Record each fuel purchase for a work vehicle so reimbursement and fleet costs are easy to check.
Fuel is one of the biggest running costs for field teams. A simple report per vehicle shows cost per mile, catches missing receipts and speeds up reimbursement for employees who pay out of pocket.
If you reimburse by mileage instead of actual fuel costs, use the mileage report instead and do not pay both for the same trip.
11 items. Fill it in on screen or print a copy.
An HVAC technician fills up three times in two weeks: 14, 12 and 15 gallons, $164 in total. The odometer shows 820 miles driven, so cost per mile is about 20 cents. The manager approves, and payroll adds the reimbursement to the next paycheck.
Odometer readings taken at each fill-up give the business the mileage records it needs to support vehicle expense deductions, and they help a manager spot fuel bought for the wrong vehicle. Under the FLSA, unreimbursed work costs paid by an hourly employee cannot cut their pay below minimum wage, so prompt repayment matters for lower-paid drivers.
| Employee and vehicle | Rico, Summit Window Cleaning, Denver; crew van #2 |
|---|---|
| Fill-up 1 | Mar 3, odometer 61,120, 18.0 gal at $3.20 = $57.60 |
| Fill-up 2 | Mar 10, odometer 61,455, 16.5 gal at $3.30 = $54.45 |
| Fill-up 3 | Mar 14, odometer 61,790, 17.0 gal at $3.10 = $52.70 |
| Totals | 51.5 gallons, $164.75 |
| Miles and cost per mile | 990 miles since 60,800 last report, about 16.6 cents a mile |
| Approval | Monica, operations manager, Mar 17 |
The miles line starts from the closing odometer on the previous report, 60,800, not from the first fill-up, so every mile in the period is counted. Rico paid with his own card, so the full $164.75 goes on his next paycheck.
Choose one method per trip. Your policy should say which.
Ask for a written note and a bank statement line, per your policy.
Yes, if the vehicle is used privately.
It depends on your plan. Ask your accountant.
Yes. Write the rental agreement number in place of the plate and attach the fuel receipt. Skip the cost per mile line for that vehicle, since you have no prior odometer reading, and check whether the rental company’s prepaid fuel was already charged to the company card.
Claim only the business share. Record total miles and business miles for the period, then reimburse the fuel cost in that proportion. Attach the full receipt and write the split on it so the approver can follow the math.
More for the same job
Once the fuel expense report is in place, the next question is usually about shifts and hours. Book a demo to see how EZTime handles scheduling and time tracking.