Zoho is well-known for offering diverse business software solutions. But does its mileage tracking feature measure up?
Our hands-on testing revealed that Zoho’s mileage tracker still has a significant flaw - it continues logging mileage when you’re off the road and traveling on foot, which can lead to inflated totals.
It’s important to mention that for this Zoho Expense review, we’re focusing strictly on the app’smileage tracking feature, not the entire Zoho Expense platform. The broader suite earns praise for its expense management capabilities, but the app’s mileage tool is a noticeable outlier.
This detailed Zoho Expense review will help you decide if Zoho’s approach will satisfy your company’s mileage tracking needs.
Zoho mileage tracker is a feature of the Zoho Expense management software suite.
If you have been using Zoho Expense or are considering using the app, you already know it provides features to track nearly all of your business expenses.
Zoho Expense is designed to streamline travel and expense management for small businesses and freelancers.
Tracking business travel expenses – including mileage, conveniently in one suite, can minimize your IT expenses and increase efficiency. However, using such broad software comes with a tradeoff — there are no specialty tools.
Since Zoho Expense has to 'split attention' between all expenses, some of the app’s features look like an afterthought. For example, Zoho’s mileage tracker looks half-baked and doesn't stack up well against competitors such as Timeero or Driversnote.
Zoho mileage tracker steep learning curve
The Zoho Expense mileage tracker has a steep learning curve, partially due to its product design. With so many features available, some essential tools are unintuitively placed. As a result, employees (particularly the non-tech-savvy ones) will need help accessing the mileage tracking tools.
Compared to Timeero’s mileage tracker, the Zoho Expense mileage tracker was pretty difficult for us to figure out.
Zoho Expense lets you add a widget on your smartphone to access the mileage tracking tool.
First-time users will need days, and in some cases weeks, to get used to the workflows and functions of the Zoho mileage tracker. For example, the Zoho GPS mileage tracker requires you to start and end tracking. You'd expect to find the start and end buttons on the home tab, which is not the case.
To access the buttons, you must long-press the Android or iOS app and hit 'track mileage using GPS.' Alternatively, select 'widgets' to add a widget on your smartphone for easier access.
These extra steps don't help the app's usability. On the contrary, they complicate things and could be a turn-off and a source of employee pushback.
Zoho Expense mileage tracking: Feature breakdown
Although early signs suggested that Zoho’s mileage tracker might not rank among the top contenders, we wanted to give it a thorough, fair test. We pushed its features to the limit to see exactly where it shines and where it falls short. Here’s what we discovered:
Mileage tracking
Zoho Expense mileage tracker lets you track mileage expenses in a few different ways:
By distance covered
Point-to-point
Odometer reading
GPS tracking
Automatic mileage tracking
We’ll touch upon each one below.
1. Mileage expenses by distance covered
With this method, employees will have to input the distance traveled manually. That begs the question, how does Zoho expect the employee to track mileage?
It means your employees must use another mileage tracker to log the distance traveled.
Besides mileage expenses, Zoho Expense allows you to add another type of expense and even convert card transactions into costs.
Manual data entry leaves room for human errors (both intentional and unintentional), which are synonymous with using spreadsheets to track mileage. Some employees could add a few extra miles to claim a higher reimbursement from your business.
2. Mileage via point-to-point map location
With this method, an employee marks the starting and ending points on a map. Zoho Expense then suggests several possible routes, and the employee selects the one that best matches their journey. The app calculates the distance based on that route.
Still, this approach assumes a direct trip, which doesn't account for detours, traffic delays, or stops along the way. Naturally, this can lead to differences between reported mileage and actual miles driven.
3. Mileage expense by odometer reading
If your company tracks vehicle odometer readings, Zoho Expense lets employees manually enter these values to generate mileage reports.
This approach is generally more accurate than other manual methods since it relies on actual odometer data, ensuring that only vehicle-based travel is reimbursed. However, it still leaves room for human error or intentional inflation during data entry.
4. Mileage tracking using GPS
The best mileage tracking apps combine GPS technology with a smartphone’s accelerometer to capture accurate driving distances. While Zoho Expense does use GPS, our tests suggest its results can be inconsistent.
In one of the earlier testings, our vehicle’s odometer recorded 6.624 miles, yet Zoho Expense logged 7.79 miles - an overestimation of about 117%.
From what our tests showed, we suspected that the app does not have a predefined speed threshold and reached out to Zoho’s support team for answers. They confirmed the app tracks everything from the moment you tap Start until you press Stop, regardless of how fast (or slow) you’re going. To test our theory, we left Zoho running in an office for two hours with no real driving, and it still logged 1.25 miles.
To verify if this issue persists in 2025, I tested Zoho Expense when I took a short drive with a brief shopping stop. I compared the results to Timeero’s mileage tracking records from the same trip for greater insights.
Timeero uses a predefined speed threshold when tracking mileage. This means unless the vehicle is actually in motion, mileage won’t be recorded. For this trip, Timeero recorded 2.33 miles.
Zoho logged 2.517 miles, including my in-store walking—evident as I watched the numbers rise while browsing the aisles.
Although that difference may seem minor for a single trip, multiple overestimates can inflate mileage claims, complicating reimbursements or tax deductions.
Despite these issues, Zoho Expense can still be accurate if you carefully start and stop the tracker so it only logs actual driving time. In controlled scenarios, its mileage logs nearly matched Timeero’s, with no significant discrepancies.
5. Zoho’s new automatic mileage tracking
Initially, the Zoho Expense app only offered manual start-and-stop GPS tracking, placing the burden on users to remember to tap Start and Stop.
I was surprised to learn that Zoho’s new automatic mileage tracking feature is now available. I reached out to customer support to enabled this feature on my account so I could test it thoroughly.
Switching to automatic tracking mode did save time by eliminating the constant need to toggle the tracker.
Still, the results were mixed.
In one instance, Zoho captured just 82.6% of the actual distance, missing part of the start of the trip. In other cases, Zoho logged routes twice, potentially inflating mileage totals.
Zoho’s automatic tracking feature is a step in the right direction. But without the ability to define a speed threshold, Zoho continues to record distances traveled at very low speeds or trips made foot, which can lead to inflated mileage logs and potential inaccuracies in reimbursements or tax deductions.
Offline mode
Zoho Expense does a good job when it comes to offline functionality. During our tests, we turned off internet access mid-trip, and the app continued tracking mileage without a hiccup. Whether you're driving through remote regions or traveling through areas with spotty coverage, Zoho Expense keeps logging your distance.
Drive classification
Classifying drives is crucial for accurate reimbursements and tax deductions, especially when different trip types can trigger different mileage rates.
Previously, Zoho Expense didn’t offer dedicated tools for labeling drives, leaving users to decide between “converting” trips into expenses or “discarding” them as personal. This basic approach required a lot of manual effort, and any mistakes made could quickly add up during reimbursement.
The good news is that Zoho Expense now includes an auto-classification feature. Once you enter your work schedule, the app automatically marks drives as business or personal, saving you the hassle of sorting them one by one.
It’s still fairly straightforward in that you’ll either turn a drive into an expense or discard it, but this streamlined method cuts down on errors and speeds up the reporting workflow.
As a result, you can focus on running your business instead of wrestling with complicated mileage logs. Just be sure your team understands how automatic trip classification works.
Zoho Expense allows you to report business travel expenses and discard personal drives.
Zoho mileage tracking policy
To improve the accuracy of employee reimbursements, you can create a mileage tracking policy with Zoho Expense. The policy specifies the mileage rates which will be applied to different vehicles.
Sadly, you can't assign mileage rates to employees or departments, and while there's no option to apply the standard IRS mileage rates automatically, you can do so manually.
One thing we do like is Zoho’s mileage expense limit options. With this option, you can set the predefined expense limit your business shouldn't exceed and track your mileage expenses against it.
With Zoho Expense, you can set a mileage expense limit and monitor expenditures against that limit.
Reporting with Zoho Expense mileage tracking
Zoho expense reporting
Creating Zoho Expense mileage tracking reports can be a tedious process for employees. When you end a trip, the app displays the drive card, prompting you to discard the drive or convert it to a report.
When you choose 'convert to expense,' the app asks you to confirm the details and whether you want to claim reimbursement for the drive. Then, when you select the vehicle you're tracking mileage for, the app automatically applies the rates to compute the expense.
Besides adding the miles traveled, Zoho Expense's autoscan feature lets you upload receipts for other expenses during the trip, such as parking fees.
When you click 'save,' the app adds the mileage log to unreported expenses. Then, you have to select the expense and click "add to report" to create a report for that expense. This report will automatically go to unsubmitted reports — you have to select it and hit 'submit' to send it to the assigned manager.
The app notifies the manager, prompting them to review the report. But this long process only complicates Zoho Expense's usability and can be strenuous for employees.
Besides adding the miles traveled, Zoho Expense receipt auto scan lets you add receipts for other expenses during the trip, such as parking fees.
Report filters for managers
Zoho makes it easy for managers and business owners to keep tabs on fuel and mileage expenses.
Generate reports to view 'expenses by category’, which will display all expenses, including mileage expenses and their corresponding expenditure.
Alternatively, you can create a mileage ‘expenses by user' report, which will show you each employees’ mileage expenses.
The expense policy violation by user report helps you determine if users are breaching the expense policy and by how much.
Other notable reports include:
Time taken for approval
Unsubmitted expenses
Expense by department
Expense by project
Software Integrations
Regarding integrations, Zoho Expense integrates seamlessly with other Zoho apps, including Zoho Books, Zoho Projects, Zoho People, and Zoho CRM.
It also works with other bookkeeping and accounting software such as QuickBooks, Quickbooks Online, Sage Accounting, and Xero.
Other notable integrations include Uber, Lyft, Bolt, Slack, Microsoft Office 365 etc.
Zoho Expense pricing
Zoho Expense offers 4 plans:
Free | $0/month Basic mileage tracking via GPS, up to 3 users
For the latest features, storage, or support details, it’s best to check Zoho’s official website.
Zoho Expense Review: Other key features
Beyond mileage tracking, Zoho Expense offers several other valuable features to streamline your expense management processes:
Receipt Management. Auto-scan receipts with OCR, digitally store them, and forward them from your email, streamlining expense reporting for finance teams and end users.
Expense Tracking. Manage multi-currency expenses and per diem allowances and differentiate billable from non-billable costs.
Corporate Card Management. Simplify the tracking of both personal and corporate card expenses, reducing manual errors and easing reconciliation.
Expense Reports. Create, submit, and automate detailed expense reports with intuitive approval workflows.
Travel Management. Manage travel requests, itineraries, and policies, including offline ticket options.
Policy Configuration & Budgeting. Define expense rules, set limits, and monitor budgets to ensure compliance with company policies and local tax laws.
Reimbursement & Audit. Streamline online reimbursements and maintain audit trails, ensuring your expense data is compliant and ready for review.
Timeero: A smarter choice for mileage tracking
While Zoho Expense packs a lot into its expense management suite, its mileage tracker sometimes isn’t as precise as you’d hope—often logging extra miles even when you’re not truly driving.
Timeero, is built to track employee time, location, and mileage, and it really shows.
How does Timeero work?
Timeero starts tracking when your vehicle exceeds a certain speed (about 4.47 mph), so it won’t record miles during low-speed movement, traffic delays, or when you’re walking. This ensures you get an accurate log of your actual driving.
Ease of use
The app is incredibly user-friendly. With just a quick clock-in at the start of your trip, Timeero automatically handles everything—tracking your drive, pausing when you stop, and resuming when you move again. This hands-off approach minimizes errors and makes expense reporting a breeze.
Clear route insights
Timeero provides detailed route replays with clickable breadcrumbs that display timestamps and speed data, giving managers a clear view of the journey.
Timeero’s Segmented Tracking further breaks down trips into distinct segments based on stops, making it easy for teams, like sales or delivery, to analyze multi-stop routes and ensure efficient driving.
Works anywhere
Timeero continues to track your mileage while offline and syncs the data once internet connection is restored, ensuring no record is lost.
Privacy protection
Timeero is privacy-conscious—it tracks only while you’re on the clock, ensuring personal movements remain private.
In short, if you need mileage tracking that’s both accurate and effortless, Timeero is a smart alternative to Zoho Expense’s mileage tracker. It’s ideal for businesses and independent drivers who demand reliable, audit-ready data without the hassle.
Additional features of Timeero:
Real-time GPS location tracking
Time tracking
Scheduling
Message Blast
Custom Fields
Final thoughts: Is Zoho Expense mileage tracking worth it?
If expense management is your primary need, Zoho Expense offers a great suite of automation features. Its receipt scanning with OCR, policy enforcement, multi-currency support, and intuitive interface make it a strong choice for businesses focused on efficiency and compliance.
However, if you’re looking for a reliable mileage tracker, Zoho Expense mileage tracking isn’t the best choice if you need consistent accuracy. The complexity of its interface and the time it takes to submit a reimbursement are additional drawbacks that might prevent you from relying on Zoho for mileage alone.
If ease of use and accurate mileage logs top your priority list, consider Timeero. It simplifies mileage tracking while minimizing inaccuracies and streamlining reporting. Try Timeero free for 14 days - no credit card required - and see if it meets your needs.
FAQs: Zoho Expense Review
Does Zoho Expense track mileage?
Yes, Zoho Expense allows employees to record their mileage when they travel for business purposes. However, the app does not distinguish between different modes of transportation; it tracks mileage even when an employee is on foot.
How do I record mileage in Zoho Expenses?
To record mileage in Zoho Expense, long-press the mobile app and select "start GPS." When you start moving, the app will track mileage automatically. You have to click "stop tracking" to end mileage tracking.
See How Timeero Simplifies Mileage Tracking and Boosts Accuracy.
Andjelka is a researcher and writer with 6+ 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 3 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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