Sunday, October 03, 1999
New device keeps mileage for IRS
BY JENNY CALLISON
Enquirer contributor
“No more pencils, no more books. No more tax man's dirty looks.”
Folks who use their vehicles for business might soon have reason to celebrate. Two Butler County residents have developed a dashboard device that will allow business drivers to toss that mileage log and face the IRS with a smile at tax time.
In the realm of business expense recording, the Mileage Master might not be the Holy Grail, but for Kenneth Boehm Jr. and Jim Mazuk, it comes pretty close. The two University of Cincinnati College of Engineering alums have spent the past two years perfecting a simple but precise monitor that records business travel down to the nearest tenth of a mile.
The concept took root for Mr. Boehm when he realized that he was failing to log many of his short trips connected with his auto sales business in Fairfield.
“I took my calculator out and figured how much I was actually losing,” Mr. Boehm said. “Short trips, you forget.”
Soon after, he asked a salesman friend, “What would you think about an electronic mileage meter that would replace your logbook?”
The friend's enthusiastic response started Mr. Boehm and Mr. Mazuk on a research-and-development effort that produced more than 15 prototypes and countless “Ahas!” In the process, they spent hundreds of hours at the Lane Public Library in Hamilton and in Mr. Mazuk's basement in Hamilton. They also invested thousands of dollars.
Their first design challenge was to make the machine versatile and easy to use so that drivers would prefer it to business mileage logbooks. The resulting palm-sized recorder differentiates between business and nonbusiness trips. Business outings can be recorded under 15 different descriptions (useful for those who bill time and expenses to different accounts).
When the car starts, the Mileage Master beeps politely to remind the driver to select the trip purpose. The default setting is nonbusiness.
The device records the date of each trip, the time each trip starts and ends, and the starting odometer reading.
The Mileage Master is affixed to a car's dashboard and attaches with a telephone-type connector to a cable. Within the cable are four wires.
“One wire goes to the door switch, one to ground, one to the 12-volt battery and one to the speed sensor,” Mr. Mazuk said. He added that the same unit can be used in as many as four vehicles, simply by disconnecting it from one cable and snapping it onto another.
The first time it is used in any car, the Mileage Master calibrates that car's pulses and records the car's name. After that, the driver connects the device, indicates what car is being used and for what purpose, notes the odometer reading and takes off. Little input is necessary if the unit stays in the same car.
All data is entered by means of two buttons and four directional arrows.
The two designers factored children's curiosity into the equation. “A password protector ensures that other people can't change the settings,” Mr. Mazuk said.
As the recorder's memory fills up, the owner detaches it from its car connection and downloads the data into a personal computer data file that can be viewed on-screen and printed.
That brought the designers to their next major challenge: creating software for the device that was compatible with many computers.
Mr. Boehm recalled the moment when the program that worked fine with Mr. Mazuk's computer proved a dud with his.
“We realized that every computer is different and spent a long time finding the common denominator,” he said. “Now, the software will work on anything compatible with IBM.”
After scrutinizing their design from an owner's point of view, the two men shifted their focus to the IRS, which mandates the business mileage logs and which can make life miserable for scofflaws.
“We tried to think of the IRS,” Mr. Mazuk said. “If someone tries to fudge on the calibrations, let's say to establish fewer pulses per mile, the machine will give an error message for that calibration and force the driver to redo it.”
There is also a “disconnect detected” message entered into the device's memory if the driver detaches the Mileage Master during a trip. That's a boon to fleet managers who want to make sure that car users haven't taken too many scenic detours.
“I've had it for probably a year,” said Cincinnati resident Dianne Stratton, a respiratory therapist who works with patients in their homes. “I find it's easy to work with. Although it took a little getting used to, it's second nature now.“
Eastgate-area real estate agent Susan Brinkman agreed: “I love that little machine. It's a big plus. All I do is push my little buttons when I get in the car. It monitors everything. You download the information whenever, and everything is ready for the accountant.”
HOW TO GET ONE
The Mileage Master is available at an introductory price of $299 installed. That package includes one attachment kit. Additional kits for installation in other vehicles are $25 each. Information: (513) 896-6453 (MILE) or (800) 585-4982.
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