Automatically logging journeys with untied

untied automatically logs your journeys. We know it's not perfect especially for shorter journeys, and you can scroll down for troubleshooting - or switch to manual mode.

You can add mileage manually, or log journeys with another tool such as Strava (for bikes) which is more precise about location (we try not to be), and which may require you to press start and stop.

Enabling journey logging

You will need to enable location services according to your device. This does not rely on GPS to be on, but uses various other sensors that are built into your device.

Tagging journeys

Journeys still need to be claimed as only you know which is business and which is personal.

Journeys are tagged in the same way as transactions. Choose the Travel tab. Either tap on a transaction or swipe left and tap on the tag icon. Simply claiming will include the journey as a business expense, and apply the correct rate for the type of vehicle and total miles in the year.

Expenses (and any tax impact) and claimed miles will update:

Editing journeys

If you open a journey, you can edit the distance. You may want to add a comment to explain why it's been edited. You can also change the vehicle type - untied uses information from your phone to determine your vehicle and of course, it's not always right.

Journeys splitting?

For longer journeys, you may find that your journeys are split where you will need to claim the relevant legs.

As each device has its own settings, you may need to tweak the sensitivity or "location update frequency", or turn on GPS.

You can access the following menu via More > Settings > Location

Manual journeys - missing journeys

There may be times where you want to add manual journeys - perhaps untied hasn't captured a trip or you want to add miles for a period. You may also use an app like Strava to track the details of your travel by bike.

Click on the plus button on the Travel screen to add a manual journey / mileage. Although it calculates mileage, you can also edit the number of miles - so we suggest using two postcodes near each other, and then entering in the total mileage with a comment to make sure it is logged properly.

There's a video at the linked article on adding mileage manually.

Troubleshooting

Your journeys will not be logged if your phone has location services off, if you're in Flight mode, if your phone is turned off, if you run out of battery, or if you leave your phone at home.

To view your journeys you should also make sure you're in the right tax year (use the toggle in the top left of your screen).

untied does not record very short journeys or those that are on foot as there would be no mileage to claim. untied is also unable to determine if you're the driver using your own car, or a passenger in another vehicle

Journey logging requires some permissions to be set on your phone. If things don't seem to be working check the following sections.

Android permissions
iPhone permissions

Android permissions

Check that untied can access 'Physical activity' and that 'Location' is set to 'Allow all the time'.

Open the settings app, search for untied or click on 'Apps & notifications' and then untied. Then select 'Permissions':

Make sure 'Physical activity' is selected. This is how untied knows whether you are in/on a vehicle and what type of vehicle it is.  Next, click on 'Location' and make sure it is set to 'Allow all the time'. This is important as without this untied won't know when you're travelling when the phone is locked or untied is in the background.

iPhone permissions

Open your settings app, scroll down to and tap on untied, and check that 'Location' is set to 'Always' and 'Motion & Fitness' is enabled.  It is important that location is always enabled as otherwise untied will not be able to log your position when untied is in the background or the phone is locked. Motion and Fitness is also needed as that is how the phone is able to report whether you are in a vehicle and what kind of vehicle it is. Without this journeys may not get logged. Also, make sure 'Background App Refresh' is enabled. Without this untied will be unable to update while in the background.

How untied logs journeys

untied uses the capability of your phone. Your phone's sensors determine if you're moving and if you're in a vehicle. untied uses this to work out the start and stop of a journey. From this, we work out a route and therefore the mileage.

It may mean that the route you took may be slightly different from what will appear on the screen - we keep the amount of data that you send us as being proportionate to what you're using it for.

The use of the data is covered by our Terms & Conditions, and our Privacy Policy.