Hi ladies!

I've been offered an opportunity to coordinate onsite for a conference in another state and I'm trying to figure out how much I should bill for the trip. My expenses (hotel, flight, etc.) will be paid by the client. Obviously I would bill for the hours that I would actually be working the conference, but how do I calculate a fair amount given that I have to be away from home halfway across the country? Most likely I will bill the entire amount as a total project, but would I figure that out based on my hours in flight + working hours? My working hours + an arbitrary "travel" amount? Thanks for the help!

Since your expenses are being taken care of I would bill working hours and arbitrary travel time. Don't forget to use any down time to mingle with the attendees and hopefully grab come business cards. Hopefully besides a great payday you will get some possibilities out the the event as well.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

Thanks for the reply! My first thought was to bill for actual working hours + time spent in the airport and in flight, until I arrived at my hotel. But I didn't know if I should tack on more, considering I have to be away from home.

I have billed from time I left my home until I reached the destination and actual working hours while there.

Good luck Patti!

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Dawn Riley
A Virtual Assistant in Paradise
Our business is about making yours better

Patti,

Hi! I think what you are looking for is a per diem rate. Not sure if you are familiar with that but it is basically a day rate that you are given when you are away from home. I have spent the last ten years traveling with my job and I received anywhere from $30.00 to $45.00 per day. When you are on a 9 month project, that adds up!

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Kathy Schneider
http://www.virtuality-works.com

Originally Posted by catfive

Patti, Hi! I think what you are looking for is a per diem rate. Not sure if you are familiar with that but it is basically a day rate that you are given when you are away from home. I have spent the last ten years traveling with my job and I received anywhere from $30.00 to $45.00 per day. When you are on a 9 month project, that adds up!

Is this per diem billed on top of actual hours worked and traveling (flight, etc.)?

Absolutely! My hotel and flights were always taken care of and then the per diem was given, either in cash, or with some contracts, given in a check. There is a Federal Per Diem Rate for every area and different states have different rates. That is what we go by when we are in a hurricane zone. As an employee, I typically just received the meals portion but it is actually based on a formula that is calculated out for hotel and food per person and it is usually around $120 - $175+ per day, depending on where you are. I am not sure if those rates are in effect if it is not a declared disaster area (now I am going to check!) but if they are, I would think you could negotiate that. Say they pay the flight and just give you the per diem rate for that area. Then it is up to you how much you want to spend on accommodations. You might even have a friend in that city that you could stay with and then it is all profit. Per diem is a pretty common policy and if this company has people in the field or travels to shows/events, then they are probably aware of it. Hope this helped, lots of coffee this morning!

And you should be paid for your travel time also. It could be an hourly rate or a flat fee.
Kathy

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Kathy Schneider
http://www.virtuality-works.com

Thanks, Cat, that's very interesting info! The client is picking up the tab for my flight, hotel and meals already. I'll bill for travel time from my door to the door of my hotel room, plus actual working hours. Am I leaving anything on the table by not billing a flat "away-from-home" fee?

Thanks for this information! I was considering adding services today that just might have me out of town so I might have to consider this!

Caroline

It seems that if ALL expenses are paid and you charge hourly for hours worked, then I wouldn't charge an away-from-home fee as you could use your non-work hours to do other work (which clients would pay for) or sightsee, etc.

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Sherri Beck CPS/CAP
www.topkoalat.com