Setting up logbooks and FBT
Choose your FBT jurisdiction and automation mode, enter vehicle financial data and give people the right permissions.
Setting up the logbook system needs an Organisation Administrator. Work through the steps in order.
Who does what
| Role | Main activities |
|---|---|
| System Administrator / Organisation Administrator | Configure the FBT jurisdiction and automation mode, and manage permissions. |
| Fleet Administrator | Create logbook periods, review entries, validate periods and review FBT assessments. |
| Finance Administrator | View FBT assessments, run reports, manage employee contributions and choose FBT methods. |
| Driver | Record journeys in the mobile app, classify journeys created from telematics and enter business purposes. |
| Pool Officer | View logbook entries and compliance status for their pools. |
Where it lives
| Place | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Web app: Logbooks in the sidebar | Periods, entries, classification and the logbook dashboard. |
| Web app: Reports | FBT reports, logbook compliance and logbook detail reports. |
| Web app: the vehicle's Financial tab | Cost base, ownership type and operating costs. |
| Web app: Settings → Organisation | FBT jurisdiction and logbook automation. |
| Mobile app: Logbook tab | Start and stop journeys, classify entries and view history. |
Choose your FBT jurisdiction
Go to Settings → Organisation and find FBT Configuration. Set Default FBT Jurisdiction:
- AU: Australian Taxation Office rules (12-week logbook, 5-year validity).
- NZ: New Zealand Inland Revenue rules (90-day logbook, 3-year validity).
Save your settings. This applies to the whole organisation; individual vehicles can override it (step 3).
Choose a logbook automation mode
On the same page, under Logbook Automation, set Automation Mode:
Mode Behaviour Manual No entries are created automatically. All entries are added manually on the web or in the mobile app. Confirm Only Telematics trips create logbook entries automatically. Drivers get a push notification to classify each journey as business, private or home-to-work. Fully Automatic Telematics trips create entries automatically and are classified using geofence zones (business, private and home zones). When automation is on, two thresholds appear:
- Minimum Trip Distance (km): shorter trips are ignored, which filters out movements such as parking.
- Minimum Trip Duration (minutes): shorter trips are ignored.
Enter vehicle financial data
For each vehicle that needs an FBT assessment, open the vehicle and select its Financial tab. Enter the cost base, purchase date, ownership type and, for leased vehicles, the monthly lease amount. See FBT assessments for what each field is used for.
Use FBT Jurisdiction Override if this vehicle should follow a different jurisdiction from the organisation, for example in a fleet that operates in both Australia and New Zealand.
Check permissions
Make sure the right people have the logbook and FBT permissions described below.
Permissions
| Permission | Allows |
|---|---|
| View Logbooks | View logbook periods, entries, dashboards and compliance data. |
| Create Logbooks | Create new logbook entries, such as drivers recording their own journeys. |
| Edit Logbooks | Edit existing entries, classify journeys and use bulk actions. |
| Manage Logbooks | Full control: create, edit, validate and expire periods, delete entries and use the classification queue. |
| View FBT | View FBT assessments, reports, operating costs and employee contributions. |
| Manage FBT | Run assessments, choose methods and manage employee contributions. |
The default roles include these permissions:
| Role | Logbook permissions | FBT permissions |
|---|---|---|
| Fleet Administrator | View, Create, Edit, Manage | View |
| Finance Administrator | View | View, Manage |
| Driver / Standard User | View, Create | None |
| Pool Officer | View | None |
| System Administrator | All | All |
What each role can do
Fleet Administrator
- Create and manage logbook periods (Draft, Active, Validated, Expired).
- Create, edit and delete logbook entries.
- Classify unclassified journeys.
- View the logbook dashboard and compliance status, and review odometer gaps.
- View FBT assessments (read-only).
Finance Administrator
- View logbook data and compliance status.
- Run FBT assessments for one vehicle or the whole fleet.
- Choose the FBT method for each vehicle.
- Manage employee contributions.
- Run all FBT and logbook reports, and export them for audit.
Driver
- Record journeys in the mobile app, with GPS tracking.
- Classify their own journeys created from telematics.
- View their own logbook history.
- Cannot manage periods or see other drivers' entries, unless they are also a fleet administrator.
Pool Officer
- View logbook entries and compliance for vehicles in their pools.
- Cannot create, edit or manage entries or periods.
In the mobile app, these permissions decide whether a person sees the Logbook tab, the Start Journey button, classification actions and the edit and delete actions on an entry.
Setup checklist
- Set the FBT jurisdiction (AU or NZ) in organisation settings.
- Set the logbook automation mode.
- Enter financial data (cost base, purchase date, ownership type) for each vehicle.
- Give logbook and FBT permissions to the right people or roles.
- Create logbook periods for vehicles that need the Operating Cost Method.
- Show drivers how to start and stop journeys and use the classification queue in the mobile app.
- Review and classify unclassified entries.
- Validate logbook periods when their minimum duration is complete.
- Run FBT assessments for the current FBT year.
- Review the FBT reports and choose a method for each vehicle.
- Export logbook detail reports for your ATO or IRD records.
- Watch the logbook dashboard for expiring periods and coverage gaps.