Count all the miles you have to drive
Include travel to collection, the loaded journey and the onward or return journey. Add likely diversions for access or other commitments. Dividing the job payment only by the loaded miles can make a weak offer look attractive.
Illustration only: £150 divided by a 100-mile loaded journey looks like £1.50 per mile. If reaching the collection and returning adds another 50 miles, the payment is £1 per total mile before costs. Neither figure is a profit margin or a suggested market rate.
Put a value on the whole working day
Allow for loading, unloading, waiting, customer calls, photographs and paperwork as well as driving. Include a second crew member when the job requires one. A short-distance furniture job can take longer than a simple point-to-point delivery.
Record actual time after the job. If a type of delivery regularly takes longer than expected, adjust future quotes or allow a larger gap before the next commitment.
Separate revenue from what is left
Fuel is only one running cost. Your own budget should allow for tyres, servicing, insurance, vehicle finance or depreciation, equipment and other overheads. Include job-specific charges such as parking, tolls, ferries or an agreed extra crew cost.
Use a consistent basis when recording amounts and any applicable VAT. Check the actual payment and charges shown for the job; a customer’s total booking price is not necessarily the amount the driver receives.
- Amount payable to you and any deductions.
- Total mileage, including empty travel.
- Driving, handling, waiting and administration time.
- Vehicle costs, crew costs and job-specific expenses.
- A share of your recurring business costs.
- Payer, due date and the evidence needed for payment.
A worked example with clearly stated assumptions
Suppose a job pays £180, involves 150 total miles and takes five hours. You budget £45 for vehicle running costs, £75 for your time and £15 for other overheads and charges. That leaves £45 before any tax and other costs not included in those assumptions.
If the same job takes seven hours and you value each extra hour at £15, the remaining amount falls to £15. These figures are an illustration only, not earnings data, a recommended courier rate or a prediction for a Drive It subscriber.
Assess the subscription on the work you already do
Drive It costs £79 including VAT per month after the 60-day approved-user trial when renewal is authorised. At 20 completed jobs in a month, that subscription alone represents £3.95 per job; at 40, about £1.98. Those volumes are examples, not promised allocations.
Google Maps usage and applicable network charges are separate. During the trial, assess whether having your own bookings, route details, tracking and delivery evidence together is worth the full ongoing cost to you. Any time saving depends on how you use the tools.
Check payment before committing
Agree who pays, what amount is due and when. Some work involves direct customer payment; managed work can have a different payout arrangement. Read the terms shown for the particular job and do not assume every source uses the same schedule.
Complete the required proof of delivery and keep accurate records. Clear evidence helps resolve questions about completion, but a tracking link or photograph does not by itself guarantee payment.