Help and support

Getting drives recorded

Start with Settings > Detection health in Milepost. It shows whether everything it needs is switched on and marks anything that isn't. Then check these:

1. Location: Always, with Precise Location on. In the iPhone's Settings app, go to Milepost > Location, choose Always and turn on Precise Location. iOS first offers Allow While Using App; choose that, then Change to Always Allow when iOS asks later. With only "While Using", drives aren't recorded in the background.
2. Motion & Fitness on. In Settings, go to Milepost and turn on Motion & Fitness. Also check that Privacy & Security > Motion & Fitness > Fitness Tracking is on. This is how Milepost tells driving from walking.
3. Background App Refresh on. In Settings, go to General > Background App Refresh and make sure it's on, and on for Milepost.
4. Low Power Mode. When it's on, iOS can be slower to wake Milepost, so detection may start later in the drive. If you use Low Power Mode a lot, check your trips afterwards.
5. Don't swipe Milepost away in the app switcher. iOS may stop it detecting drives until you open it again.
6. Tracking paused? If you paused tracking in Settings, Milepost shows "Tracking paused". Tap Resume.

You can always press Start trip on the Trips screen before you set off, and Stop when you arrive.

A drive was missed or split

• Missed: in Settings > Detection health, tap Check for missed trips. Milepost compares your iPhone's motion history from the last 7 days with your log, and you can tap a drive to add it. You can also add a trip yourself with Add trip on the Trips screen: type the start and end postcodes or addresses and Milepost works out the distance by road.
• Very short trips of under about 0.3 miles or 2 minutes aren't saved, so a quick hop to the end of the road won't clutter your log.
• Split in two: a trip ends after you've been stopped for about three minutes, so a stop of a few minutes on the way, for example to drop something off, can split a drive. Open the trip and choose Merge with previous trip or Merge with next trip.
• Two drives in one: open the trip, choose Split into two trips and drag to where you stopped.
• Wrong start or end: open the trip and choose Move start point or Move end point. You can correct the distance too, and Milepost notes the change and your reason on the trip.

The free trial

Milepost's free trial lasts 30 days from the day you start it in the app. During the trial every feature works. When it ends, nothing renews and you aren't charged. Milepost keeps recording drives, and your trip history and the CSV of all your trips stay free. To keep classifying new trips and to export your PDF and CSV mileage logs, unlock Milepost for £19.99, once.

Restoring your purchase

If you've bought the unlock and Milepost asks you to pay again, for example on a new iPhone or after reinstalling:

1. Make sure the iPhone is signed in to the App Store with the Apple Account you bought Milepost with.
2. In Milepost, go to Settings and tap Restore purchases.

If it says "Nothing to restore", no Milepost purchase was found for that Apple Account. If the purchase says "Waiting for approval", it needs approving first, for example by a family organiser with Ask to Buy. Milepost unlocks as soon as it's approved.

Exporting your mileage log

1. Open the Summary tab and tap Export.
2. Choose the tax year.
3. Choose what to export, then send it with the share sheet: by email, to the Files app, by AirDrop or any other way your iPhone offers.

Which rates apply

UK tax years run from 6 April to 5 April. Milepost uses HMRC's approved mileage rates for the tax year each trip falls in, based on the trip's date.

• The 10,000 miles count across all your cars and vans together, per tax year. If one trip takes you past 10,000, Milepost splits it between the two rates.
• Motorcycles and bicycles have their own flat rates and don't count towards the 10,000 miles.
• Simplified expenses for the self-employed don't cover bicycles, so in self-employed mode bicycle trips are logged at £0.
• Passengers on a car or van business trip add 5p a mile each, for up to six passengers. They don't count towards the 10,000 miles.
• Personal and commuting trips are kept in your log but aren't claimed.
• When HMRC changes a rate, the new rate arrives in a free app update and Milepost works out your totals again from your trips. Settings shows the version of the rates in use. The rates come from GOV.UK.

Claiming as an employee

In Settings, set I claim as to Employee and enter what your employer pays per mile. Milepost works out the difference between HMRC's approved amount and what your employer paid. That difference is what you can claim as Mileage Allowance Relief, through Self Assessment or form P87. You can claim for the current tax year and the previous four. If your employer paid more than HMRC's rate, the Summary tab tells you, because the extra is usually taxable.

iCloud sync and new iPhones

• If your iPhone is signed in to iCloud, Milepost syncs your trips, vehicles and settings to your own private iCloud automatically. There's nothing to set up.
• In Milepost, Settings > Your data shows "Syncing with iCloud", or "iCloud off: data is only on this iPhone".
• If it says iCloud is off, open the Settings app, tap your name, then iCloud, and check that iCloud is on for Milepost in the list of apps using iCloud.
• New iPhone: sign in with the same Apple Account, install Milepost and open it. Your log downloads from iCloud, which can take a few minutes on a slow connection. Then use Restore purchases.
• Sync needs an internet connection. Trips recorded offline sync when you're back online.

Deleting your data

• One trip: open it and tap Delete Trip, or touch and hold it in the list and choose Delete.
• Everything: in Milepost, go to Settings > Delete all data. This removes every trip, vehicle and setting from your iPhone and from your iCloud, and can't be undone. Export your log first if you might need it for HMRC.
• Deleting the app removes the data on that iPhone, but the copy in iCloud stays. To remove that too, use Delete all data before deleting the app, or in the Settings app tap your name, then iCloud, then Manage Storage, choose Milepost and delete its data.

Our privacy notice explains what Milepost stores and where.

Refunds

Apple handles payment for Milepost, so refunds are requested from Apple. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in with your Apple Account, choose the Milepost purchase and follow the steps. We can't issue refunds ourselves, but if something isn't working, please email us. We may be able to fix it.