For several rental properties. Is there a free cellphone app will scan receipts and I can keep track of mileage for each property to print at year-end for income taxes?

[mj110]

I have fading and unorganized receipts and have trouble keeping track of rental business expenses and mileage. Is there a free app that can make this mess more organized and easy to use? I would like to enter and scan as the year goes, by category and print out a final ledger with supporting receipts for income taxes.

[Carl]

For receipts and the such, why not just take a picture of it with your iPhone or Android? Doesn't cost you a penny then. Also won't fade like receipts do.

For mileage tracking check out the top 5 at https://www.gofar.co/blog/mileage-tracker-iphone-apps/ and consider the one that best meets your specific needs.

Overall, unless you have aggregated your multiple rental properties into a single activity, you'll find that having to track mileage for each separate activity is going to be a real pain. But it's nothing compared to the pain you'll deal with when you do something like sell only one of the properties, or if you sell or trade in the vehicle for another one. (Just a head's up on that, as there's no tracking app in existence that can alleviate that particular pain.)

[VolvoGirl]

You probably should be using a program like Quicken or QuickBooks.  You can attach receipts to the transactions.  They will also import to Turbo Tax. 

[Carl]

That's not a bad idea. One point of order though.

The online version of Quicken and QB will only import to the online version of TurboTax.

The CD version of QB will only import to the CD version of TurboTax.

Last I heard, there was no more CD version of Quicken, as that program was sold by Intuit a few years back to a 3rd party company called H.I.G. Capital. It's my understanding they only sell it as an online product now. That's why I switched to using Microsoft Money for my home finances. (I use QB for the business stuff)

[VolvoGirl]

Quicken is still the same program.  It is still a standalone desktop program.  They do sell the download online.  You might still be able to buy the CD in stores.  It is now a subscription deal where  you have to renew each year to continue downloading transactions but if you don't renew you can still use it manually.  

[Carl]

It is now a subscription deal where you have to renew each year to continue downloading transactions

I just want to make sure I understand this correctly. Are you saying that I can purchase the CD version of Quicken, pay for it that one time only (I never used it for downloading transactions, as I enter all transactions manually by hand) and never have to pay for that same year/version again?

I ask, because even where I see CD's available on Amazon, they say "1-year subscription" which gives me the impression I absolutely must pay for it every single year.

[VolvoGirl]

Yes.  Unless you buy the Starter Edition.  That becomes read only if you do not renew.  But if you are going to use it manually try to find an old version before 2014.  Starting in 2014 they do require a Quicken ID to get into your files.  I'm staying on Q2013.   You can download Q2013 for free.  

[Carl]

That becomes read only if you do not renew.

Thanks for confirming what I suspected. I'll just stick with Microsoft Money since it's free, and meets my needs for the home finances just fine.

[fanfare]

If you want to use Quicken to enter your own records manually,

then you do not have to renew your subscription.

The subscription gives you access to services over the Internet.

You don't get any bug fixes.

Your quicken ID doesn't cost you anything, it is just your email address.

The cost of subscription is negligible for what you get. (less than yearly TurboTax)

[DoGood]

Stand alone .PDF scanners - I use Adobe Scan and am also trying Stack by Google (Area 120 app). What's nice about these two apps is that they convert your receipts to .pdf files with OCR (optical character recognition) so if you needed to search for a receipt you can.  I don't have a perfect system, but I can find any receipt.

You can also send files by attaching docs to emails, etc. Not sure if you can do that with the other softwares.

Mileage Tracker: I personally use TripLog. Never failed me and very easy to get records and summaries. It's not free, but it's not costly either. For TripLog, I have their TripLog Beacon, which is a USB device you plug into each car. When you start the car and drive, it automatically knows which car you are driving and records that trip for you. You can easily designate locations as Business or manually assign your trip as Business or Personal, etc.