive a company car?
No. Mileage allowances only cover trips made in your personal vehicle.
Are tolls and parking covered by a mileage claim?
No. Submit these as a separate expense claim or pay with your Spendesk card.
Can I use a different rate for a specific vehicle type?
Yes, if your company has set up a custom rate. Contact your Customer Success Manager or Spendesk support to configure this.
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