My uncle told me to always charge a day rate for travel, not just mileage.

He said this after I drove four hours to a shoot in Asheville and only billed for gas. The next job had a two day shoot with a hotel stay, so I tried his advice and charged a full day for travel each way. The client agreed without question, and it added $800 to my invoice. Has anyone else found a better way to price long distance jobs?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_alice2mo ago

My first year freelancing I drove from Austin to Dallas for a single headshot session and only asked for gas money. I felt so burned out on the drive back. Your uncle is totally right. That travel day is a full work day you can't use for anything else. Charging a day rate for it makes the whole trip worth your time and stops you from feeling taken advantage of. What do you charge for your normal day rate now?

lilyhayes2mo agoMost Upvoted

So what's your normal day rate?

troy_torres2mo ago

People undervalue their own time until they start charging for it.

lucast8129d ago

My cousin in Denver runs a small video business and he never charges for travel days. He builds the cost of his truck and his drive time into a higher project fee instead. His argument is that clients see a line item for travel and get sticker shock, but they will pay a bigger total number if it's just wrapped into the creative fee. He says it makes him seem more premium and avoids nickel and diming conversations. I tried it last year and actually landed a bigger job because my bid looked cleaner without extra charges.