If you're considering QuickBooks Time for mileage tracking, here’s what you need to know. It works well for teams that drive continuously between locations, but if your field employees also walk between stops, such as sales reps, healthcare workers, and construction crews, our testing showed the app may overcount mileage, potentially costing you thousands annually. We’ll show you the data and help you decide if it's right for your operation.
If you’re using QuickBooks for accounting, QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) seems like the natural choice for mileage tracking. It's already integrated, your data syncs automatically, and your team knows the system.
We've been testing QuickBooks Time's mileage tracking for years. Early versions had issues connecting starting and ending points and actual routes were found to be missing entirely. By 2023, Intuit’s upgrade to breadcrumb-based tracking considerably improved the accuracy of mileage tracking.
But how accurate does QuickBooks Time capture mileage for field-based teams?
In this review, along with our usual tests, we also tested the accuracy of mileage tracking for mixed fieldwork teams, where employees drive to a location, then walk between stops or around job sites.
Our results revealed some important differences worth knowing about.
Ready to save money with accurate mileage tracking?
Yes. QuickBooks offers mileage tracking through QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets, acquired by Intuit in 2017).
In June 2023, Intuit merged QuickBooks Time with the QuickBooks Workforce mobile app into a single employee-facing application. With QuickBooks Workforce, employees’ mileage is automatically tracked as soon as they start driving, and is continuously recorded throughout the duration of travel.
Important note: To activate mileage tracking, you must be enrolled in the Elite plan ($40/month base + $10/user) and have a QuickBooks subscription.
How to track mileage with QuickBooks Time
QuickBooks Time streamlines mileage tracking for employees:
Employees clock in using the QuickBooks Workforce mobile app
The app automatically detects driving using GPS technology and built-in speed filtering
GPS tracking continues throughout the shift, logging location points at intervals
Managers review and approve mileage through the web dashboard
Data syncs to QuickBooks for payroll and reimbursement
Our testing methodology
We've tested QuickBooks Time's mileage tracking feature multiple times, tracking its evolution from undercounting on winding routes to significantly better accuracy after the breadcrumb tracking upgrade.
In addition to testing continuous routes, our September/ October 2025 test also included more complex, real-world scenarios—the kind many field teams experience daily.
We conducted an 8.5-hour field shift test designed to replicate mixed field work conditions:
What the test involved:
Driving between multiple job sites throughout the day
Working on-site at each location for extended periods
Walking around job sites during work (typical for field teams)
Both apps (QuickBooks Time and Timeero) ran simultaneously on the same device
Identical network conditions and GPS access
QuickBooks Time mileage accuracy: Test results
Our previous tests showed QuickBooks Time tracked around 85-86% of actual mileage on continuous driving routes, which is acceptable for most business purposes. The variance came from GPS sampling intervals rather than fundamental issues.
However, we wanted to test a more realistic scenario. Our October 2025 field shift test revealed important differences in how mileage tracking apps handle mixed work conditions.
Throughout the 8.5-hour shift, we drove between several job sites, worked on-site for extended periods, and walked around those locations—typical working conditions for field employees.
Field shift test: mixed driving and walking
Timeero result3.04 miles
QuickBooks Time result4.28 miles
Difference: 1.24 miles (40% overcounting)
Understanding the difference in speed filtering
QuickBooks Time uses built-in speed filtering to exclude walking from mileage calculations. According to their documentation, walking shouldn’t typically count toward mileage, however, our testing showed that extended movement can accumulate enough distance to register as mileage.
Timeero takes a different approach. It uses configurable speed thresholds (typically around 5 mph) combined with more aggressive motion-detection technology to exclude non-driving travel from mileage calculations. The app only counts mileage when it detects a sustained driving speed, which more effectively filters out walking and on-site movement.
Who this affects
Outside sales reps who drive to a business district and walk between meetings.
Real estate agents showing multiple properties in a neighborhood.
Home healthcare workers who drive to an area and walk between patient homes.
Field auditors or inspectors visiting multiple locations on foot after parking.
Construction or facilities teams walking around large job sites.
Urban delivery drivers who park and walk to multiple drop-off points.
For teams that drive continuously between service calls, QuickBooks Time should work well.
The potential financial impact
Mileage cost impact (using IRS rates)
We used the
2026 IRS mileage rate of $0.725 per mile to calculate the financial impact of mileage tracked during our field test:
QuickBooks Time: 4.28 miles × $0.725 = $3.10 reimbursement
Timeero: 3.04 miles × $0.725 = $2.20 reimbursement
Difference: $0.90 per employee per shift
For businesses with field teams, these small gaps quickly compound.
20 field employees
250 work days per year
$0.90 difference per employee per day
Annual difference: ~$4,500
Note: This applies to teams that regularly drive to a general area and walk between multiple stops while clocked in.
Additional considerations
During our October testing, we encountered another GPS reliability issue worth mentioning.
During a 5-hour shift, QuickBooks Time's GPS location locked onto a specific point and remained frozen at that incorrect location for several hours until clock-out.
This type of GPS behavior can impact dispatching, client verification, and route accountability. To make sure QuickBooks Time meets your operational needs, make sure you test GPS reliability during your trial period.
✅ Seamless QuickBooks integration. Time and mileage data flows automatically into QuickBooks for payroll and billing
✅ Automatic drive detection. Employees don’t need to start/stop tracking manually
✅ Reliable offline mode. Continues tracking without an internet connection and syncs when reconnected
✅ Team-wide tracking. All employees can log mileage
✅ Comprehensive workforce management. Includes scheduling, time-off management, and approval workflows
✅ Strong reporting. Detailed insights for job costing, payroll, and budget management
Cons:
❌ Speed filtering may not be sufficient for field work. Our testing showed it may capture extended on-site movement, potentially inflating mileage for teams that walk between locations
❌ Higher cost. Mileage tracking comes with the Elite plan($40 base + $10/user), plus QuickBooks subscription
❌ Limited route detail. Some sampling gaps may still appear in areas with a poor signal
❌ No user-configurable motion settings. Can't adjust speed thresholds or filtering sensitivity for your specific use case
❌ No advanced mileage features. Lacks route optimization, commuter deduction, or segmented multi-stop tracking
❌ No specialized compliance tools. Missing features like EVV or HIPAA compliance for healthcare teams
QuickBooks Time pricing
QuickBooks Time offers two paid plans:
QuickBooks Time pricing overview
Plan
Monthly cost
Key features
Premium
$20 base + $8/user
Time tracking, scheduling, and basic reports
Elite
$40 base + $10/user
All Premium features plus GPS tracking, mileage tracking, geofencing, and kiosk mode
Premium
Monthly cost: $20 base + $8/user
Key features: Time tracking, scheduling, and basic reports
Elite
Monthly cost: $40 base + $10/user
Key features: All Premium features plus GPS tracking, mileage tracking, geofencing, and kiosk mode
QuickBooks Time vs Timeero for 10 employees:
QuickBooks Time Elite: $140/month + QuickBooks subscription
Timeero Basic: $40/month (no additional software required)
Timeero Premium: $110/month
QuickBooks Time offers a 30-day free trial for existing QuickBooks users.
Timeero: Field workforce visibility app with superior mileage tracking
Timeero is a comprehensive workforce management platform with GPS time and mileage tracking, scheduling, PTO management, reporting, and custom fields.
The key difference between Timeero and QuickBooks Time is by far Timeero’s GPS mileage tracking capabilities, as well as several specialized features QuickBooks Time lacks.
Timeero’s core workforce management features:
Time clock with GPS verification
Employee scheduling
PTO management system (requests, approvals, and accruals)
Customizable fields for job codes, projects, tasks
Detailed reporting and analytics
Geofencing and location-based clock-in
Team messaging and notifications
6 Ways Timeero is different from QuickBooks Time
1. GPS mileage tracking for accurate reimbursements
Timeero captures every GPS point for detailed route replay. It uses motion detection to distinguish between actual driving and other movements. The mobile app only counts mileage when employees reach driving speed (typically 5+ mph), automatically filtering out walking around job sites, equipment movement, and on-site activity.
2. Automatically deduct commute mileage from travel
You can set each employee’s home-to-office distance once. Timeero will automatically deduct non-reimbursable commuter mileage, ensuring you only pay for actual business travel.
3. Continuously track time and mileage for field teams with Segmented Tracking
Sales reps and service technicians often visit multiple clients in a single shift. With standard mileage trackers, they’d need to clock in and out at each location to capture the time spent with each client, as well as miles traveled.
Timeero’s Segmented Tracking technology allows employees to clock in once at the start of their shift while the app automatically divides their total driving route into segments based on stops made. Segmented Tracking automatically calculates the miles traveled between each stop, the total time your reps or technicians spent at each location, along with the total mileage and hours worked during the shift.
Note: Timeero’s Segmented Tracking is offered as an optional add-on.
4. Identify potential mileage related savings with suggested routes
Timeero analyzes your team's historical driving routes, identifying opportunities to reduce mileage costs. If an employee consistently takes the long route to a regular customer’s location, Timeero will suggest the shortest path to the destination and show potential mileage savings.
5. Real-time visibility for team accountability
With Timeero’s Route replay and GPS breadcrumbs, you can verify whether employees took the most efficient routes, made unauthorized stops, or deviated from their assigned paths.
6. Simplify compliance with IRS-ready reports
Timeero lets you generate detailed mileage reports in seconds. You can export time and mileage to PDF or Excel, or push data directly to QuickBooks Online. All reports include the date, purpose of travel, start/end locations, and total mileage – everything the IRS requires.
QuickBooks Time vs. Timeero: Side-by-side comparison
QuickBooks Time vs. Timeero
Feature
QuickBooks Time
Timeero
Mileage filtering
Built-in speed filtering (not user-configurable)
Configurable motion detection with speed thresholds
GPS tracking
Breadcrumb tracking
Continuous route following roads
Integration
Native QuickBooks
Exports to QuickBooks
Workforce management
Comprehensive
Comprehensive
Commuter deduction
Manual
Automatic
Segmented tracking
Not available
Multi-stop automation
Route optimization
Not available
Suggested routes
Compliance tools
Standard features
EVV, HIPAA, and CA breaks
Offline mode
Yes
Yes
Separate subscription
Yes (QuickBooks required)
No
Monthly cost (10 users)
$140 + QuickBooks
$40–$110
Best for
Teams using QuickBooks needing native accounting integration
Teams prioritizing mileage accuracy, specialized features, or cost-effectiveness
Mileage filtering
QuickBooks
Built-in speed filtering (not user-configurable)
Timeero
Configurable motion detection with speed thresholds
GPS tracking
QuickBooks
Breadcrumb tracking
Timeero
Continuous route following roads
Integration
QuickBooks
Native QuickBooks
Timeero
Exports to QuickBooks
Workforce management
QuickBooks
Comprehensive
Timeero
Comprehensive
Commuter deduction
QuickBooks
Manual
Timeero
Automatic
Segmented tracking
QuickBooks
Not available
Timeero
Multi-stop automation
Route optimization
QuickBooks
Not available
Timeero
Suggested routes
Compliance tools
QuickBooks
Standard features
Timeero
EVV, HIPAA, and CA breaks
Offline mode
QuickBooks
Yes
Timeero
Yes
Separate subscription
QuickBooks
Yes (QuickBooks required)
Timeero
No
Monthly cost (10 users)
QuickBooks
$140 + QuickBooks
Timeero
$40–$110
Best for
QuickBooks
Teams using QuickBooks needing native accounting integration
Timeero
Teams prioritizing mileage accuracy, specialized features, or cost-effectiveness
Should you use QuickBooks Time for mileage tracking?
Choose QuickBooks Time if:
You already use QuickBooks for accounting and want native integration, despite the cost
Your team mostly drives between service calls without walking around job sites
Consider Timeero if:
Mileage accuracy is important to your operations
Your team also walks between locations during shifts—sales reps, healthcare workers, real estate agents, or field crews on large job sites.
You want specialized features like route replay, Segmented Tracking,and automatic commuter deduction
You want comprehensive workforce management at a significantly lower cost
Get started with accurate mileage tracking.
Ready to see how accurate mileage tracking should work?
Start a 14-day free Timeero trial—no credit card required. Test it alongside your current mileage tracking software to see the difference for yourself.
During your trial, you’ll have access to:
Motion-detection mileage tracking
Route replay and optimization
Segmented Tracking technology
QuickBooks integration
All reporting features
FAQ
How does QuickBooks Time track mileage?
QuickBooks Time uses automatic GPS tracking with built-in speed filtering. When employees are clocked in, and the app detects movement above certain speed thresholds, it begins logging mileage based on GPS coordinates throughout the shift.
Is QuickBooks Time mileage tracking accurate?
It depends on your use case. For continuous driving between locations, QuickBooks Time performs reliably. For field work involving walking between stops, our testing showed that it captured 40% more mileage than Timeero due to the speed-filtering limitations covered earlier. If your team walks between locations while clocked in, this affects your reimbursement costs.
Does QuickBooks Time show actual routes?
Yes. The app improvements brought breadcrumb-based tracking that captures frequent location points to better reflect actual routes traveled.
What’s the most accurate mileage tracking app?
Based on our testing, Timeero consistently achieves over 90% accuracy by using motion detection to distinguish actual driving from walking or other movement. It captures complete routes with detailed breadcrumbs following actual road paths.
How much does QuickBooks Time mileage tracking cost?
QuickBooks Time Elite costs $40/month base + $10/user, plus a QuickBooks subscription is required. For 10 employees, expect around $140/month plus your QuickBooks subscription cost.
Can I export QuickBooks Time mileage to QuickBooks?
Yes. QuickBooks Time is part of the QuickBooks ecosystem and automatically syncs mileage data for payroll and billing. This integration is one of the platform's key advantages.
Does Timeero integrate with QuickBooks?
Yes. Timeero exports mileage reports directly to both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop as billable expenses, bills, or invoices.
All your employees’ miles at a single place
Sign up for a free 14-day trial and enjoy the ride with Timeero.
Andjelka is a researcher and writer with 7+ years in digital marketing. Her background in social work and journalism has sharpened her skill in connecting with people from all walks of life. For the past 4 years, she’s specialized in time, location, and mileage tracking. Outside work, she enjoys yoga, swimming, and unwinding with her cats while listening to Leonard Cohen’s music.
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