Charging for Travel Time and Mileage as a Local Provider
Learn the main ways to price travel, from building it into your rate to separate mileage charges, and how to keep your approach clear and fair.
Travel is the silent cost in a local service business. Every mile you drive is time you are not earning and money you spend on fuel, wear and parking. Many providers only realise how much it costs when they look back over a month and find they spent a quarter of their working week in a vehicle.
There is no single correct way to charge for it. What matters is that you decide deliberately, state it clearly and keep it consistent.
Why travel needs its own decision
Two providers charging the same hourly rate can earn very different amounts depending on how far they travel. A gardener who clusters four jobs within a mile of each other is in a different position from one who drives across town between each.
You have three realistic choices: absorb it, build it into your rate, or charge it separately.
Option 1: Absorb it
You charge only for time on site. This keeps pricing simple and is common among providers who work very locally. The risk is that long journeys eat your profit invisibly.
Use this only if:
- Your service area is tight
- Journeys are short
- You cluster jobs by area
- You have deliberately raised your hourly rate to cover average travel
Option 2: Build it into your rate or minimum
You set your hourly rate or minimum charge high enough to cover typical travel. Customers see one clean number. This works well when travel distances are similar across your area.
You can combine this with a minimum booking, as described in setting a minimum call-out charge. The downside is that customers near you subsidise those far away, so consider setting boundaries on your area, covered in setting your service area and radius.
Option 3: Charge separately
You itemise travel, either as time or as a distance rate.
| Method | Example approach | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel time at a reduced rate | Charge half your hourly rate for journey time | Fair, reflects effort | Needs explaining |
| Per-mile charge | A set amount per mile beyond a free zone | Transparent, scales with distance | Customers may compare to fuel prices |
| Zone pricing | Flat travel fee by distance band | Easy to quote | Edge cases near boundaries |
| Free zone plus surcharge | No charge within a radius, extra beyond | Rewards local customers | Requires clear map or postcode rule |
Choose a method that you can state in one sentence.
Work out your real travel cost
Estimate your per-mile or per-hour cost of travelling:
- Vehicle running costs: fuel, servicing, tyres, insurance and depreciation share.
- Time value: the earnings you lose during unpaid driving.
- Parking and tolls: actual costs where they arise.
For tax purposes, HMRC provides ways to treat business mileage, including simplified approaches; see expenses you can usually claim and check gov.uk for current methods. Your charging approach and your tax treatment are separate questions: what you charge a customer is a commercial decision.
Be transparent in your profile and offers
Customers dislike surprise charges more than they dislike fees themselves. Put your approach in your profile and restate it in your offer, with the actual amount. A simple sentence works:
"My rate includes travel within three miles of the postcode; beyond that I add a small travel charge, which I have included in this offer."
When customers send you a request through Compito, they already provide a postcode, so you can factor distance into the offer you send. See writing a winning offer.
Reduce travel in the first place
The cheapest mile is the one you do not drive:
- Cluster bookings by area and day.
- Offer slots by neighbourhood, for example "Tuesdays in the north of town".
- Encourage regulars in the same street to take adjacent slots.
- Limit your radius to where you can be profitable.
- Combine errands such as buying materials with a job trip.
Common mistakes
- Charging nothing and discovering later that you work at a loss on distant jobs.
- Quoting travel at a rate that feels arbitrary.
- Charging the same flat fee near and far.
- Forgetting parking in city areas.
- Not recording mileage for your accounts.
Frequently asked questions
Should I charge customers for the time it takes me to get there?
Many providers do, either separately or built into the rate. It is a commercial choice. The key is stating it before the customer agrees.
Do I have to log mileage?
For your own tax records, keeping a mileage log is good practice. Our guide to record keeping shows how to make this easy.
What if a customer is just outside my usual area?
You can decline, or accept with a travel charge that makes the job worthwhile. Decide your rule in advance to avoid ad hoc decisions.