Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Trip Charge Calculation
• Small Job Pricing Strategy
• After-Hours Surcharge Policy
• Fuel And Travel Cost Recovery
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion

Introduction

Small service calls feel quick, but they burn time, fuel, and brain space. If you’re driving 30 minutes each way, hunting parking, and writing admin after dinner, that “easy” job can erase your daily profit. This guide shows what to charge, why it’s fair, and how to implement a clear policy clients accept. You’ll get formulas, EU-specific examples (France, Italy, Spain), and a rollout plan. The goal: charge confidently, protect margins, and turn tiny tasks into reliable income—without endless back-and-forth.

Quick reality check: in 2024, diesel across FR/IT/ES often averaged €1.60–€1.80/L according to the European Commission Oil Bulletin. Eurostat indicates construction labor costs commonly sit around €25–€35/hour in Western Europe, including social charges (Eurostat). Those inputs alone justify a structured fee for small calls.

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Trip Charge Calculation

A solid travel fee starts with facts, not guesswork. Here’s a clean method I use with small teams:

1. Measure true travel time door-to-door.

• Outbound + return, including time to load/park.
• In big cities, pad 15–25 minutes for parking and building access.

2. Apply your fully loaded hourly cost.

• Base wage + employer charges + paid leave + insurance + overhead share.
• Many firms land between €25–€35/hour in FR/IT/ES; check your books to be precise.

3. Add vehicle cost per kilometer.

• Fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance, depreciation.
• A practical benchmark is €0.35–€0.50/km for a small van in 2025.

4. Include admin time per visit.

• Scheduling, client messaging, invoice creation, and payment chase.
• Most shops underestimate this; 10–20 minutes is common.

5. Add a profit margin.

• 10–20% on the travel component keeps the lights on when jobs cancel.

Worked example (suburban job):

• Distance: 24 km round trip at €0.40/km = €9.60
• Travel time: 1.0 hr x €30/hr loaded = €30.00
• Parking/tolls: €4.00
• Admin: 0.25 hr x €30/hr = €7.50
• Subtotal: €51.10 → add 15% profit = €58.77 → round to €59

Why round? Clients process clean numbers faster. Publish a radius-based table (e.g., Zone A 0–10 km = €39, Zone B 11–25 km = €59, Zone C 26–40 km = €79).

Local notes contractors learn the hard way:

• Paris/Lyon/Marseille: hourly parking often ranges €4–€9; carrying tools several blocks is real time. Add a fixed urban access uplift.
• Italy’s ZTL (Zona a Traffico Limitato): entering without authorization triggers fines; consult your comune’s site and price in day passes or alternative parking.
• Madrid/Barcelona low-emission areas restrict older vans; if you need a day permit or a park-and-carry plan, add the cost upfront.

Pro tip: lock your travel fee in your appointment confirmation. If a client reschedules inside 24 hours, keep the travel component as a cancellation fee—communicated politely at booking.

CTA (tools that make this easy): In Donizo, set distance-based rules once. The app adds the right travel line to every estimate and invoice, with the correct VAT and your local zones baked in.

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Small Job Pricing Strategy

Small tasks hurt because context-switching kills efficiency. A sharp approach bundles your minimum service time, parts handling, and admin into a single clean line your client understands.

Use the “90-Minute Minimum” framework:

• Base on-site block: 1.5 hours at your loaded rate (e.g., €30/hr → €45 base labor)
• Parts handling: fixed €10–€20 for sourcing and warranty logging
• Micro-consumables: €5–€12 (anchors, tape, blades)
• Admin/quality buffer: €10–€20 to cover coordination, photos, and report notes
• Then margin: 15–25% so the tiny job actually contributes to profit

Example for a handyman/electrician in Toulouse:

• Base labor (1.5 hr @ €32): €48
• Handling: €12
• Consumables: €8
• Buffer: €12
• Subtotal: €80 → +20% = €96 → publish €99 minimum

Communicating it so clients say yes:

• Lead with outcomes: “Includes arrival window, protected floors, parts on hand, and full safety check.”
• Offer clarity: “If the task finishes early, we use the remaining time for helpful fixes you choose.”
• Show fairness: “If we exceed 90 minutes, additional time is billed per half hour.”

Legal and consumer notes (non-binding guidance):

• France: for residential consumers, display tax-inclusive pricing and any travel or minimum fees clearly before work begins (DGCCRF guidance). Keep your “devis” precise.
• Italy: for private clients, include your fee table in the “preventivo”; down payments (“acconto”) are standard—document them.
• Spain: written acceptance (“presupuesto”) with clear price components prevents disputes; list travel and minimums as separate lines.

Don’t bury the minimum in fine print—put it in the first email/text and in your calendar invite. Most complaints come from surprises, not prices.

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After-Hours Surcharge Policy

Evening and weekend calls blow up team rhythm and personal time. A published uplift protects morale and ensures true cost coverage.

Define your windows:

• Regular hours: Mon–Fri, 08:00–17:00
• Extended: 07:00–08:00, 17:00–20:00
• Off-hours/emergency: nights, weekends, public holidays

Set clear uplifts on the labor portion:

• Extended: +25–35%
• Off-hours: +60–100%

Example for a plumber in Milan:

• Standard call minimum €99
• Extended uplift +30% → €129
• Off-hours uplift +80% → €179

Important: uplifts apply to labor and the minimum block, while material markups stay consistent. Publish a simple table clients can understand at a glance.

Cultural nuance that helps:

• Spain: Saturday morning “urgentito” is common—pre-quote the uplift by WhatsApp with a one-line acceptance message saved to the job file.
• France: add a polite rationale: “Majorations couvrent astreinte, disponibilité, et logistique.” Framing matters.
• Italy: many family-run firms rotate on-call weekends—note which technician is on duty inside your planning tool and reflect it in pricing automatically.

Risk controls:

• Pre-authorize a card or collect a deposit before dispatching outside normal hours.
• Set a minimum billable block of 2 hours at night; it reduces “false alarms.”
• Document the issue on arrival with 3 photos; it ends debates about what you found versus what you fixed.

CTA (implement in minutes): Create time-based rate tables in Donizo. The system applies the correct uplift when you schedule a job in an off-hours slot and shows the client the exact price before you roll.

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Fuel And Travel Cost Recovery

Transport costs spike with fuel, tolls, parking, and restricted zones. If you don’t itemize them, they quietly eat your month.

Tactics that work now:

• Publish a radius map with three zones and fixed fees per zone.
• Add a line for tolls/parking “as incurred” with capped estimates in cities.
• For rural work, set a kilometer threshold beyond which you charge per km.
• In low-emission areas (ZFE/ZTL/LEZ), include a “city access” line covering permits or longer unload times.

Real-world snapshots:

• Paris: parking up to €9/h in central districts; unloading bays are scarce—price the lost time.
• Rome/Florence: ZTL day passes or perimeter parking plus a 10–15 minute walk with tools—budget it or you’ll pay it.
• Barcelona/Madrid: LEZ rules restrict older vans; if you must stage materials outside and hand-carry, increase the urban access fee.

Keep it fair and transparent:

• Share the calculation method in one sentence: “Travel fee covers round-trip time, vehicle cost, and parking.”
• Offer alternatives: “Book the first slot of the day to reduce traffic and cost.”
• Cap surprises: “Parking billed at cost, capped at €12 unless agreed.”

Numbers to watch quarterly:

• Fuel price trend (EU Oil Bulletin).
• Local parking/toll changes (city websites often update in January and July).
• Inflation (ECB/Eurostat updates) to review your table at least twice a year.

Automation tip: tie your zones to postal codes in your CRM so the right fee appears automatically on the quote and invoice.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a fair minimum fee for a quick visit?

A fair minimum covers a small on-site time block, admin, and travel, plus profit. Many teams land around €79–€129 depending on city, van costs, and labor rates. Publish what’s included, and let clients use any leftover minutes for small fixes so it feels generous, not punitive.

How do I avoid pushback from residential clients?

Show the value upfront: arrival window, protection, stocked parts, and a safety check. Confirm the fee by SMS/email before dispatch, and offer a first-slot booking to lower travel. Most complaints vanish when expectations are clear and the technician solves something on the first visit.

Should I waive fees if I win a bigger job afterward?

Make it a conditional credit: “If we proceed with a quoted project over €1,500 within 30 days, we credit today’s service fee.” That encourages commitment without giving away time. State it on the estimate so there’s no confusion.

How often should I review my pricing table?

Quarterly is realistic. Fuel, parking rules, and wages shift. Tie your review to official sources and adjust 3–5 euros at a time. Update website, booking messages, and your quote templates the same day to avoid mismatches.

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Conclusion

Small calls are part of the trade—but they shouldn’t drain your week. Set a clear minimum, define travel and city access fees, and publish evening/weekend uplifts. Confirm everything in writing before you roll. Review numbers quarterly against fuel and labor trends, and round to clean prices clients understand.

If you want the admin to run itself, use Donizo. Voice-to-quote captures the visit on-site, distance rules add the correct travel fee automatically, and invoicing tracks VAT and payments so your cash flow stays predictable. Most teams we onboard save 5–10 hours a week and stop arguing about small-job pricing—because it’s already in the system. Put your policy to work on your next callout.