Can AI build a mileage tracker app like Everlance?

Build a personal mileage tracker web app to replace Everlance for my own use. I'll log trips manually or with tap-to-start/stop, not automatically.

Tech rules:
- Plain HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript in one file, using a mapping/geocoding API for address-to-address distance lookups. No framework, build step, account, or server.
- Store all data in localStorage under one key, with a version number.

Data model:
- Trip: id, vehicleId, startAddress, endAddress, distanceMiles, purpose (business, personal), isRoundTrip, startedAt, endedAt, notes, editedAt.
- Vehicle: id, name, isDefault.
- MileageRate: year, ratePerMile (current-year IRS standard mileage rate, editable by me if it changes mid-year).

Features:
- A "Start trip" button that records the start time and, on "Stop trip", asks for the end address to compute distance via the mapping API.
- A manual entry form for logging a trip after the fact, with start and end addresses.
- Business vs personal classification per trip, with a running business-mileage total.
- Support for more than one vehicle, with a default vehicle preselected.
- A round-trip toggle that doubles the one-way distance.
- An editable current-year IRS mileage rate, so I can update it if it changes mid-year, applied to compute the deductible amount per trip.
- A tax-ready export (CSV, formatted with date, addresses, purpose, distance, and computed deduction amount).

Edge cases the build must handle correctly:
1. Classifying a trip as business vs personal is required before it counts toward the mileage total.
2. Distance between two addresses is calculated via the mapping API, not estimated, and the app shows an error if the API can't resolve an address.
3. The current-year IRS mileage rate is editable, since it can change mid-year, and past trips keep the rate that was active when they were logged.
4. Multiple vehicles are tracked separately, with per-vehicle trip history.
5. A round trip records double the one-way distance, clearly labeled as round-trip in the log.
6. Editing a trip's date, time, or distance after the fact updates an editedAt field, so the log shows it was modified.
7. A trip that spans multiple days still logs as one trip with a correct total distance.
8. The exported report is formatted for tax filing: date, addresses, purpose, distance, and rate-applied deduction amount, matching what a mileage log needs to hold up if reviewed.

Backup:
- One-click "Export JSON" and "Export tax-ready CSV".
- "Import JSON" restores after confirmation.

Layout:
- Mobile-first, readable at 375px wide, so I can log a trip from my phone right after driving.

Exclusions:
- No publishing, App Store submission, accounts, payments, automatic background GPS tracking, or social features.

Write a short README explaining where data is stored, how to export a tax-ready report, how to update the mileage rate, and that this build only logs trips manually or semi-manually, not automatically in the background.

Keep it under 550 lines. This is a personal tool, not a product.

What is the short answer?

Yes, but. AI can build a manual mileage logger to replace Everlance’s free Basic plan in a few hours. Tap to start, tap to stop, classify the trip, and export a report. That’s a straightforward web app.

The “but” is automatic tracking. Everlance’s own free plan already includes unlimited manual start/stop trip logging, so the thing people are really paying to avoid is not mileage logging itself, but automatic background drive detection, which a plain web page cannot replicate, especially on iOS Safari. Build a manual logger if you’re willing to tap start and stop. Don’t expect a web app to track your drives while your phone sits in your pocket.

Option	Best for	Upfront cost	Ongoing cost	Main limitation
Build a rough prototype	Drivers who’ll tap start/stop and log addresses manually	$0 and 2–3 hours	$0	No tax-ready PDF export yet
Build a daily-use personal version	Drivers who want multiple vehicles and a tax-ready export	$0–$20 and 8–12 hours	Mapping API free tier	Still no automatic background tracking
Keep paying for Everlance	Drivers who want their phone to detect drives automatically	$0	$8.99/mo or $69.99/yr for Starter	Free plan caps automatic detection at 30 trips/mo

The ready-to-paste starter prompt at the end of this page builds the daily-use version.

What should the first version include?

The first version needs to make manual logging fast enough to actually use every drive.

• Tap-to-start, tap-to-stop logging
• Manual entry for trips logged after the fact
• Business vs personal classification
• Multiple vehicles
• Editable current-year IRS mileage rate
• Deliberate exclusion: no automatic background GPS tracking. That’s the one feature this build can’t replicate, so don’t attempt it.

What can AI build reliably?

ChatGPT and Claude build manual and semi-manual trip logging reliably. Address-to-address distance via a mapping API is a well-documented integration.

Concrete things AI gets right:

• Tap-to-start, tap-to-stop trip logging with timestamps
• Distance calculation between two addresses via a mapping API
• Business vs personal classification with a running total
• Support for multiple vehicles
• An editable mileage rate applied to compute deductions

Where will AI need human help?

Automatic tracking is not a feature to attempt. Automatic background drive detection is unreliable or effectively impossible from a plain web page, since even Everlance’s native app, with full OS-level permissions, loses trips to iOS background-app suspension. A web page has no persistent background location access at all. Don’t let an AI tool talk you into trying this; it’s a hard no for a web build.

Accept the usability downgrade going in. A DIY rebuild realistically means manual or semi-manual entry, a real usability downgrade from Everlance’s “set it and forget it” tracking. If you drive dozens of short trips a day and rarely remember to tap start, this build will underperform Everlance regardless of how well it’s coded.

The tax-ready export needs your upkeep. Producing a defensible IRS-ready export requires ongoing upkeep of the mileage rate plus reliable geocoding and distance calculation via a mapping API. Update the rate yourself when it changes, and double-check a few computed distances against a map you trust.

Privacy is mostly about location history. Your addresses and trip history stay on your device, with no account, but you’re still trusting a mapping API with each address you look up.

Can I get my data out of Everlance?

Yes, and the free plan covers more than you’d expect. CSV export is available on every plan including free Basic, generated via Settings > Export Data, covering both a mileage report and a transaction report.

What’s gated is the polish: the tax-ready PDF export is locked behind Starter or Professional, so free users only get a raw CSV. Everlance’s help docs don’t enumerate exact exported columns, so confirm start and end address and purpose are literally present in the file rather than summarized before you rely on it [VERIFY].

To move your data, export the CSV from your free account and import it into your new build as historical trips, then continue logging new trips manually going forward.

How long will it take and what will it cost?

Rough prototype: 2–3 hours and $0. Tap-to-start/stop logging with manual address entry.

Dependable daily-use version: 8–12 hours, including multiple vehicles, an editable mileage rate, and a tax-ready export. A mapping API’s free tier usually covers personal-scale address lookups.

Everlance’s free plan already covers unlimited manual logging, so this build only pays off if you specifically want a polished tax-ready export, which otherwise needs Starter at $69.99/yr. Building on a free AI plan costs less than one year of Starter.

These are estimates from reviewing Everlance’s feature set, not measurements from a completed build.

Which AI tool or approach should I use?

Claude or ChatGPT on a free plan handles manual trip logging and the mapping API integration comfortably.

Cursor helps if you want to iterate on the tax-ready export formatting across multiple files.

Lovable isn’t a strong fit here, since this build doesn’t need a hosted backend, just a mapping API key and local storage.

What will I need to maintain?

Not much, but the mileage rate needs occasional attention.

Recurring work:

• Update the mileage rate when the IRS changes it, including any mid-year changes
• Export a CSV or tax-ready report backup periodically
• Keep your mapping API key current if the free tier’s terms change

Should I build it, buy it, or reduce scope?

Build it if you’re willing to log trips manually or semi-manually and just want a tax-ready export without paying for Starter.

Buy it if automatic background drive detection matters to you. That’s the one feature this build genuinely can’t replicate, and it’s the reason Everlance’s app exists as a native app rather than a website.

Reduce scope if you only drive occasionally for work. A simple spreadsheet with date, addresses, and purpose might be enough without building anything at all.

Recommendation: build your own logger if you’re fine tapping start and stop, since Everlance’s free plan already gives you unlimited manual logging and this mostly buys you a nicer export. Keep Everlance, and likely pay for Starter, if you forget to log trips and need automatic detection to catch them. Pair your mileage log with a time tracker if you also bill by the hour, or an invoicing build to bill mileage to clients.

What if I wanted to ship this to other people?

Shipping a mileage tracker to other people means solving the automatic-detection problem properly, likely with a native app and real background location permissions, plus accounts, sync across devices, and IRS-compliant reporting at scale. That’s a fundamentally different, much bigger project than a personal manual logger.

Starter build specification

• User: You, for your own use, logging your own business mileage.
• Problem: Paying $8.99/mo or more for Everlance’s paid tiers when you’re willing to log trips manually and just want a tax-ready export.
• Core workflow: Tap start when you begin driving, tap stop and confirm the destination, classify the trip, and export a report at tax time.
• Required features: Tap-to-start/stop logging, manual entry, business/personal classification, multiple vehicles, editable mileage rate, tax-ready export.
• Deliberate exclusions: No automatic background GPS tracking, no accounts, no App Store submission.
• Data ownership: Stored in localStorage. Exported as JSON and tax-ready CSV. Imported from JSON.
• Definition of done: A manually logged trip with a start and end address computes the correct distance, applies the current mileage rate, and appears correctly in the exported CSV.

For scoping help, read can AI build an app for me.

Sources and verification

• Everlance pricing: Basic, Starter, and Professional prices, and the free plan’s 30 automatic trips per month.
• Everlance data export help article: CSV export available on all plans.
• Everlance PDF export help article: PDF/Excel export gated to Starter and Professional.
• Everlance mileage log requirements guide: what a defensible mileage log needs to include.

This app was not built and tested for this page. The verdict is based on Everlance’s own pricing page and help center troubleshooting docs, which confirm that even the native app loses trips to background-app suspension. Everlance’s price was checked on September 24, 2026.

Reviewed on September 24, 2026.