Show video transcript
Show video transcript
Navigating the TripLog app and tips for success:
In the previous video, we covered some of the options and settings for AutoStarts. In this video, we'll cover some of the steps you can take to succeed at tracking your mileage and make sure you're getting the most out of your program.
Helpful tips
Navigating the Home Screen/Navigation Bar
Basic app navigation includes the Home Screen and the Menu Bar. You can move between common tasks in the navigation bar — Trips, Fuel, Transactions, Reports, or Time. Depending on your account settings, you may see different options or fewer options. Under "show more" you can see all available options. You can edit the order of these items by holding down an option with "show more" expanded and then moving the icons as needed.
If for some reason you're missing some options, the first step would be to try a data sync. In some more advanced troubleshooting, you may need to log out or reinstall the app.
Menu Bar
The menu bar can be opened by clicking the three-line icon in the upper left or by swiping from the left side of the screen. These are less frequently used options, but they'll give you access to Settings, Vehicles, and Locations. There are additional tools such as Route Planning and Frequent Trip Rules that you can set up to use your locations in the app and automatically classify common trips or send a route to your maps app. Refer to the article associated with this course for more details.
Depending on whether your company completed your account setup, you may not have access to see all the options. If your account has additional features like approval management or other integrations turned on, this is where you'll see those options.
Keeping the app open.
By regularly opening the app to review your mileage, you can make sure the app is updating regularly and verify that your mileage is being collected correctly. When using the app, you'll want to make sure you have the correct background permissions. If you switch apps, you'll want to make sure the app stays open in the background. If you accidentally force-close the app, you'll want to reopen it by tapping the app icon occasionally. Through regular background use, you may need to validate that the data is up to date. Simply open the app to check your trip information or any recently recorded or synced information.
Data Sync:
TripLog will try to automatically sync data to keep your app up to date, as well as the information you or your manager see on the web dashboard. The app will sync automatically, but occasionally you may need to sync manually due to connection issues or the app being closed in the background. To do a sync and check for changes, you can swipe down on the Trips or Transactions screen to perform a quick data-merge sync.
In general, you'll always want to merge the data, unless support instructs you otherwise during troubleshooting.
If you update any information on the web, in order to see it reflected in the app, you'll also need to start a manual sync from the app.
There are 2 ways to reach the sync menu, the preferred one being through Help and Info
Open the Main Menu ( ≡ three line icon ) > Help and Info > Scroll to the bottom and click Data Sync and Backup > Sync Between Device and Cloud > Merge Data Confirm Merge Data
Manual sync: TripLog App > Main Menu ( ≡ three line icon ) > Your Plan (click the email) > Data Backup > Sync Between Device and Cloud > Merge Data Confirm Merge Data
Keep in mind that you don't want to do this excessively, as the server will time you out. If you get the timeout error, you'll simply need to wait out the timeout period. If you're having sync issues, try a different wireless connection or move to an area with better signal and try again.
Home Screen and Navigation Bar
The home screen will have the default option selected when you open the app, usually the current month's Trips page. Note: If the month recently changed, you may not see trips and will need to use the date selection to view your trips.
Home Screen Breakdown
Options Available in the Navigation Bar
Customize the Menu Layout
To organize things to fit your needs, click the Reorder button, then press and hold and drag the icon to the desired location. This is similar to how you organize apps on your operating system. Click Done once you have it in the order you want. Note: You may not have all the options available that are shown in the example.
Main Menu
Odometer Adjustment Tool
Navigation / Route Planning
The Navigation/Route Planning tool lets you quickly use already-recorded locations to send directions or an optimized route to your device's maps app. By default, it'll use Google Maps on Android, and on iOS it'll give you the choice between Apple Maps and Google Maps if you have Google Maps installed.
Simply select the location you want to send to the maps app and click the blue navigation icon. This will open the selected app and enter the route from your current location. Note: the order is from nearest to farthest; if you need to navigate to a specific location first, you'll need to navigate to just that location.
You can manually add a location in the route planning menu by clicking the Plus sign in the upper right.
Frequent Trip Rules
Frequent Trip Rules let you predefine the activity that a specific trip uses by default. One example is a trip from a client to the office that will always be a business trip regardless of direction. You can choose the From and To locations and then define whether it's one-way or round-trip, then set the default activity.
You can add multiple rules and update or delete them as needed. This overrides the time-period defaults, so keep that condition in mind. One reason to use this, for example, is that if you typically travel somewhere after business hours but need it to always be a business trip, you can define that here.
Tips for Success
Leave the app open in the background and open it regularly. Be sure to allow background processing and turn off battery optimization. If you force-close the app, keep in mind that you'll need to reopen it manually for it to automatically track mileage and sync.
Sync Data
While the app will automatically sync data when allowed to run in the background, there may come a time when you need to sync data manually. Your manager may not be able to see your trips or expenses and you'll need to sync.
Quick Sync
A quick sync will merge the data and can be done on the Trips or Transactions screens by simply swiping down on the page.
Full Data Sync
If for some reason that isn't enough, you may need to do a full data sync. Generally, the Merge Data option is the safest, and you shouldn't use the other options unless instructed by your manager or support during troubleshooting.
Full manual sync option 1 (preferred): Open the Main Menu ( ≡ three line icon ) > Help and Info > Scroll to the bottom and click Data Sync and Backup > Sync Between Device and Cloud > Merge Data Confirm Merge Data
Full manual sync option 2: TripLog App > Main Menu ( ≡ three line icon ) > Your Plan (click the email) > Data Backup > Sync Between Device and Cloud > Merge Data > Confirm Merge Data