Mileage CSV Import Checklist: Dates, Units and Duplicate Trips

This checklist applies to mileage files generally. If you are leaving MileIQ, use the MileIQ export guide for the separate task of obtaining and preserving your source records.

Preserve the source before opening a working copy

Save the original export with the app name and export date. Keep it unchanged. Work on a duplicate when renaming columns, changing date formats or removing rows.

If you also have a PDF summary, keep it beside the CSV. It can provide a useful reference for the reporting period and totals, although it may not contain the same level of trip detail.

Record which vehicles and dates the file covers. Overlapping exports are easy to confuse once several files are called mileage.csv.

Map meanings, not just column names

Use a small mapping table before importing:

Source field	Question to answer
Date	Is the day unambiguous? Which time zone applies?
Start / end	Are these times, locations or odometer readings?
Distance	Miles or kilometres? Are decimal separators preserved?
Purpose	Is the business explanation retained as text?
Category	How do business, personal and unclassified values map?
Amount	Is this a reimbursement, calculated estimate or something else?

For example, the date 03/04/2026 could mean March 4 or April 3. Check it against a known trip before converting an entire file. If a location contains a comma, check that it remains in one field rather than shifting later columns.

Use a sample that exposes mistakes

Choose several known entries: a business journey, a personal journey, an unclassified one if present, a decimal distance and a trip near a date boundary. Include more than one vehicle if that matters to your records.

Here is a fictional expected sample:

Trip	Miles	Classification
A	12.4	Business
B	7.6	Business
C	3.0	Personal

Before and after import, these entries should still represent 23.0 total miles and 20.0 business miles. A plausible-looking report is not enough: inspect the individual entries as well. A classification error can leave the total distance correct while changing the business total.

If the source uses kilometres, establish how the destination handles units rather than relabelling the same number as miles. Keep the source unit in your reconciliation notes.

Check duplicates before repeating an import

If the first attempt appears incomplete, avoid immediately importing the whole file again. Find out whether the destination detects duplicates, adds another copy or permits a preview without saving. These behaviours differ between products.

Compare dates, times, routes and distances when looking for overlap. Two trips with identical distances are not necessarily duplicates, and a return journey is normally a separate record. Retain the reason for any deletion or correction.

Keep the old archive until the new record is verified

After the full import, reconcile trip counts and totals by reporting period and vehicle. Inspect representative purposes and classifications. Export from the new app if available and check that the information you need remains accessible.

Do not delete your only source archive because a dashboard total looks right. An import can omit information that only becomes relevant when you prepare a report later.

FlatMile offers a CSV preview before saving, but compatibility with every other app’s export has not been verified. Exporting your records from FlatMile as CSV or PDF requires a subscription or eligible trial. See FlatMile support for the current import guidance. Its sample report shows an export format; that does not imply that every report CSV is automatically a supported import format.

A checklist for moving mileage records between apps