blog

article list

Freelancer: Should You Bill Your Business Travels?

Becoming a freelancer often comes with a lot of questions and worries. Are you going to work from home or in a coworking space? Should you display your rates? What can you do to get your first clients? And there are travel questions. Let us see more closely why you should bill travel fees to your customers or not. <h3>Three things to keep in mind regarding business travels</h3> Before you make up your mind, we would like to discuss three important elements regarding business travel: the fees, the contract, and the deductible expenses. The price of traveling A frequently asked question freelancers have regarding business travel is the price. What is the reasonable rate when we need to travel for a client? What can you do to ensure your price remains competitive? To help you, we invite you to check the current government rate. Indeed, on<a href="https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/businesses/source-deductions-and-employer-contributions/special-cases-source-deductions-and-employer-contributions/taxable-benefits/list-of-taxable-benefits/motor-vehicles/allowance-for-the-use-of-a-motor-vehicle/" target="_blank"> Revenu Quebec</a>’s website, you can find this information on the allowance for the use of a motor vehicle page. When writing this article, the suggested rate per kilometer is $0.70. The importance of mentioning it clearly in your contract Here is some advice you should pay attention to: whether you want to bill your business travel fees or not, mentioning them in your<a href="https://www.momenteo.com/blog/the-importance-of-having-a-good-contract-of-services" target="_blank"> contract of services</a> is essential. Indeed, some clients may think that they are included when they are not. Add all information about the accepted distances and fees. If needed, do not hesitate to make an appointment with a lawyer to help you with this. Some fees can be considered deductible business expenses Next, some fees related to your vehicle and travels might be considered deductible business expenses. For example, travel expenses, interest on a loan, and leasing expenses could be accepted. Therefore, according to your current situation, it could help you decide whether or not you should bill your travel fees. Do not hesitate to discuss this with an accountant to verify if this applies to you. <h3>Why should you bill business travel fees?</h3> We shall now proceed with our central question: should you bill your travel fees? Here are a few situations where it would be relevant. It is a special event If you work as a photographer, interior designer, or event planner, you may have to travel for special events or contracts. If this goes beyond your usual offer, you could ask for additional fees in exchange for your time and trip.  The client requests it You must remember that you remain the person in charge of making decisions as a freelancer. Consequently, you can decide whether or not to travel or visit your clients. If one of your clients requests you to work from their offices, you can ask for a travel fee, especially if it was not planned initially. It is located outside of your geographic area Finally, another reason why it could be relevant to bill for business travel is if you need to go outside your local area. Whether you are going to another city to give a training course or help a client, consider billing the kilometers traveled or the travel expenses. Remember to explain what is considered outside your geographical area in your contract.  <h3>Why you should not bill a business travel expense</h3> Now, why should you not bill your business travel expenses? We found three benefits that support this option. It is already included in your price Many articles have mentioned the importance of considering all operational fees when<a href="https://www.momenteo.com/blog/freelancers-6-tips-to-think-about-when-setting-your-rate" target="_blank"> setting rates</a>. If you need to travel regularly, including these fees from the start in your prices or packages could be relevant. Packages can often be more attractive to clients since they know everything is included and there should not be any additional fees. It is located in your geographic area Similarly, if your business travels only require a few kilometers, you could decide not to ask for additional fees. Nevertheless, as we just mentioned, consider establishing your prices consequently and respect your limits. It can simplify your invoicing Our last benefit is that if you have little time to manage your invoices and services, it could be relevant not to bill your travel expenses. Indeed, you will avoid having to note down every kilometer traveled and add them to your invoices. Consider<a href="https://www.momenteo.com/blog/billing-your-services-the-packages" target="_blank"> offering packages</a> or add these fees to your basis rates.  <h3>How to add a travel in Momenteo</h3> Did you know you can easily monitor and bill your business travel expenses using Momenteo? Indeed, you can add a travel expense to our calendar. Start by entering your start address and the final destination, add steps, and our system will automatically calculate the number of kilometers traveled. You can then decide to bill this travel expense to a specific client, determine the rate, repeat this trip, and add a small description. You will find all your business travel expenses on the left menu under the Travels tab. In conclusion, you are the one who can decide if they want to bill any travel fees to their clients. Whatever your choice, consider adding everything to your contract and add these fees to your regular rates if it is relevant. Nothing prevents you from asking for additional fees in exchange for your time or a trip outside your normal routine.

Ariane