Travel cost per job
What driving between jobs costs you a year, and what a tighter run is worth. Free, no sign-up.
Example Change any number and press Work it out.
$29,670 per van, or $21.50 a job.
| Hours driving a year | 345 |
| Labour cost of that time | $17,250 |
| Kilometres a year | 13,800 |
| Vehicle running cost | $12,420 |
| Travel cost per job | $21.50 |
Cutting 5 minutes off each drive saves about $9,890 a year.
That's 30 minutes a day per van, room for about 0.5 more jobs a day.
Travel is a cost on every job
Every drive between jobs costs you twice: the hour you pay someone to sit in the van, and the fuel, tyres and wear on the van itself. Neither appears on the invoice.
For a recurring service business, travel is often the biggest cost you can actually change. Winning customers near the ones you already have, and booking a suburb on the same day, takes minutes off every drive. Those minutes add up to extra jobs in the same day.
Questions
What vehicle cost per km should I use?
Your own running costs divided by the kilometres you drive, if you know them. Otherwise start with the default and adjust.
Should the first drive of the day count?
Yes, if you pay for it. Use the average drive to each job, including the first and last.
How do I cut travel?
Group work by suburb and day, and aim marketing at the streets around your best customers. The job density guide goes through it.
Every job, worked out for you
Tradies Sidekick reads your Xero and ServiceM8 and works this out every night from your own numbers: for every customer, every member of the team, and the business as a whole.
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