Posted by Lisa on 12/29/04 12:59pm
Msg #14857

mileage fee

I need some advice. I charge $65 to do a signing and $25 for edocs. and my range is 75 miles. Do I charge a mileage fee when I leave my home or after the 75 miles? Please respond.

Reply by Robin_IN on 12/29/04 1:20pm
Msg #14862

Hi Lisa,

You need to determine how many miles you will go for your base fee of $65 and you would begin figuring mileage after that. If you will go 75 miles for $65, is that round-trip or one way? I usually quote my base for up to 25 miles one way, then calculate $1.25 a mile for every mile beyond that.

Reply by Lisa on 12/29/04 1:26pm
Msg #14865

Is $65 for 75 miles reasonably enough to charge?

Reply by lawsonrw_MI on 12/29/04 1:55pm
Msg #14871

$65 for a 75 mile one way trip is not only a bargain to a signing service but its almost undercutting. I charge $65 for up to 25 miles from my home, and anything over that is $1.00 per mile each way. Example:

A signing 50 miles from my home = 50 miles there and 50 miles back totalling 100 miles x $1.00 per mile = $100 for that trip. One signing service was pleased with me charging them $250 for a piggyback loan that was about 60 miles away from my home.

Reply by Lisa on 12/29/04 2:00pm
Msg #14874

You said you charge $65 for up to 25 miles and after that $1.00 a mile. Why then would you charge $100 for the trip? Wouldn't it be $75?

Reply by lawsonrw_MI on 12/30/04 12:39pm
Msg #15007

I'm sorry if you misunderstood me.

For me to travel 25 miles away (thats roundtrip, or about 12 miles from my home) I would charge $65

Anything over 25 miles is $1.00 per mile both ways

Lets say the trip is 50 miles roundtrip (25 miles from my home), then that is $1.00 / mile ($50) plus my standard fee. To be competitive I like to keep pricing around $125 if possible, but I have charged as much as $250 for a single signing. I live in Michigan and the demand for SA's here is not as powerful as it is in California. We have to be competitive.

Reply by Paul_IL on 12/29/04 1:55pm
Msg #14870

Lisa,
Time is Money!

Prep Time
Trip Time both ways
Amount of time signing took
Wrap up time(faxbacks, doc return etc..)

Subtract your operating expenses from the amount you charge then devide by the time spent on the signing. Once you have that number decide if you are charging enough.

Reply by Susie/CA on 12/29/04 2:45pm
Msg #14886

I would "never" drive 75 miles for 65.00 and secondly I would "never" take 25.00 for edocs. For 75 miles I would charge a lot more but of course it depends on the company and what they are willing to pay. If they want me to travel 75 miles but don't want to pay what I want then I say "no" and they get someone else . . hopefully closer to the signing! For 65.00 I would travel no more than 15 miles. . . that is unless I was starving and the business was dried up . .

Reply by Nicole_NCali on 12/29/04 2:47pm
Msg #14887

Re: mileage fee..

Susie your are so funny. I just got a call from a signing company to do a HELOC in Oakland on the 17th for $50. I promptly said no, but fell out of my chair because they will find someone gullible enough to do it for $50

Reply by Kimberly Crowe on 12/29/04 9:10pm
Msg #14929

Lisa, what you can and can't charge really depends on your area. The people in CA can get away with charging alot more than I can here in IN. I tried charging more and ended up losing ALOT of business. You will find in time by trial and error what to charge. That's what I did. Just don't completely rely on what's said here as far as what to charge because it really depends on where you're at and how the market is there. If I could make here what the people in CA make, I could quit my full time job. If I were in CA making what I make here in IN, I would starve to death.