travelling cost

[murdock]

i need some assistance with regards to travelling...i have to start charging for travelling so how much is a fair rate to bill a customer?

i use to charge 1.50 p/km but stopped years ago.

i thought R4.50 p/km is reasonable because i average around 1200 km a month x by 4.5 = R5400...which would pretty much cover my vehicle expenses and petrol account.
do you think this fair?

anyone know what the aa rater is?

[Morticia]

SARS' official rate @ 22/2/2008 = R2,92 p/km (if business distace is less than 8 000 kms/annum) which makes it pretty much obsolete, given the increased costs over the last few months.

Our current travel claim rate = R3,60.

[Vincent]

The AA has a vehicle operating cost calculator, but you will need to register first. According to the site "Membership to this portal is Public." If you don't come right, PM me and I will send you an old calculator (.xls format) which you will have to update. (mine is from 2000)

Found another site DiskDrive where you don't need to register.

[murdock]

thanks i registered with AA and it was free.

i looked around it looks ike R3.50 is a reasonable rate to charge for travelling.

[Dave A]

I expect we need to bear in mind when calculating the distance that we don't just need to get there - we also need to get back.

One electrician I spoke to in Kokstad solves the travelling problem by starting the time charge clock when he starts the trip, not when he arrives at the site. He even phones the client to say he is on his way so that they know when the clock has started too.

[IanF]

Murdock
I have found out the less line items you have on an invoice the less queries you get. Think about your car service bill, I get pissed every time I see sundries. Rather just raise the rate to cover that.
I know that artwork on an invoice raises eyebrows so I try and quote an all inclusive price when possible. Just have facts to back up the charge.

[murdock]

funny thing is i use charge R100 per/hr and R1.50 per/km until about 2 years ago but unfortunately the cumstomer who i spend most of my time sub contracting to complained i was too expensive so he organised a vehicle and driver to transport me where ever i needed to go...this became a problem because i would have to wait for the driver while he was doing deliverys and stuff or when he was running late i lost time...at the time it didnt bother me because i ws making enough money to pay my bills...but then the problem started...he would then start complaining he hadnt been paid so i had to wait for payment...and he had lost money on the project because i had taken tooo long yet i was still within my quote..i heard them all ...which i could still live with as i have always kept my overheads very low...but i got to a point where i just got a little sick and tired of being called an idiot...i would have to endure 30+ minute verbal abuse telephone conversations telling me i didnt know what i was doing and how stupid i was...well after years of this i decided during one of these telephone conversations to tell him to f*** right off...i have never looked back...i now charge an affordable fee and travelling is a big part because i dont want to increase my labour rate rather add travelling so that the labour rate doesnt get too high...so the invoice has 3 items labour...material...travelling.

the part that still amazes me is how his company is still operating...because from when i started working there every single job had design problems...he would under quote then when we got the job it would be an absolute nightmare because all the panel specs would be incorrect wire sizes etc etc.
my opinion is the backhands are keeping him going and the bigger the design error the bigger the back hand the customer is kept happy and somehow variation orders are given to make up for losses...the customer just works for the organisation so he personally doesnt loose anyhthing he just smiles with his little bonus on the side...it is just the sub contractors who get scr*wed every time.