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View Full Version : What ways are best to charge for travel fees?



canderson2142
11-12-2018, 12:48 PM
I've been doing a lot of research recently on how small businesses charge for travel time. I've seen hourly rates charged for drive time, price per mile, and some strange combinations. My business is service oriented, so we are always driving to our clients property or build site. We are based in the DFW area in Texas. It's not uncommon for projects to be around 50 miles away from our main office, but I'm struggling to find a simple solution to charge for travel time, especially when we deal with a lot of traffic that slows us down considerably at peak traffic hours. I'll list the solutions I've found researched below, if y'all have any other solutions or advise I would really appreciate it.




Hourly travel rate
charge per the mile
charge per mile outside determined radius around office
low hourly rate + $ per mile



I'd really appreciate any help I can get on this. I don't want to waste our companies time driving while not making money. But I also don't want our clients to think we are upcharging to just sit in traffic. If you could explain what and why you chose a particular method, that would be extremely helpful.

Thank you

Fulcrum
11-12-2018, 05:44 PM
Depends, on my normal route it's $10/stop. For on site service work it's my road rate for all time out of shop based upon a fixed two-way travel time determined using Google Maps - minimum charge 3 hours.

canderson2142
11-13-2018, 12:56 PM
So when it's service work, you're saying you charge for a minimum of 3 hours, which includes the time it takes to drive there and back. Anything longer than 3 hours and I imagine your road rate applies afterwards?

Fulcrum
11-13-2018, 04:39 PM
Yep, although the time back to the shop is a fixed time in case I decide to take the scenic route home. You are also correct in that the full road rate applies after 3 hours. Also, if I get called to come in at the end of a work day, a decision maker on the maintenance staff must remain until I am done; otherwise I am packing up and going home with the staff and will come back the next day at an additional 3 hour minimum charge.

canderson2142
11-14-2018, 01:30 PM
I really appreciate the advice Fulcrum. It's given me some better ideas about how to set up our travel fees. Thank you so much!

Fulcrum
03-17-2020, 05:20 PM
An amazing guide for travel fees It's really beneficial for everyone..




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