charging travel time to the client

[darrenb]

If I spend a couple of hours on the train to a client site, I'm not worried about it. But I have a potential client in the US who want me to fly over to them for some initial consultation. They've agreed to handle flight and accommodation costs naturally, but I feel I should be compensated for time in the air also. It's all a bit of a hassle really.

Just wanted to gather some opinions/policies people have. One idea is to charge half my hourly rate for any travel time. Another idea is to charge a premium rate for work "on site". Another is to (try to) do some work on the plane and charge a full rate for that (actually did that once in 1999 and the client paid but acted skeptical).

[DirtyDog]

What does the contract say? Have you discussed this with the client?

Last American client I had paid for everything when I was travelling - flights, accommodation, travel time for the day flight, and half a day for the overnight flight home on the Friday / Saturday.

Current international deal is that I charge per day - if I'm travelling (and it takes 24 hours including the time change to get there), then I bill for it. Coming back, I bill for the day and work less since I'm home by 8am having flown through the night.

[darrenb]

What does the contract say? Have you discussed this with the client?

No contract yet, this is what I need to negotiate. I charge by the hour, but I guess it makes sense to charge 8 hours for any day spent travelling like you say. Hope the client sees it the same way. Anybody else?

[jamesbrown]

I have a client in the US and I don't charge for travel time. I view billable time as time where work is actually done for the client, not opportunity lost. On that basis, I wouldn't have a problem with billing for time worked during the flight, but I would never bill for travel time unless work was done. Principle aside, it pays to treat the client fairly in the long run; they may not notice when you don't push the boundaries, but they'll surely notice when you do. YMMV, of course, and it also depends on what the contract says.

[Contreras]

No contract yet, this is what I need to negotiate. I charge by the hour, but I guess it makes sense to charge 8 hours for any day spent travelling like you say. Hope the client sees it the same way. Anybody else?

You could go for a fixed additional fee for each night spent overseas. Plus a fixed fee for the travel each way, say close to day rate - but offer to waive it for the initial consultation.

I'd probably rather be on a day rate than clock watching. Similar for expenses: charge flights & accommodation at cost but all other expenses lumped in with the fixed fee to avoid any arguments about the quality of the wine, etc.

[mudskipper]

Think it depends - if it's a client you're working 'full-time' for, then, if you're travelling through the working day, they'll probably be happy for you to invoice as normal (as they would pay the permies). If it's occasional work, then it's trickier - I'd feel inclined to factor it into my rate and not invoice separately.

[Antman]

My tuppence, charge a higher rate than normal to include this in. So estimate the number of flights you'll have to do over the contract period, add this to what you normally charge over this period and divide to get your new daily/hourly rate.

Client probably won't notice and they will appreciate not feeling 'nickel and dimed' with each time you come face to face.

[GillsMan]

My tuppence, charge a higher rate than normal to include this in. So estimate the number of flights you'll have to do over the contract period, add this to what you normally charge over this period and divide to get your new daily/hourly rate.

Client probably won't notice and they will appreciate not feeling 'nickel and dimed' with each time you come face to face.

This. Sets a better tone for the relationship going forward IMO.

[DirtyDog]

If you quite fancy lots of flights, then make sure you tell them that you won't charge - if there is a charge then there is an incentive not to get you out there. If you don't, then charge for your travel time, and they will have to really consider if it's worth getting you out there in the first place.

For a long distance flight, or anything which might impact on the time that I can spend with my family, then I charge a premium for it.

When you are having the discussions, check what class of flight they are planning on you taking. There's a big difference between an economy flight to New York and an economy flight to San Francisco - I'd also be looking for at least a premium economy ticket if it's over a five / six hour flight. If there is an expectation that you will be fit for work straight away, as soon as you land (as my current client has), then the least they can do is get you a flat bed on the plane for a 12 hour journey.

[blacjac]

This happened to me 3 months onto an 8 month contract. An internal company restructure meant that the entire department I was contracted to now came under a US division. The division manager wanted everyone on the project to be over there for 2 weeks.

I was billing by the hour and they wanted me to fly weekends, I said 'fine but will be billing travel time at standard rate, plus expenses'.

Billed as I said, they paid without problems.

2 months later I was extended and asked to go out for another 2 weeks, just me on my own this time.

The contract went on for just under 3 years (it was a big project, with outsourcing involved).


Don't believe that charging travel time will hurt your future prospects. If the client sees you as an external company, they will be expecting it anyway.