Hourly vs Flat-Rate
Trip Fees, Diagnostic Fees & Minimum Charges: When and How
Short answer
Charge a trip fee any time you have to drive to a job — typically $45–95 depending on market. Waive it when the job goes ahead. Charge a separate diagnostic fee ($75–150) for troubleshooting work where the answer is the deliverable. Minimum charges protect you on tiny jobs that still consume a half-day.
Free quotes and free service calls are a holdover from when gas was $1.50 and your phone wasn't ringing. Today, a 30-mile round trip in a service truck costs $25 before you have unscrewed anything, and every hour spent driving to a tire-kicker is an hour you cannot bill. Trip and diagnostic fees are not greedy — they are the difference between running a business and running a charity.
Trip fee vs diagnostic fee vs minimum charge
These three fees solve different problems and should not be combined.
| Fee type | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Trip fee | Time and cost of driving to the customer |
| Diagnostic fee | Skill and time to identify the problem |
| Minimum charge | Smallest dollar amount you will leave the truck for |
How to set each one
Trip fee: calculate your loaded truck cost per mile ($0.65–1.20 is typical) times your average round-trip distance, plus 30 minutes of tech time. Most urban shops land at $45–75; rural shops at $75–125.
Diagnostic fee: roughly 1 hour at your labor rate. If you charge $125/hr, the diagnostic fee is $125. Customers expect this for complex work (HVAC, electrical, appliance repair).
Minimum charge: the smallest job amount that covers a tech being on site for 60–90 minutes (round trip plus minimum site time). For a $125/hr shop that is usually $175–225.
When to waive
Waive the trip fee when the customer approves the repair on the spot. Apply it to the invoice if they don't. This rewards decisive customers and recovers the trip cost from tire-kickers.
Waive the diagnostic fee if the repair is straightforward and the customer goes ahead. Keep it if the diagnosis itself was the value (e.g., you confirmed the compressor is dead, the customer takes that information to a warranty claim).
Never waive a minimum charge. The whole point is to protect the floor.
How to present these fees on the phone
Disclose every fee on the booking call, before the truck rolls. Use this script: 'Our service call is $89, which includes the trip and the first diagnostic. If you approve the repair, we apply the $89 to your bill, so you only pay for the work.' Customers who object to fees on the phone are customers who would not have paid your invoice anyway. Better to filter them out before you burn the fuel.
Frequently asked questions
What if a competitor offers free estimates?
Match it only for large quoted jobs (>$2,000) where the win-rate justifies the visit. For service calls under $500, never give away the trip — the math doesn't work.
Can I charge a trip fee for warranty callbacks?
If the callback is your fault (defective install, missed problem), eat the trip. If it is a separate issue or customer-caused, charge normally and document why.
Should the trip fee be on the invoice as a line item?
Yes, even if you applied it to the repair. Customers want to see the value transparently — show 'Service call: $89' and 'Service call credit: −$89' so they see they got it for free.
Turn pricing into invoices.
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Sources & further reading
Primary sources we consulted when writing and reviewing this guide.