travel expense

[John Dirks Jr]

Some of you are really good at what you do. I suspect that by word of mouth your name gets spread beyond your normal boundary. Will you take jobs beyond your normal boundary for an extra travel charge? If so, do you charge by the mile or what? How much?

[charlieb]

Yep

I live in the center of MS and have worked cities on each boundry.

Commercial work has taken me to adjoining states.

50 cents a mile but I quote it as a set fee. The windshield time is well spent planning.

This AM was 110 miles each way. I left home @ 6. Back in town just after lunch for the PM job. Lots of time to think and a little extra change.

[John Dirks Jr]

50 cents a mile? That about covers the vehicle expense. What is in it for your time? Anything?

[Bain]

I charge a hundred dollars an hour if the gig's more than twenty miles away.

[John Dirks Jr]

I have come up with a plan to charge $2 per mile for anything beyond 25 miles of my office. I figure 50 cents a mile covers my vehicle expense. The remaining $1.50 per mile is for my time.

In doing the math:

$1.50 per mile @ an average of 40 miles per hour = $60 per hour. Cut that in half since you have the return leg. This gives me an average of $30 per hour for plain driving. It doesnt sound too bad to me. Am I crazy?

It's probably not likely for me to get many long distance jobs anyway but I have to come up with something to spit out if ever confronted with the question.

[Bain]

Why not charge for the return leg? Your time is your most valuable asset.

[John Dirks Jr]

I calculated for the return leg by setting a rate of $2 per mile instead of $1 per mile. Do you think I am not charging enough?

What do professional drivers like truckers get per mile for their time? I thought $30 per hour for driving didn't sound too bad. $30 per hour on a 40 hour week over a years time would be 62,000 gross.

[charlieb]

Originally posted by AHI

50 cents a mile? That about covers the vehicle expense. What is in it for your time? Anything?

Ya know, you're right. It does.

Like I said, I use the time to think and plan. Taking the distance and making good use of the time allows me to do two a day most every day. Even in this market.

My schedule is full, the auto expense is covered and the check is in the bank.

YMMV

[member deleted]

Originally posted by AHI

I have come up with a plan to charge $2 per mile for anything beyond 25 miles of my office. I figure 50 cents a mile covers my vehicle expense. The remaining $1.50 per mile is for my time.

In doing the math:

$1.50 per mile @ an average of 40 miles per hour = $60 per hour. Cut that in half since you have the return leg. This gives me an average of $30 per hour for plain driving. It doesnt sound too bad to me. Am I crazy?

It's probably not likely for me to get many long distance jobs anyway but I have to come up with something to spit out if ever confronted with the question.

In the beginning I had to go where the business took me. So, if I got a request to travel 50 or 75 miles from my house, I went!

I normally charge a trip fee of 25.00 if the property is beyond a 50 miles radius from my home. It's just a lot easier that way.

I have traveled to Roanoke, VA and Ocean City, MD a few times in the past. I have always been willing to drive "to the business" to get the experience. Plus, I'd rather be inspecting then sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring.

-Kevin

[Brian G]

I don't have a formula, I just look at a map and the basic info on the house, then decide what I'll do it for. I'll go anywhere I'm legally allowed to work, if they meet my price.

Brian G.

Hired Gun Flashlight [:-cowboy]

[SonOfSwamp]

I always charged as much as the customer would pay. Sometimes, that was an extra 50 bucks. Once, for a four-hour round-trip drive, the upcharge was about 800 bucks.

It's not as if customers know how much taxi drivers, chauffeurs or truckers charge per mile. They won't be comparing HIs to other businesses.

FWIW, experts typically charge by the hour, portal to portal; and, they charge for meals, parking and any other expense related to the job.

WJ

[Bill Kibbel]

If folks want me to work outside of my usual service area, I require them to send a limo, with sturdy roof racks. Then, they have to send me back with a bottle of excellent KY bourbon. They also have to pay our usual outrageous fee.

[Jim Morrison]

Working in the Boston area, travel was always a bear, so I raised my rates high enough so I didn't care and charged another $50-100 (whatever I thought I could get) for anything between 60-90 minutes away. If it was real travel (more than 90 minutes one way), it was my hourly rate portal to portal. Funny how traffic stops getting under your skin when your getting paid to sit in it and listen to the radio.