Travel requested by client

[newcontract]

Hi all,

I am normally work from my client's site which is 10 mins from home. Client is asking me to travel to the other side of the world for a 2 week workshop.

How should I bill this? I know most of this is "my choice" but I am curious about what is considered normal and won't shock my client

In particular I am curious about:
- How much would you charge per day for 'subsistence', and would you provide an inflated estimate upfront or provide a final exact bill with receipts etc after the trip?
- Would you up your daily rate?
- Would you charge on non working days for being away from home?
- Any other detail I may want to consider?

[WTFH]

Hi all,

I am normally based on my client's site which is 10 mins from home. Client is asking me to travel to the other side of the world for a 2 week workshop.

How should I bill this? I know most of this is "my choice" but I am curious about what is considered normal and won't shock my client

In particular I am curious about:
- How much would you charge per day for 'subsistence', and would you provide an inflated estimate upfront or provide a final exact bill with receipts etc after the trip?
- Would you up your daily rate?
- Would you charge on non working days for being away from home?
- Any other detail I may want to consider?

Questions:
Are you going to this workshop alone, or with other contractors/staff?
Has the client asked you to go, or asked you to book the trip yourself?
How long have you been contracting with the client?
Do you get on well with the people asking you to take the trip?
Where in the world is it?
Do you have a valid passport and will you require any sort of visa for the trip?

Thoughts so far:
1. Get the client to book the flights and hotel, if they have their own travel company they will most likely do that. This also means you'll be following the company rules.
2. Get receipts for everything and invoice them, but check if they have spending rules - they might say you are allowed £50 a night for meals, or that you should use public transport, not taxis, etc
3. Do not charge them a flat subsistence rate. Do not try to up your daily rate.

One you answer the questions above, we can give you a few more pointers.

[CoolCat]

I would just charge them actual costs for expenses plus a few tens of pounds a day "overseas allowance" (most big companies allow some such for assignments overseas, to pay for gardener etc back home you would have done yourself otherwise)

If long flights are involved I would be pushing for business class seats, as 24 hours + in an economy seat is a nightmare, especially if you are expected to work soon after arriving. Also long experience of having done flights to New Zealand and Australia is I would always engineer it to have a weekend stopover half way. So travel halfway on the Friday, on the clients time. Have the weekend off yourself mid way. And travel the Monday the rest of the way on the clients time. Its not that precise for time zone reasons, but thats the way I would sell it to the managers, costs them nothing extra and you get a more relaxed journey. Places half way include KL, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, or if you go the other way around the world LA, been to them all and more for a weekend at least...

Push for overtime if you can, and if you are in a strong bargaining position push you overseas allowance request up. But actual costs for hotels etc protects you when the price of hotels goes through the roof for a conference or sporting event in town you know nothing about. Of course if you are there a long time, and know your way around an agreed "per diem" rate, ie fixed rate per day, can be luctrative, especially if you have been able to do deals with locals hotels etc.

If you need a hire car when you are there be careful to agree who you hire from, and at what rate, and what extra insurances you buy, some companies have corporate deals and wont pay if you hire elsewhere.

Dont forget to sort out your medical insurance, and if stopping in LA half way, even if only for the plane to refuel, you need cover that includes USA.

Other thing to agree is which exchange rate you use for expenses claims, usually best if you stick to the actual rate you have been charged, some places insist on their own benchmark rate.

Good luck.

[silverlight1]

If their travel people book the flights / hotels make sure you get your frequent flyer / hotel number on the booking.

Mrs Silverlight and I have had a number of weekends away in exotic locations on the back of client travel

[TheFaQQer]

- How much would you charge per day for 'subsistence', and would you provide an inflated estimate upfront or provide a final exact bill with receipts etc after the trip?

Actual cost. No estimate up front, just bill them what you spend.

- Would you up your daily rate?

No

- Would you charge on non working days for being away from home?

Only travel time, if the client are willing to pay for that. Definitely not for weekends, unless I'm working.

- Any other detail I may want to consider?

If the journey is over a couple of hours then it's a business class flight, and hotels have to be of a certain standard. If you need to pay for additional insurance then you could ask for that but I'd expect the client to tell you to do one.

[newcontract]

Questions:
Are you going to this workshop alone, or with other contractors/staff?

Will be going with a couple of Permies, I am the only contractor

Questions:
Has the client asked you to go, or asked you to book the trip yourself?

They have asked me to go but mentioned that I would need to pay the trip myself and they would reimburse me.

Questions:
How long have you been contracting with the client?

1 yr

Questions:
Do you get on well with the people asking you to take the trip?

Yes! But its a big corp, ie. little common sense, all policy driven etc

Questions:
Where in the world is it?

Africa

Questions:
Do you have a valid passport and will you require any sort of visa for the trip?

I think my passport should be fine but I will note this down to check!

[radish2008]

I've done this.

They pay for everything (business class flights for flights 5hrs plus)

When you get there they pay for everything plus a per diem expense.

Either invoice or charge to the hotel.

They have asked me to go but mentioned that I would need to pay the trip myself and they would reimburse me.

Def not. A 2 week trip to Hong Long could cost 10k in flights and hotels. I'd say that's quite a risk so I would want a written guarantee they will pay.

[WTFH]

Will be going with a couple of Permies, I am the only contractor

They have asked me to go but mentioned that I would need to pay the trip myself and they would reimburse me.

OK, I'd check if they have travel rules, try to book the same flights (and same class) as the permies, definitely book the same hotel, make sure you have a loyalty card for the airline and the hotel (sign up now!)
By being in the same hotel, then you are sharing a taxi/rental car, etc. Clients appreciate contractors who work with them on this.

If you're off to Africa, check if you need any jabs or anti-malaria tablets
Destinations - Fit For Travel
If so...
You'll then need to book yourself into a travel clinic at your local GP surgery to get the jabs/prescriptions. The yellow fever jab is the most painful one you might need, and if you need anti-malaria, ask them for Malarone, it's the best, but it may give you weird dreams.
Get receipts for the travel clinic and prescription - they are not covered free by the NHS and the Malarone will cost about £70 for a 2 week trip.

If you're off to South Africa and staying in the cities, you don't need anything, but should you choose to head up to e.g. Madekwe for a safari at the weekend, then you would need jabs etc.

Do you know which country and city you are off to? I've done a bit of travel in Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia so might be able to give you some insight/tips.

[Sub]

How much would you charge per day for 'subsistence', and would you provide an inflated estimate upfront or provide a final exact bill with receipts etc after the trip?

You probably need to charge actual costs at the end of the trip, however you will need to know exactly what can be claimed back and to which extent. My client, for example not allowing to claim lunch, however does allow to claim breakfast and dinner. And have indicative prices for cities around the world to consider when booking a hotel.

Would you up your daily rate?
Would you charge on non working days for being away from home?

Was any travel part of you contract before? If not, to me it seems to be significant change of the deal and I personally would rise a day rate and charge it for any day I am off for their business including weekends and public holidays (or flight home at the end of the week and flight back Monday). However, if the travel was part of the contract it can be reasonable to keep the same rate, but still there absolutely no reason (except your own choice) to spend weekend on business travel for free.

Any other detail I may want to consider?

There are some. First is insurance as you probably no covered by your client's one. Second is if you allowed to do any work in the country you going. Third is to check if you will not become liable for a tax (in the country you going) for any earnings you make during the trip. And obviously some usual stuff like injections, Foreign Office advice, etc.

[radish2008]

You probably need to charge actual costs at the end of the trip, however you will need to know exactly what can be claimed back and to which extent. My client, for example not allowing to claim lunch, however does allow to claim breakfast and dinner. And have indicative prices for cities around the world to consider when booking a hotel.

I would certainly question this. Ok for local expense claims but if I'm in a foreign country at their behest they pay for everything. 3 meals a day. coke. hookers. the lot.