Posted by Anonymous on 5/18/04 3:54pm
Msg #2109

Travel Fee

What do some of you charge for Travel Fee?

Reply by Deb on 5/18/04 3:58pm
Msg #2111

Since gas is so high and it is hard to get a company to pay a high mileage rate, just calculate the amount into your fee.

Reply by Anonymous on 5/18/04 4:02pm
Msg #2112

I am trying to determine what fee I should charge. Any suggestions?

Reply by builder1937 on 5/18/04 4:36pm
Msg #2113

You should know the areas your working. Set up a base fee to cover your close area, then another fee for the second area, and a third fee for the farthest area you cover. Time is money and so is the wear and tear on you vehicle.

Reply by Pam Gibson on 5/18/04 9:47pm
Msg #2124

Actually, in Florida, we are allowed to charge 37.5 cents per mile.

Reply by PAW Notary Services on 5/19/04 7:33am
Msg #2131

Pam,

How did you determine that in FL you can only charge 37½ cents per mile? I don't see anything that limits the travel charges except possibly county ordnances. (Pasco has a "reasonable and customary" limit.)

BTW - Where in FL are you located?

Reply by Anonymous on 5/19/04 9:22am
Msg #2133

37.5 cents per mile is the IRS standard for mileage reimbursement.

Reply by Larita/MI on 5/19/04 11:38am
Msg #2135

That doens't mean that's all you can charge. That's what you can write off. You can either set a flat fee for certain counties or set up a per mile fee. I charge $1.50 per mile for general notarizations, with a minimum of of $25 plus $10 per signature fee. Just be careful to disclose this to your customer upfront so they know you that this is a travel fee not your notary fee. Each state sets it max as to what you can charge per signature, but they do allow you to tact on a travel fee if you are mobile, but it has to be defined as two seperate fees. Now for loan signings, your fee schedule may be a little different. Try contacting someone in your area and see what they charge. You don't want to low ball your peers, or over price yourself. Hope this helps!

Reply by PAW Notary Services on 5/19/04 11:39am
Msg #2136

The IRS deduction has nothing to do with what you can or cannot charge (unless otherwise stated by state laws) for traveling. This is simply what the IRS allows for deducting vehicle expenses when used for business purposes. Florida, and many other states, as far as I know, has no limit on service charges, including travel fees.

Reply by Donna McGee on 5/19/04 12:50pm
Msg #2137

Hello,
I've seen many mobile notaries charge aproximately $1 per additional mile outside of a set area. My boundary is 50 miles round trip. So if a company calls for a signing that is 75 miles round trip, I will quote them a price that includes an additional $25.

Reply by EconomicNotary on 5/20/04 12:58am
Msg #2154

Re: Travel Fee-Economics not there on low travel fees.

Thus, for the extra 50 miles(25miles in each direction), it cost you $.375 per mile or $18.75 assuming you use the standard IRS deduction which given the rise in gas prices these days it likely costs more. If you drive 50 miles per hour, it would tak you 60 minutes to go the extra 50 miles, so you are being paid $6.25/hour for your time.

(Isn't this just like all those math word problems we all loved so much in high school?)

If your card gets 20 miles to the gallon, the extra 50 miles divided by 20 miles per gallon is 2.5 gallons. If gas has gone up $1.00 in your area, subtract the $2.50/gallon from the $6.25 above and you are now making $3.75 per hour. Less than minimum wage!

And if you miss a signature on a document and have to go back to correct it, your economics go right out the window. (Can you say financial suicide?)

While everyone wants cash flow and volume, learning not to take uneconomic business is critical or you will go out of busines when your car wears out. The number above suggests that the travel fee should be higher.

If the car you are driving actually costs you more than $.375 per mile to drive....I have seen some of you out there in trucks and SUVs.....then the economics are even worse.

Rather than lose money, you would be better off prospecting for new business closer to home or asking for the higher fee.

A lot of small businesses go broke, because they do not know their economics. This business is not that hard to figure the economics out.
Now that does not mean you might not want to take a loss leader for a new client or a good client now and then, but be sure you know what you are doing.

Finally, it is not the signing companies fault for asking a low fee. They don't know your economics, if you might have other business in that area that day. You are an independent contractor and as such you get to make the call.


Stated another way if you wanted to be paid $15/hour.

Then 50miles *$.375=$18.75 +2.50(2.50 gallons of gas *$1.00 to reflect higher gas prices) plus $15 would equal $35.25 or $1.45/per mile. Roughly, $1.50 per mile. Again if you make a mistake especially on a long distance trip, it gets real costly!

Apparently they were right about economic majors in college with nothing better to do and desperate to utilize their skills, he ended up writing comments like this one. :)

Reply by Just me... on 5/20/04 4:34pm
Msg #2164

Re: Travel Fee-Economics not there on low travel fees.

Be sure not to make mistakes - and think of all of the easy signings just down the road.....doesn't it all balance out?

Reply by Brenda Stone on 5/21/04 12:18pm
Msg #2187

Re: Travel Fee-Economics not there on low travel fees.

My travel fees are inching up on $1 per one way mile to travel to some areas. I have a decent crop of signings locally and have to factor that into my figures. In other words, booking yourself out of town for too little can be devastating if you have a good business locally. You may be able to do three signings locally in that same day but have gotten yourself committed to an out of town trip for far too low. It goes without saying that a definite assignment out of town is worth it if if you have set your fee right, rather than hoping for one or more closings on the same day--but not if you are losing money in the long run for that out of town trip.

Check Mapquest.com before making a certain decision on your travel. What is 40 miles by "how the crow flies" is not necessarily the driving distance, and the time can be more like 2 min. per mile.

Brenda