I`m wondering if fellow shoppers have a standard rate when asking for mileage reimbursements. I had a scheduler ask me to name my price and I had no clue. I panicked and pulled $30 out of thin air. It would have costed me $11 gas, I asked for $30 and ended up getting $20. It was 45 miles each way.. Figure I can be more prepared next time and have a formula.
What`s your going rate?

I find it easier to base it on my time for a simple reason, I'm more likely to know how long it will take to drive than the exact mileage. To me it most important to be able to provide an offer quickly. Forty-five miles each way translates to an hour and a half driving. Unless it is something unusual I would than add 30 minutes for the shop time. Easy enough to take the desired hourly gross and multiply by two. My target gross is designed to cover additional time for the report, mileage and expenses.

A simple (and good) rule of the thumb is a buck a mile. It will also provide a quick response on your part if you know the mileage when you get the call from the scheduler. If you can schedule more than one shop for your trip then your price per shop can come down.

My goal is a little different. The first time I want to get a reasonable bonus, so they will call me the next time. From there, be prepared to work them for a higher bonus, if it makes sense too. For example, there are three locations one MSC calls me on a regular basis for. They offered the same bonus; one location a mile from my home, the second adds about 10 miles to my commute, the third is 30 miles round trip out of my way. I take the local one for a reasonable bonus unless I can't fit it in my schedule. The second one I have worked the bonus up several times. They start there if they call me. The third I worked to the same as the second , from there they are hesitant to pay more. I turn it down now stating the extra distance deserves a higher bonus, which one time I got out of them. Anytime the start lower, I ask them to check what they agreed to the last time. If they balk, I do the same.

It depends. What's the weather like? Very hot or very cold and it costs more for me to leave the comfort of my home. How many days until the end of the month? If they're waiting to call on the last day for a shop they know will have to be bonused, I charge a last-minute fee. Who is making the offer? It's higher for schedulers who "forget" to remember me for great shops; lower for those I know will make it up on another.

Don't ask for a mileage bonus, just an amount for which you'll do the shop. Otherwise, the scheduler is likely to look at a map and decide that it's "only" 15 miles -- without realizing that's as the crow flies, there are toll roads, and that 15 miles will take you two hours.

Ask what you will do the shop for...doesnt matter if it means driving across town or going to my neighbors house next door...If a scheduler calls/emails and asks me to "help them out" my asking rate is a full days pay as if I were to go to work at my regular job. I have had several accept, several negotiate, several I have not heard back from, several say outright there is no way they would be able to pay what I ask. I dont do any schedulers any favors unless they have done me favors first. Its business and thats the bottom line.

Firstly, any route that takes enough time to prevent me from working in my home base town needs to pay at least $100 for each day that it keeps me away from home base. If it only keeps me away for 4 hours, then the minimum is $50 since I still have half a day remaining that I can work in my home base city.

I used to figure how many miles times mpg of my vehicle times price per gallon of gas times gallons of gas needed to make the trip, plus any add-ons for circumstances such as extra time and risk driving through rough terrain.

Then I changed to a $20/hourly number, which was surprisingly close to the same amount as the complicated formula above.

I currently figure my bids at $0.29/mile, which is $0.10/mile more than what it costs me to operate my vehicle (gas, insurance, tire wear, etc.) and is sufficient to allow for time spent. If the route requires more than one day, I add the cost of a motel. I also add for severe driving conditions.

It's not difficult or time consuming to know how many miles and hours your route will be. All it takes is a few copy and pastes of your shop addresses into Google Maps, and you will have miles and times and traffic. There is also software like MS Streets and Trips.

Sure, I would love to have $300 every time I drive 325 miles to Panaca to do a shop, but I think it builds better relationships in this business, and is more profitable in the long run to quote what you feel is your fairest price. I don't have time available to put my job schedule on hold while I negotiate job fees back-and-forth. I quote my minimum fair price the first time, job is either accepted or not accepted, and I can move on.

My formula is simple. I charge ~$.25 a mile (it costs me about .22 to operate my car but it's a whole easier to divide the miles by 4 instead of figuring it to the penny) plus my hourly minimum for the entire trip.

So for most normal shops I would consider that one for $20 in mileage plus 2 hours of my time. That would be adjusted up or down based on several factors such as my relationship with the company or scheduler, the ease of reporting (VERY IMPORTANT TO ME), the type of shop, and how much I felt the shop was probably worth it to the company.

I will say I totally do not do the $1/mile rule that some people use as it does not factor in shop and reporting time at all.

the cost is more than gas...miles put wear on the brakes,tires, engines..

IRS deduction rate is about 50 cents...that doesn't mean you get 50 cents back, that means that is the amount you don't pay taxes on...for the average person, they would save between 10-20 cents per mile..someone in a high tax bracket could be saving 30 cents per mile.

a lot of people go by what they would get by using the IRS mile rate

a buck a mile is outrageous..on a highway it takes a minute to drive a mile, in local suburban traffic 3 minutes..while you could include your time in the fee...that is too much

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2016 06:41PM by jmitw.

You're right. Ease/difficulty of reporting or heavy narratives are definitely factors to consider. Add for anything that is more difficult or time consuming than a normal shop. Also, shops that have short reporting times do not belong on route shops.

@AZwolfman wrote:

Also, shops that have short reporting times do not belong on route shops.

Huh what?? I'm going to ASSume you mean shops that have a short reporting deadline and not shops that take very little time to report. Because almost all of my routes are made up of shops that take very little time to report.

Yes, I meant shops that have a short reporting deadline. 8 hours or less deadline is ridiculous and unreasonable. 12 hours is standard and often doable.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2016 06:57PM by AZwolfman.

I've heard folks complain about other shoppers taking assignments for too little, but this is the first time I've heard the higher fees be described as "outrageous" by anyone other than a MSC. Your outrageous is probably another shopper's "just right."

I am going to disagree a mile only takes one or three minutes respectively. Do they have any road construction where you live? Do you ever drive in rush hour traffic? How about road closures and detours? Obviously circumstances like accidents cannot be predicted. Closures, rush hour and construction can all be anticipated and should be factored in.

@jmitw wrote:

a buck a mile is outrageous..on a highway it takes a minute to drive a mile, in local suburban traffic 3 minutes..while you could include your time in the fee...that is too much

I think the outrageous was referencing the wide difference 1 mile could be and not the fee per mile.

@jmitw wrote:

the cost is more than gas...miles put wear on the brakes,tires, engines..

IRS deduction rate is about 50 cents...that doesn't mean you get 50 cents back, that means that is the amount you don't pay taxes on...for the average person, they would save between 10-20 cents per mile..someone in a high tax bracket could be saving 30 cents per mile.

a lot of people go by what they would get by using the IRS mile rate

a buck a mile is outrageous..on a highway it takes a minute to drive a mile, in local suburban traffic 3 minutes..while you could include your time in the fee...that is too much

I also would not ask for $1/Mile.

I usually bill $0.55/mile. Some accounts allow me $0.38/mile. I don't ask why.

So, for me to do a shop 20 miles away, even in traffic, I doubt I'd get $40 bonus. A deadline bonus, maybe but not for mileage.

I regularly shop a route that is 102 miles each way. 80% of the drive is divided highway 70 mph. The last 20% is divided highway 65 mph with sharp curves and mountainous terrain. I think it's about 90 minutes driving each way. I charge $60 for the round trip. I also get the regular shop fee(s) for whatever the shops themselves pay. I cannot imagine anybody getting paid $204 for this trip. $1 per mile as a base standard seems unreasonable and not likely to get much acceptance.

You are barely covering the cost of your driving.

20 miles away for me is still in the same city I live, so I would not even ask for or expect a bonus. I would just schedule a few other shops in town in the same area so the job would be profitable. Mileage bonuses are for out of town routes. Getting a bonus for driving 20 miles across town is like asking for extra money every day just for driving to work.

@bgriffin wrote:

You are barely covering the cost of your driving.

Who are you talking to?

@AZwolfman He said earlier his cost was $.19 per mile. At 102 miles round trip that's 204 miles or $38.76. He charnges $60 for the 3 hours round trip so he's making $21.24 or $7.08 per hour.

@bgriffin wrote:

You are barely covering the cost of your driving.

That's about $7/hour (after vehicle costs) for driving on well-paved roads and mostly highway speeds. That's not bad pay just for driving to and from work, and I still have half a day left to do more shops when I return home (assuming I did only one shop on the route, which is rare). Many non-mystery shopping jobs pay $0 for a daily hour or more commute.

$60 is all the market will bear for this trip. Of course it is nice that I live in a state that consistently pays shoppers higher fees for shops.

@bgriffin wrote:

@AZwolfman He said earlier his cost was $.19 per mile. At 102 miles round trip that's 204 miles or $38.76. He charnges $60 for the 3 hours round trip so he's making $21.24 or $7.08 per hour.

Thanks for clarifying. $0.55 a mile is reasonable for me.

So your minimum mileage bonus for that trip would be $112? You will never get that bid accepted. That's $37/hour before automobile expenses. Do you really think it is worth that much for the drive?

To the OP: The short answer to your question is yes. It seems from these posts that shoppers do have a standard rate or formula that they use when asking for mileage bonuses. Hopefully we have given you a guide so that you can devise your own strategy or formula for determining how much to ask the next time you are asked to shop an out of town location.

Distance is only factor in asking for a bonus. I rarely do work for base pay even in my own city. I also don't compare driving to and from a shop in the same realm as driving to and from a job. There are other benefits adding value to a job that we don't have. Those benefits will more than make up the difference in not being paid for my actual 30 to 60 minutes of driving. I will say when calculating MS income I don't always include the first and last 30 minutes of driving, but I damn sure include driving between assignments and assign the same value for my time whether it is being spent driving, performing an assignment or writing the report.

@AZwolfman wrote:

Getting a bonus for driving 20 miles across town is like asking for extra money every day just for driving to work.

I wanted to add many people do negotiate for extra money based on how long they spend commuting. Traditionally jobs in our area pay more in the business centers farthest from the suburbs. Many people I know expect more to drive downtown and are willing to accept a lower salary if the office is closer to home.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2016 09:30PM by LisaSTL.

@AZwolfman wrote:

So your minimum mileage bonus for that trip would be $112? You will never get that bid accepted. That's $37/hour before automobile expenses. Do you really think it is worth that much for the drive?

Yes. And I beg to differ.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2016 09:08PM by bgriffin.

I believe we all have formulas for requesting bonuses. I also believe the OP was asking for a quick and equitable response for doing a 90 mile round trip shop and, in my opinion, $30 is far too little. $90 represents a 2 to 1 income to expense ratio basing the expense on $.50 a mile. I don't generally accept only one shop as taking 3 or 4 on the route is not only more profitable but fairer to the MSC. I would much rather do 4 shops and come back with, say, $150 than one shop for $90. My formula is a bit more complicated than a buck a mile and my income/expense ratio for August was 3.9 to 1 and my hourly wage was $29 and change. By design, I don't work full time but this beats the hell out of working 20 hours a week at Home Depot or Lowes for $12 or so per hour and certainly better than getting $7.50 for flipping burgers. Even if the minimum wage is raised to $15 per hour, which , in my opinion, would be an economic mistake, running my own business is far more profitable and much more enjoyable.

I still don't understand this income to expense ratio and why it would factor in as an important number.

Income/expense is important to me as the minimum I will work for is 2 to 1, bonused or unbonused. Let's take unbonused gas stations as an example. If the shop pays $12.50 plus $5.00 gas and $1.00 product reimbursement I consider that an income of $18.50. I know some people do not consider reimbursements as income but I do. If the gas wasn't reimbursed I would have to pay for it out of my pocket, which was the case when I was a manufacturer's rep and traveled the five surrounding states. The product I normally buy is an Arizona drink product. I put them on the counter when I get home and between my wife and son they disappear quickly. If I don't buy Arizona I buy trail mix or nuts which is my lunch on the go. I have always considered lunch time as travel time.

In any case, let's say I do 5 stations for a total of $92.50 and travel a route of 50 miles. That is an expense of $25 in my formula. The income/expense ratio in this case is 3.7 to 1. Let's say I have to travel 75 miles to do all 5 stations. Then the expense is $37.50 and a ratio of 2.47 to 1. Still acceptable. If I have to travel 100 miles for this route and have $16 in tolls, my expense jumps to $66 and the ratio drops to 1.4 to 1. Not acceptable as my minimum is 2 to 1. Time to negotiate a bonus or choose not to accept the shops. If I can negotiate $10 per shop my income is raised to $142.50 and the ratio is 2.2 to 1. This raises it to acceptable.

This may sound complicated but it really is not and it is what I base my trips on.

I totally understand the ratio. I was a banking and finance major. I get that. What I don't get is why it applies to determining if a route is profitable enough or not and you've failed to answer that.

According to that theory a day that had a 4:1 ratio that gave you $100 in net profit is a better day than one that had a 2:1 ratio that gave you a $150 net profit.