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Logbooks & FBT

Record vehicle journeys, classify them as business or private, and assess Fringe Benefit Tax for Australian (ATO) or New Zealand (IRD) rules.

How logbooks work

The logbook records every vehicle journey and classifies it as business or private use. That data feeds the FBT calculations, which compare assessment methods for each vehicle.

JurisdictionLogbook rules in Vectis
Australia (ATO)A 12-week logbook period. Supports the Statutory Method and the Operating Cost Method, compared automatically.
New Zealand (IRD)A 90-day logbook period. Calculates a business use percentage.

The guides under this page go into each task in detail:

Managing logbook periods

A logbook period is the formal tracking window during which every journey must be recorded. Each period belongs to one vehicle and has a start and end date.

  1. Open Logbook Periods

    Go to Logbooks → Logbook Periods in the sidebar.

  2. Create a period

    Select New Period, choose the vehicle and set the start date. The end date follows from your organisation's FBT jurisdiction. Vectis checks that periods for the same vehicle don't overlap.

  3. Monitor the period

    While a period is active, the dashboard shows completion progress, recorded journeys and any gaps in the logbook.

  4. Validate the period

    When the period ends, validate it to lock its entries and calculate the business use percentage.

Logbook entries

Each journey within a logbook period is recorded as an entry:

FieldWhat it holds
Date & timeStart and end date and time of the journey, captured from telematics or entered manually.
OdometerStart and end odometer readings. Distance is calculated automatically.
ClassificationBusiness or private use, set manually or classified automatically.
PurposeFor business trips, a description of the business purpose.
RouteStart and end addresses. With telematics, the actual route is recorded automatically.

Journey classification

Journeys can be classified as business or private in several ways:

MethodHow it works
Manual classificationDrivers classify each trip from the mobile app, or on the web from the Classify Journeys page.
Telematics automationWith telematics enabled, trips are detected automatically and become logbook entries ready to classify.
Geofence-basedSet up geofences around home addresses and work locations, and trips that start or end in them are classified automatically.
Bulk classificationThe Classify Journeys page lets managers review and classify several unclassified trips at once.

FBT assessment

Vectis calculates FBT using two methods and recommends the one with the lower liability.

Statutory Method

A formula based on the vehicle's cost base, a statutory percentage (20%) and the number of days the vehicle was available for private use. Simpler, but it may result in higher FBT.

Taxable value = Cost base × 20% × (Days available / 365) − Employee contributions

Operating Cost Method

Uses the vehicle's actual operating costs (fuel, maintenance, insurance and depreciation) multiplied by the private use percentage from the logbook. It can result in lower FBT, but it needs a valid logbook.

Taxable value = Total operating costs × Private use % − Employee contributions

Logbook dashboard

The logbook dashboard (Logbooks → Dashboard) is for the Finance Administrator and System Administrator roles. It shows:

  • active logbook periods with completion progress;
  • vehicles with missing or incomplete logbook entries;
  • business and private use breakdown charts;
  • an FBT liability summary with method comparison;
  • compliance alerts for logbooks approaching expiry.

See also