Vehicle / fuel costs

[OK Sparky 93]

Here is another topic to clarify!
I understand if I have a truck payment, it is an OH cost.

When it comes to fuel/ wear and tear, how do you cover these cost.

Do you charge a rate per round trip mile, or do you have a predetermined number that you are forecasting and have it as part of your OH hourly rate?

 

[letgomywago]

Either you deduct and save all receipts including payments, insurance, gas, and matenance. Or go by mile. I have an old van so by mile is best. If you lease I think there's some different considerations of you have a fleet but I don't think I'll ever.

 

[OK Sparky 93]

Either you deduct and save all receipts including payments, insurance, gas, and matenance. Or go by mile. I have an old van so by mile is best. If you lease I think there's some different considerations of you have a fleet but I don't think I'll ever.

I got all of that. I do both through the year, whichever is greater is the one I use for tax purposes. The question is how do you bill it to the customer? Is this what your profit is for?

 

[letgomywago]

I got all of that. I do both through the year, whichever is greater is the one I use for tax purposes. The question is how do you bill it to the customer? Is this what your profit is for?

You need to pay yourself 3 times. Pretend you a service tech how much do you need to be paid. Now how much does the license holder need to make to be worth the time (think how much you'd want to be paid to sign for a company). Finally you need to cover business overhead, call backs and future growth. People who invest expect a return how much percentage should you make. There's alot of books with better thoughts on this but profit should not be what you use for the gas.

 

[James L]

Some people charge high labor, no markup on parts, no overhead - some people have lower labor but add more line items for service charge, trip, markup, etc.

the bottom line is this - you simply extract as many funds as possible.

I've never worried about what a vehicle costs, because you're going to pay for a car or truck even if you work in an office building or a fast food restaurant.

There are a lot of ways to calculate how much of this and that should be added, marked up, etc.

Here's the key - charge what the market will bear. If I'm working for a property owner, I want them to mention that the price is pretty high, they need to talk it over, etc

Whatever that conversation looks like, I want to know it takes a decision to shell out the money. I want a little bit of work on their part, and ultimately say yes. That means you're getting as much as you can.

If you're super busy, raise your prices.

 

[letgomywago]

Some people charge high labor, no markup on parts, no overhead - some people have lower labor but add more line items for service charge, trip, markup, etc.

the bottom line is this - you simply extract as many funds as possible.

I've never worried about what a vehicle costs, because you're going to pay for a car or truck even if you work in an office building or a fast food restaurant.

There are a lot of ways to calculate how much of this and that should be added, marked up, etc.

Here's the key - charge what the market will bear. If I'm working for a property owner, I want them to mention that the price is pretty high, they need to talk it over, etc

Whatever that conversation looks like, I want to know it takes a decision to shell out the money. I want a little bit of work on their part, and ultimately say yes. That means you're getting as much as you can.

If you're super busy, raise your prices.

Pricing for the market is good but you need to pay what your worth too. Otherwise its not worth it. If you are working for what you were paid as just a worker isn't enough for the headache of running a business.

 

[James L]

Pricing for the market is good but you need to pay what your worth too. Otherwise its not worth it. If you are working for what you were paid as just a worker isn't enough for the headache of running a business.

Very true. But exactly how to get there is a tree with many branches.

That's why I say extract as many funds as possible. Your customers will tell you how much you're worth. If they keep calling as you raise your prices, they're saying you're worth more

 

[OK Sparky 93]

I've never worried about what a vehicle costs, because you're going to pay for a car or truck even if you work in an office building or a fast food restaurant

True, however if I was working at one of those places, I wouldn’t be driving a vehicle that gets about 6 mpg.

 

[James L]

True, however if I was working at one of those places, I wouldn’t be driving a vehicle that gets about 6 mpg.

I'm ready to switch back to driving my 30 mgp Chevy HHR

But I don't do any more service work, so it's a fair point

 

[kwired]

Some people charge high labor, no markup on parts, no overhead - some people have lower labor but add more line items for service charge, trip, markup, etc.

the bottom line is this - you simply extract as many funds as possible.

I've never worried about what a vehicle costs, because you're going to pay for a car or truck even if you work in an office building or a fast food restaurant.

There are a lot of ways to calculate how much of this and that should be added, marked up, etc.

Here's the key - charge what the market will bear. If I'm working for a property owner, I want them to mention that the price is pretty high, they need to talk it over, etc

Whatever that conversation looks like, I want to know it takes a decision to shell out the money. I want a little bit of work on their part, and ultimately say yes. That means you're getting as much as you can.

If you're super busy, raise your prices.

But if that vehicle is a vital part of doing your business most every dollar you throw at it is likely a business expense when it comes to calculating your income taxes. And like was kind of mentioned later on, you may not even purchase a certain vehicle type if it were only used for personal use vs business use.

 

[hillbilly1]

I have an app that logs travel, I just have to swipe business or other. It automatically maps the travel for the IRS deduction. It connects to the Bluetooth in my trucks, so it knows which one I’m driving.

 

[James L]

....you may not even purchase a certain vehicle type if it were only used for personal use vs business use.

But I know a lot of people who have 4x4 gas guzzlers and work in an office.

The biggest difference is gonna be miles, not mpg

 

[kwired]

But I know a lot of people who have 4x4 gas guzzlers and work in an office.

The biggest difference is gonna be miles, not mpg

That is by personal preference more than by necessity though, or maybe if you have 5 kids you might drive a van or a Suburban or similar, and either need that vehicle to pick up/drop off kids on the way to/from work or just don't have another vehicle for driving to work.