Setting Your Service Area and Radius for Local Jobs
How to choose a service radius that keeps travel costs under control, fills your diary and matches how far customers will realistically book.
Your service area is one of the most profitable settings on your profile, and one of the most overlooked. Set it too wide and you spend your life in traffic for small jobs. Set it too narrow and your phone stays quiet. The right radius is the one that fits your costs, your schedule and the density of customers around you.
Why distance deserves a decision
Travel time is unpaid unless you build it into your prices; see charging for travel time and mileage. Every extra mile in your radius increases:
- The time between jobs
- Fuel, parking and vehicle wear
- The chance of running late
- Your exposure to traffic, roadworks and bad weather
At the same time, a bigger radius increases the number of potential customers. Your job is to find the sweet spot.
Think in travel time, not miles
Miles are misleading. Five miles across a rural lane network may take ten minutes; two miles in a congested centre can take thirty. Define your area by journey time at the hours you work, for example "within twenty minutes at typical times".
Then test it: pick a few postcodes on the edge of your intended area, check journey times at the hours you would actually travel, and adjust.
Factors that shape the right radius
| Factor | Pushes your radius | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Customer density | Smaller in dense urban areas | Plenty of nearby work |
| Job value | Larger for high-value work | A big job justifies a longer journey |
| Equipment | Smaller if you carry heavy kit | More hassle per trip |
| Your vehicle and costs | Smaller if costs are high | Each mile hurts more |
| Competition | Larger if few providers nearby | Fewer alternatives for customers |
| Scheduling style | Smaller for same-day, tight diaries | Less slack for travel delays |
Different radii for different services
You do not need one radius for everything. Consider tiers:
- Core zone: small jobs and regular work, no travel charge
- Extended zone: larger or higher-value jobs, with a travel surcharge
- Edge cases: by arrangement only
A gardener might accept one-hour visits only in a tight area but take full-day garden jobs further afield. A mover might travel further because jobs are larger.
Use geography to build a route
Instead of a perfect circle, think in terms of areas you can chain together:
- Map where your existing customers live.
- Identify clusters, such as a few streets or a neighbourhood.
- Prioritise those areas with day-of-week slots.
- Look for natural boundaries: rivers, motorways, congested junctions.
- Draw your area around where you can build efficient routes, not a circle on a map.
Our guide to time management and scheduling shows how to build days around these clusters.
How it interacts with the platform
On Compito, customers search by postcode, and your profile declares the areas you serve, so your radius influences which requests reach you. A realistic area means you receive requests you can respond to promptly and profitably. That ties directly into how quickly you can respond; see responding quickly to job requests.
Test, measure and adjust
Treat your radius as a hypothesis:
- Track the average journey time and mileage per job.
- Note which postcodes generate repeat work and which produce one-offs.
- Calculate income per hour including travel for different areas.
- Expand cautiously, and shrink without guilt if distant jobs are unprofitable.
A quarterly review is enough. Use your records to see the true picture.
Saying no to out-of-area requests
Declining a distant request is part of managing your business. A courteous message keeps goodwill:
"Thanks for getting in touch. Unfortunately that is outside the area I cover. If you are happy to wait, I may be in your area on a particular day, but I would need to add a travel charge."
Offering an option rather than a flat no sometimes turns a refusal into a profitable booking.
Seasonal flex
Demand and traffic change through the year. You might widen your area in a quiet winter and narrow it in the busy summer. See seasonal demand planning for service providers.
Frequently asked questions
Is a bigger area always better for getting more work?
Not necessarily. A bigger area increases requests but also travel time and costs. The goal is more profitable jobs, not simply more jobs.
Should I travel further for regular customers?
Regular, scheduled work reduces the cost of distance because you can plan routes. Many providers are happy to extend their area for reliable repeat customers.
How do I stop customers outside my area contacting me?
Set a realistic area on your profile and mention it in your bio. For the occasional out-of-area request, a polite decline or a travel-charge offer is usually enough.