Last year, I got hired to clean a Freddy’s Steakburgers and Frozen Custard (an average size standalone food chain restaurant). Not too long after, they asked if I did pressure washing services as well (I do not) so they dropped me for a new business that does “everything”. Inside floors, pressure washing the driveways and “cleaned the windows”. Turns out they had a ‘quality’ problem with this crew in ALL areas.
Well I got a call the other day asking if I would be willing to clean them again. (Weekly)
Of course I said yes, but they also offered me 3 more of their out of town stores because she was impressed with my work that I had done with them before they dropped me. The furthest of these is about an hour and 10 minute drive and the closest is about a 35 minute drive.
I had mentioned to the owner that I would probably charge a travel fee because I would need to make the drive worth it if they want ME to clean them.
My question to you guys, Do you guys charge any sort of flat travel fee? If so, how do you price it? Distance? Drive time?
Sure, but it’s built into my price. I don’t think most people need a break down of the price you’re going to give them. Just give them one price. They can either take it or leave it.
Most Freddy’s are probably around $50-75 to clean depending on the configuration. Going “out of town” depends. How far out of town? Can you establish routes out there? Do you even want to go out there?
I add 50 bucks if the job is more than 30 minutes away but I don’t itemize it on the invoice. For even more distance, I guess you’d just have to ask yourself what average hourly wage you need (INCLUDING travel time) to go home happy, then figure out how much extra needs to go on that invoice to get you there.
At the end of the day so many people commute an hour daily. We have the advantage of writing it off. But anything you can add to the invoice is helpful like suggested.
You claim 57¢ per mile on your taxes. No way does it cover spent tires, oil, gas, and time. Cost is cost. Do some math for your gas mileage, time, and appropriate amount of vehicle wear for a service charge. Many plumbers in town charge $125 just to show up, then the repair rate kicks in. Be the plumber.
I don’t mind going out there. It’s for 3 separate Freddy’s out there. You’re right about them being $50-75 each, so I’m assuming if I did 3 of them, itd take me a few hours.
I would go out there, it just has to be worth it to me.
Not trying to disagree with you here, but I once calculated the Total Cost of Ownership per mile for my last vehicle. This included all maintenance, repair, fuel, and depreciation. I think I came up with a figure in the range of 25-30¢/mile, when gas was around $3/gallon. That’s when I decided I would always use the mileage deduction on my taxes, for as long as I drove a relatively fuel efficient vehicle.
But yeah, you still gotta get paid for your time. If you’re really bored/into numbers, you could calculate your average earnings per mile. This will give more of an idea whether a trip is “worth it”. If a particular job is really out of line from that average, you could pad the bill to compensate.
My figure is around $6/mile, but I’m in a very rural area.
I have had some pricey repairs followed up by new tires that kind of blew the budget of vehicle operation. But I understand what you are saying that standard maintenance, fuel, and depreciation may be different. Admittedly I have not calculated out average cost to income based on mileage. But if traveling 45 minutes to an hour, one way - time will need to be covered as well as mileage.
In 2+ hours I could do a $200 - $300 job just 10 minutes away.
NOTE (For those reading into that): Not that I would charge that much for travel time.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but i believe you can’t compare that apples to apples with the $0.57/mile. That sum doesn’t deduct from your actual taxes but your taxable income. So say it came out to $900 for the year, then $900 of your income isn’t getting taxed. Say your rate is 30%, then you really only saved like $300. At least that’s how i understand it. I could be wrong.
That’s true. But not quite the point I was trying to make, and I realize I went off on a bit of a tangent. The mileage deduction does not in itself make up for unusually long drivetimes. You still need to be reimbursed for your time, and in proportion to any expenses that are outside the norm. Calculating average earnings per mile allows you to guage what the “norm” is.
The point I was trying to make about the mileage deduction, was simply this:
If I opted to take a deduction based on actual vehicle expenses instead of the mileage, I would lose out big time. The mileage allowance is way more than my actual expenses.
And yeah, that comment was a bit out of left field, lol
