3 Benefits of Electronic IFTA Reporting

Fleet regulations and tracking mandates have radically changed the automotive industry over the last several years. From driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIR) to the Hours of Service (HoS) mandate, fleets are now required to have tighter tracking and reporting methods than ever before.

For fleets with interstate motor carriers that travel across state lines, this means using telematics units to track fuel tax payments for their International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) reports. If you fall into this category, read through the benefits below to see why using the Geotab Go7 to record fuel usage can save you time, money, and effort.

1. Electronically record data

When you manually record your IFTA reports, you have to rely on the receipts and odometer readings collected by your drivers on the road. Then, using this information, you have to aggregate the data, total the receipts, and analyze everything you’ve received to create your quarterly report. Through it all, you have to rely on the assumption that the numbers you received are accurate.

With electronic recording, however, your Go7 records odometer readings and GPS locations for each day’s trip. By integrating MyGeotab, you can automatically track entry and exit mileages, along with any device/vehicle problems that could affect your data. In the coming months, Geotab will also offer automated fuel card imports to MyGeotab to further ease IFTA reporting.

2. Avoid additional taxes

Anytime you lose a receipt for a fill-up, you lose your record of paying taxes for your fuel. You are required to repay the taxes on all undocumented fuel payments, so each misplaced receipt means double the tax and, if you get audited and haven’t paid, additional fines. With a telematics device, you can keep flawless records and even upload pictures of receipts to avoid unnecessary payments.

3. Be audit-ready

Every IFTA jurisdiction is required to audit at least 3% of its licenses every year. Though this 3% can include companies that report manually and electronically, electronic records usually have fewer mistakes and are less likely to be audited. If you are audited, however, electronic records are better received and examined by auditors, which can help your outcome.

How do you keep IFTA records? Has this method been successful?