Charging for Travel Time - Experts Weigh In
Copyright 2008 © Expert Communications
We received the following email from an expert witness about charging for travel time:
“How do experts charge for time away from home, e.g., fly in the night before, taking 6
hours starting mid-afternoon, spend 5 hours with the client the next morning, wait 2
hours before flight time, spend 7 hours flying home? What time should be charged for
and should any part be discounted?
I've seen a variety of cost schedules, but it's hard to come up with one that's fair for both
sides.”
Below is the compilation of responses we received from readers of our newsletter,
Expert News.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Over the years, I have found the fairest method to be that the expert charges 50% of travel time,
at full hourly rates. (Or, an equivalent way to look at it is 100% of travel time at 50% of the hourly
rates). The theory being, that on the way to the client meeting/hearing, the expert is fully focused
on preparing for it. Once the meeting/hearing is done, during travel time home, the expert can put
his attention to other matters, and usually not that client.
Hope this helps. I look forward to hearing what others have to say.
I charge my regular consulting fee for all travel time on trips over about 100 miles from
my home base. I do not charge for any non-travel and non-consulting time out of town. If
I travel by my own car, I charge for gas, mileage, and meals while traveling. If I travel in
a rental car, I charge all the rental fees, gas and meals while traveling.
My reasoning is that if I were in my home office, instead of traveling, I could be working
on other cases and charging the same consulting fee.
For distances less than about 100 miles, I will usually negotiate travel charges with the
attorney if there are any complaints about my travel fee charges.
Succinctly, I charge my full rate for travel, up to 8 hours/day, unless
I can spend some of that time working on (and billing for) another
project. If I work more than 8 hours in a travel day (say, meeting with
attorneys after I arrive), I do charge for that time as well.
I try to work on the matter at hand while traveling (reading, reviewing
notes or documents, writing) as best I can, but travel often does not
allow that.
All out-of-pocket expenses are billed at cost.
Any time that you are out of your office and hence generating income
should be billed at your hourly rate (full hourly rate). I do not bill
for other time.
I charge the same for all my time: telephone, waiting in court,
traveling, testifying, writing a report, etc.
I charge travel time within my locale only if I am working for less
than a full day.
I do not charge for starting late in the day out of state.
So I would charge a total of 20 hours for the example posed.
try to work on the case when waiting and traveling.
I would
I got some good advice on this issue several years ago. I was advised
to bill for travel time by asking myself the question, "If it were not
for this travel, how much of this time would I actually be working on
something else?" For example, if I leave home in the morning and don't
arrive at my destination until some time in the evening, that typically
takes more than eight hours of my time. But let's assume that if I
were not traveling that day, on most days I would not be working more
than eight hours or so. Thus, going by the "if it were not for you
(the client) principle," I would bill for just eight hours for that
travel day. However, if after I arrive my client wants to meet with me
and work for another hour or two, I add that to my travel time. And I
try to use as much of my travel time as is practical to work for my
client--reading, pondering the case and potential testimony, etc.
Thus, I try to provide as much value as possible for the client, even
while traveling.
In terms of the example given, I would probably charge for a half day
(4 hrs) for the travel to meet with the client and a full day (8 hours)
for the following day, for a total of 12 hours. However, I might
consider adding on a few hours because of the unusual length of the
second day's work plus travel, which makes for a rather stressful trip.
A few hours either way is probably not a big deal anyway--just try to
be fair to both the client and yourself.
Rule One: Regardless of how an Expert chooses to charge their out of town time, be certain to
have discussed your billing procedures with your client and received their approval, preferably in
writing, BEFORE you travel to avoid discussion at billing time.
Over the years I have struggled with this issue and have found the following has been accepted
time and time again by my clients. For out of town meetings involving travel, I charge actual time
away from my office up to twelve hours each day at my normal billing rate. Anything over twelve
hours I write off. I charge actual travel costs with no markup.
The only exception to the above formula was a marathon meeting that ran nineteen hours of
constant work. On that occasion I charged nineteen hours.
I charge for an 8 hr day plus meals, flight and room. The evening time
is mine to do as I see fit and I do not charge for it. IF I have to
hire some one to cover evening teaching, which I often do, then I
charge for that person’s costs if the client must have me then. That
evening cost rarely happens.
_______________________________________________________________________
My practice is summarized below.
1.
My agreement states that hours are charged "portal-to-portal"
which corresponds to most lawyers’ practice. Travel time is charged at
preparation rate. This is always charged for local travel to a client's
office for meetings.
2.
For away travel, I charge almost all of the actual in-transit
time but try my best to make the time as productive as possible with
real effort spent reading documents, composing notes, etc. I deduct
time actually spent on breaks, meals, etc., just like a normal business
day. On a recent case, my air-phone equipped laptop allowed on-line
access during a traffic-clogged cab ride lasting over an hour.
3.
My rule is that if client-requested travel keeps me from billing
other clients, I am justified in charging an approximation of what
would be alternate chargeable time. That said I do my best to make that
time as productive as possible -- i.e., always have material handy to
fill waiting time as much as possible.
Here's how I charge for travel time, etc.: I do not charge travel time to meet with a client
if it is a "pre-engagement" meeting. However, if travel is required "post-engagement", I
charge a flat 4 hrs for travel time - in each direction (the theory here is that if I'm on an
airplane, I am not available to any other client), then if a meeting with a client occurs the
same day, that time is billed at my standard hourly rate. I charge my standard hourly rate
for prep-time prior to a deposition or trial. A flat fee equal to 7 hrs is charged for
deposition and/or trial appearance. I have yet to have a client question my billing
methods for out of state travel.
I charge 2 rates: document review and deposition/trial/out-of-town work. I bill my flight time at
document review rates and consider travel time to be the actual time in air or train based on
published schedules (or extended times with explanation if actual time is greater than scheduled
time for some reason). I include a copy of the published schedule in my billings. I do not bill for
the getting to/from airport or train station times.
I charge my hourly rates "portal-to-portal", which means that my normal
hourly rates are charged for travel as well as meetings, inspections,
depositions, etc. This means that I charge the hourly rate for my
travel time from the moment I leave my home office until I reach the
'office' out of town, which would be the hotel that I am staying at.
Thus for the case at issue, I would charge for six hours of travel
time, then five hours of meeting with client the next morning, then
travel time back to airport, plus wait time at airport, then 7 hours
flying back to home office. I charge the same hourly rate for the
travel time as for my time doing "productive" work for the client,
because I am spending my time on his behalf. I do not charge for the
time between traveling out of town, and the next morning, unless there
is specific work I do during that time. Also, I try to be 'productive'
during down time at airports or while flying, by conducting case file
reviews and other research, rather than doing these things during other
time. Occasionally, if a client requests a discounted rate for my
travel time, I will consider doing so, but only if there are enough
hours of actual billable time to make it worthwhile, i.e. I will not
give a discounted rate for travel time, if I will be traveling six
hours each way for a two-hour meeting with the client. I consider
discounted travel rate requests if the case has at least twenty hours
of billable hours guaranteed for other aspects of the case.
I have found "one shoe does not fit all situations". I often give the
client two options since they often want an hourly rate to compare: I
provide the hourly ancillary/travel rate which equals 1/2 of my
professional hourly rate plus I include a half day and full day flat
rate. They can do the math and decide. Some clients prefer to have
that option. If the expert is working through a referral service, they
often insist on the hourly rate because they tack their fees onto the
expert rate which is harder to do with the half or full day rate.
I also include a stipend for meals and small out of pocket expenses,
i.e. I get a flat amount without having to submit receipts. Depending
on the city, the stipend equals $10 breakfast, $20 lunch and $45 dinner
including tips.
It is my position to fly the day before appearing at either a
deposition or trial and to book my flight for one additional day at the
destination to allow for the possibility of having to extend the stay
one more day.
I charge a different rate for travel time and it is billed portal to
portal.
Any time spent with the client or preparing is billed at my in-office
rate.
For the day of a deposition or trial appearance I bill yet another rate
for each hour waiting for or in the deposition or trial.
I charge for actual time traveled - door to door. The clock starts
when I leave my office/home and ends when I arrive at the hotel/office.
In this example, that is 6 hours going and 9 hours coming home. On
site is billed at actual time with a 4 hour minimum. In this case the
billing would be for 5 hours.
As far as discounting - it depends on the client. If they have
negotiated a reduced rate travel (never less than 1/2 time) then I will
bill at that reduced rate.
The one item not discussed is air class.
class for flights longer than two hours.
I also fly first or business
I charge for travel time from the time I leave home until I arrive at
the site. I do not charge for waiting around time for the most part
unless I am working on the case.
I charge a standard 8 hours minimum for any day I am required to be out
of town with a commute of more than 1 hour round trip from my office.
In this case, I would charge two days or 16 hours.
After 26 years of doing expert work, I have finally instituted a charge
of $100 per hour for "travel time," which is not defined in my
consulting agreement. So far, I have met no resistance with new
clients, but I haven't tried to impose the charge on existing clients.
Two factors influenced my decision. One was the need to make a trip
from Florida to a northwestern state for a 3-hour deposition. It took
me almost a full day to get there and a day and a half to return
(missed my connection in Chicago). My total billing for the trip was 7
hours.
The other factor was my review of SEAK, Inc.'s 2004 "National Guide to
Expert Witness Fees and Billing Procedures" that indicates that 86% of
Experts "bill their travel time portal-to-portal."
If I spent 5 hours meeting with the client on case matters, I would
charge for those hours. Also, if I reviewed case material on the plane
either going out or returning, I would charge my regular hourly rate.
But for trips to distant locales, some wasted time cannot be avoided or
billed to the client. In the future, I will carefully weigh the
economic benefits or detriments of taking assignments west of the
Mississippi River.
This is always a tough one.
I normally charge for my time at full rate for actual work and charge
1/2 rate for other time. Alternatively, you could charge full rate for
scheduled flying time and nothing for other related time plus actual
travel related sustenance expenses.
One can modify this based on WHO sets the time of the meeting and
travel. Hope this helps.
If you are just sitting on a plane, not working, then clearly you
should not get paid.
What you SHOULD do is ensure that you always take work with you, so
that during "dead time" you can get something useful done.
I had a trial out of state. I was faced with this dilemma. I had air fare and hotel room
totally paid for so I did not bill travel time. I billed for actual time with the attorney,
discussion with the experts, and the trial. I billed wait time when I was told to be at the
courthouse but had to wait. I paid for my own food because when staffing with the
attorney she paid for the meal.
With the first case like this I decided to be careful and judicious in my billing with this
attorney. I will re-think if I have too many cases like this as it incurs a lot of lost time.
(Although it was in Las Vegas and I did manage to entertain myself a tad bit!).
As to the question, our policy, (whether with regard to our expert
witness work or otherwise) is very simple:
Given the ability of modern technology to allow us to remain
productive while traveling (cell phone, blackberry, laptops, reading
hard copy depositions, exhibits or other experts' reports, etc.), we
don't charge for travel time, unless we are actually working on a
client’s project during travel. We simply show travel time while not
working as a non-charge on our invoices, so as to get the "political"
credit for it.
Charging for travel time while working is, of course, the functional
equivalent of working at one's desk; it's just that the desk is at
30,000 feet.
To charge for time while one is sitting watching the latest George
Clooney movie on the airplane and sipping a nice California Merlot,
for which the client is paying anyway, is rather difficult to justify
to clients! And if I was a client, I wouldn't pay for it either.
There's plenty of money to be made in this business without generating
that degree of aggravation and resentment with clients, many of whom
also become friends and respected colleagues.
Our firm has a published policy that we try very hard to consistently
follow in order that we can be fair to ourselves and our families as
well as to our clients. We charge for our travel time as at the same
rate that we charge for any work effort we perform for a client on a
given assignment. Given that as experts we do not sell our opinion,
only our time, we have only one commodity to utilize to earn a fair
return for provided services. Specific to the provided scenario, we
would charge portal to portal for the time we left our office till the
time we arrive at the hotel the evening before. The next day's charges
start at 8:00AM (assuming that we have not been asked to meet or begin
any sooner) and continue until we arrive back in our own home or
office, which ever closer to our local office. As one might expect the
second day maybe a long one, having many hours charged to the client,
but if we don't charge for all of our time then we are giving it away.
I for one love what I do professionally for a living, but am not so
generous that I want to give all of those extra hours away from the
family away for free. Of course with all of the above as background,
when there are unforeseeable delays due to weather or mechanical
breakdowns, we subtract that "extra" time from the clock as that is
just part of everyday living that we all have to expect from time to
time and should be willing to personally absorb.
These are my two cents. Now, I am looking forward to learning how
others within your readership handle this important issue.
Regarding your reader’s question about charging for travel time –
Most importantly, do you have an understanding with the party that hired you
regarding how you are going to charge for travel time? If not, you should make that
part of your pre-engagement discussions whenever you are being considered for a
job that will require you to travel. I have a clause that covers this in my
engagement letter.
That said, I charge from the time I depart my office or home, as the case may be,
for the airport and let the clock run until I walk into the hotel where I am staying at
the destination. Likewise, on the return leg, I charge from the time I depart the
hotel, office, or courthouse, as the case may be, for the airport and let the clock run
until I walk into my home. Normally, I give no credit if there is a flight delay, but
would consider one in unusual circumstances. While at the destination, I charge
while I am working, whether at the hotel, a lawyer’s office, or at the courthouse and
don’t charge when I am not working.
I think the bigger issue regarding charging for travel time – a question your reader
did not ask – is what happens when you are, say, on an airplane traveling for
engagement no. 1, but working on engagement no. 2 while flying? The old school
charged both jobs for the same time which led to some people having more than 24
charge hours in a single day. That is now considered unethical so you can either
split the time flying between the two engagements or charge the time flying spent
working solely on engagement no. 2 100% to that engagement.
I simply placed in my contract that I charge from portal to portal, office to job site and back, all
billed at my normal rate.
I do not charge for food because I have to eat anyway.
I do not charge for down time as I sleep in a hotel room or eat.
I only charge my client for productive time and travel time.
With internet available almost anywhere, I bring other work so I can bill off time to other cases as
well.
Here's an example.
FEE BASED HOURLY RATES
First twenty hours
21-40 hours
$295.00
---------275.00
41-250 hours---------250.00
250 +
negotiable
Travel time----------- ½ above rates
Depositions above rates
X
1.5
Minimum hours for depositions and trial 4.0 hours within fifty miles,
8.0
hours beyond, plus travel
EXPENSES
In addition to hourly fees, expenses apply and are billed at cost.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT- $220.00 PER HOUR, minimums apply as above.
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT- Hourly rate 40.00
I know that the by-word for time charges for expert witness work is
usually "portal to portal", from when you leave home to when you return
home. But I only charge for time actually spent traveling DIRECTLY to
and from, and actually doing some work. In other words, if I make a
side trip or unusual stop, no matter how short, I am careful not to
charge for that time. I never charge for sleeping hours. The only
"lodging" time that I charge for is if I am actually working on the
matter at hand. If I'm working two cases or more on the same trip, I
split identical charges (lodging, etc.) between the files. No double
dipping!
If I am working on two cases on the same trip, I try to be fair in the
travel mileage and split charges when appropriate. By that I mean that
if I have to travel 122 miles to one job, and 97 miles to the other,
but the first 58 miles is identical, I'll split that 58 miles between
the two accounts and charge full distance only for the distance
credited to each job.
Meals: I charge a flat rate of $8.50 per meal to simplify billing. My
rationale is that I should always be able to find something to eat for
that amount of money. If I choose to take a more expensive meal,
anything over the $8.50 is on me. The exception is if I am dining with
an officer, a fact witness, or a client and I pay. Then I bill actual
expense.
Travel: I bill normal rate for travel time UNLESS I choose to drive
when it is a trip that would be cheaper by air. In other words, if I
drive for 9 hours when I could have flown for 2, and the charges in
total (time and mileage) for driving would be more than air fare and
flight time, then I limit my charges to what the flight travel charges
would have been. If it is an absolute necessity that I drive because of
equipment needs, then I bill actual time.
I make it clear at the beginning of a case that all of my time is charged at the same fee: reading,
traveling, waiting, testifying, talking. I don't charge for sleeping, but I do charge for eating while
traveling. It sure makes the math easier.
I charge portal-to-portal for actual travel time (from my office or home to the destination and back
to my home or office including flights, waiting time at airport, in line at the car rental counter, etc.
as this is opportunity costs time to me and is fully billable). I also charge for all work time (meeting
with the client, site inspection, document review, meals with client, etc.) but do not charge for
non-work time after normal business hours (in my hotel room relaxing or sleeping). I have not had
a situation where I had to fly in the night before and then wait several hours till the next afternoon
to start work on a matter but that would be chargeable time and the mere fact that it is chargeable
time means that I am usually accommodated when flying in for depositions or even trials which is
fine by me. I have some clients that try to negotiate a set price for travel charges or a set number
of hours and I will only agree to this if I am able to combine a business trip with some leisure
activity (cases in Hawaii for example). I do think that I am the exception as my fellow real estate
experts may not be able to be as strict as I am but I can only think of maybe 1 or 2 cases that I
didn't get with the policy described above and these were probably not big value cases that
needed my expertise. I also have to turn down work as I am a hands-on professional active in my
field and have more proposed work than I can or want to handle.
This can be challenging to the testifying expert traveling out of town.
It's taken one case to learn the appropriate strategy to use.
First and foremost, experts must consider their time away from the
office is billable time, because they are not able to conduct their
normal business operations.
When a deposition or trial date is established out of town, I request
information from the attorney. How many days am I expected to be
available? I request his/her office make the airline and hotel
reservations. I use the standard IRS rate for travel from home to
airport.
Fees estimated for attorney include:
1. Travel time from home to city/state for deposition/trial at
consulting rate. Travel time starts when I leave home, until I check in
the hotel, plus departure from hotel to airport, until I return home.
2. IRS rate for mileage to/from airports if driving.
3. Time spent the day of trial and deposition is at the testifying
rate, which is higher than consulting rate. One can expect a pretestifying conference with attorney to be 1.5 to 2.0 hours depending on
the case and approximately 3-4 hours of testifying time.
4. Time between testifying and travel time, is billed at consulting
rate. Again you are not available to work on other cases.
I estimate the fees anticipated, based on a 9-hour work day and require
an advance check for billable time, to be received 10 days prior to
departing home. No check, no testifying.
It only took one case, to realize I was undervaluing my time and not
requiring UPFRONT payment. This is a business, not a charity event.
Following the completion of the trip, I send an invoice covering
billable time + expenses incurred such as hotel, meals, dry cleaning,
taxis, car rental, etc.
What does fair mean?
Fair to your wife and kids?
Fair to your sleep habits?
Fair to your mother in law?
Fair to the system?
Fair to your conscience?
Some think that airport travel is a battle zone itself, entitling battle pay.
(IE a PREMIUM CHARGE.)
I HATE air travel and everything that goes with it.
Why oh why would I discount it?
Set your fees based upon your work habits and preferences, and stick to them.
If, like many experts, you work 10 or 12 hours a day for clients, you should charge them for
it. If you were not traveling and on a plane FOR THE CLIENT'S sole benefit you would
would be working for and charging the client for the same period of time.
Why should you discount your rate or hours because your client elected
to retain someone who was not down the street but was two airports and
a plane ride away?
If you have guilt, deal with it, or discount travel hours to treat your guilt.
But if your habit is to work and charge 8, 10 or 12 hours a day,
and would have the chargeable work anyway, why provide a discount?
You deserve to see your family, and your wife and kids deserve to see you, too.
If the client negotiates beforehand, make a deal and stick to your deal.
If an insurance company is involved, you probably have restrictions on
marking up expenses, etc. and if you complied you have already discounted enough to treat your
guilt.
A close friend and highly experienced expert says, if you want me to do the work
(and it is interesting or is a friend or if it is someone who needs and cannot afford it,
of if there is some other personal justification ) "I'll either do it for free and never send you a bill,
or pay me in accord with the fee schedule, but all the direct costs are yours and I will pay no
expenses out of pocket, nor spend any hours making arrangements etc." You set up the travel,
get me to the airport, and do all of the legwork.
I charge "door-to-door" ((from when I leave my home/office) to when I return)),
plus expenses. This doesn't include sleeping.
I charge $650/hour for court time with an 8 hour minimum. I charge
$250/ hour for travel and layover time. I do not charge from midnight
to 8 am.
I charge an hourly fee for my time. Some time might be for reviewing testimony etc. or just travel.
Time is time no matter how you look at it and the attorney is paying for your time. I charge from
the time I walk out the door at home to head to the airport until I check into a hotel at my final
destination. Once I have checked into my room I stop the clock. I do not start the clock until I
leave the room again to meet with my client. When the trial, deposition or inspection is complete, I
either stop the clock when I go back to the hotel or I arrive back at home. I do charge for lay over
time at the airport. Sometimes if it gets to be a little too long I will cap the time at 8 hours per day.
If for some reason I get stuck for an extra day through no fault of the attorney and I just have to sit
for a day I will only charge them for a half day.
In the scenario you presented I would have charged for 20 hours with no discount.
I charge my usual rate for all travel time that I cannot spend productively some other
way:
1. Time driving to airport, waiting/walking through security, waiting/walking through
gate is time I cannot do meaningful work for another client, so I charge as travel time to
the client for whom I am traveling
2. Waiting in terminal, riding on plane, riding on shuttle to rental car, sitting in my hotel
room is time I can do meaningful work for another client [e.g., reading deposition
transcripts] or for myself [reading the latest professional journal] so I do not charge this
time to the client for whom I am traveling.
I charge (a) actual travel time & mileage from office to airport at
origin, (b) actual travel time from airport to hotel/office at
destination (plus at destination transport costs like cab, van, bus,
etc), (c) actual clock hours spent with attorney at destination
(deposition prep, meetings in office, discussions, etc); (d) actual
travel time from destination to departure airport.
I charge for in-flight time to and from based on the airline's
scheduled departure and arrival times. So, for example, If plane is two
hrs late leaving, that's my problem & no charge to client. (The client
could have picked a better airline. My selection shouldn't be my
client's problem.)
If there's a major weather delay either going to or coming from (more
than 8hrs), I charge some sort of pro-rated time but work it out with
the client in advance so they aren’t blind-sided.
I try to keep it simple with respect to travel time. I bill the full rate for time spent going to and from
the airport, going through security, arriving at the gate approximately one half hour before the
flight, actual flight time, and travel to the hotel or attorney's office. The same procedure is followed
for the return. Time spent in meetings is charged at the full rate.
This approach generally works well for me and my clients. If there is an inordinate amount of time
between the end of the meeting and flight take-off time, I may add an hour or so to compensate. If
I am working on another matter for which I am being paid while I am on the plane, I deduct that
time from the time charged to the initial client.
This system of "rough justice" compensates me fairly for time away from my office and is fair to
the clients. There are no complaints and I have been following this system for many years.
The way we are currently billing for travel has elicited very few
comments and very few objections. We bill a flat daily rate of $2500
(our hourly rate is $295/hour). Our engagement agreement states that we
charge the daily rate for any portion of a day we are out of town. When
we bill we apply "what is reasonable" and if we leave town after noon
we only charge half a day. While we are out of town for site
inspections and we do 2 for the same client and have to conduct the
second site on the second day of the trip, we only bill for 2 half days
because we can work on other consulting projects while we are out of
town. We also no longer specify our hourly rate on the bills we send
out --- the attorneys we use for business and personal matters bill us
that way and I think it is a subtle way not to bring attention to the
hourly rate. Hope this is helpful to your client.
Easiest question ever asked. All time out of the office at the request
of the client is billable. Only exceptions are meals, entertainment,
or sleep if the time (not sleep time of course) is not with the client
or working on case. If cost is an issue, I will discount windshield
(auto driving) time since I cannot be working on a case while driving.
I charge a flat fee per diem and I calculate my day based on an average work
day which would include travel time before and after. I start billing at 9:00 a.m.
when I walk out the door. If the travel time extends beyond 5:00 p.m., I charge
my usual hourly rate until my plane or car arrives at my destination and I settle in.
If I leave the office or house at 9:00 a.m. and the plane doesn't land until 8:00
that night, I charge the daily rate plus my usual hourly rate for the overage.
The same applies for return trip, even if it is local. The time I leave my office to
the time I return, even if it's the same day, are billable hours. I also state it's a
"non-refundable" retainer should they cancel within 48 hours. I get all my
expenses paid in advance, as well as for the estimated time I am expected to be
available.
Of course there are times when I have to travel at night or after normal business
hours, so it's the same, based on an eight hour day and travel time.
Travel during business hours is chargeable.
That very issue was the subject of cross-examination of the opposing
expert in a case I just worked on. My lawyer client grilled the expert
on his billing 18 hours in one day, most of which was travel time,
including three hours waiting in an airport for a delayed flight. At
his billing rate of $300 per hour, the tactic was to show the jury that
the expert was something less than objective and that for that kind of
money, his opinion could be bought. After his cross, the witness
slumped in the pew with his head down (To be clear, the cross was very
effective on more substantive issues as well.) Without singling out
the expert, a post-trial interview with what turned out to be the lead
juror revealed that the jury as a whole believed that side of the case
to be peopled entirely by "liars and thieves."
With short trips I charge $75 an hour for travel time. On long trips I
negotiate a travel time fee which may be less than $75/hour. I charge
my usual hourly consulting fee when with the client, and for the
preparation work that I do. This usually generates a reasonable fee. In
special circumstances I will negotiate an all inclusive fee which would
be in the $2000-$2500/day range.
I have always had the same dilemma. My practice is to charge a flat
fee per day of travel out of town. For same day travel, I charge my
hourly rate with a maximum per day.
I charge for all activities at the same rate as my usual rate when
travel is involved. I do not charge for time not working or for
sleeping out of town or time on recreation, but all time working with
the attorney, preparation, travel, testimony are at the same rate.
I charge portal to portal for however long it takes. If I were
traveling to a destination the day before to be there for a morning
appointment, I would stop billing when I arrived at my hotel that
night. I do not charge for sleeping. The second day would be from the
time I leave the hotel until I returned home or back to the office. If
it took me 16 hours to meet with the client, wait at the airport,
flight time etc. I charge it all. There are no discounts as far as I
am concerned. Time is time.
I charge the actual cost for the hotel expense but the Federal
Government per diem rate for food for that city. This can be found
online. This avoids having to submit little receipts for a bagel and
coffee. It also eliminates my having to deduct the glass of wine at
dinner (or being questioned about this). If I rent a car, I charge the
actual charge for this also.
Rather than charge the client the hourly fee for services rendered beyond the expert's base
location, the best practice is to charge per diem, plus expenses (parking fee, meals, gratuities,
hotel, etc.).
If you consider your client is actually paying for your time, then it becomes a bit more
straightforward.
I usually charge expenses (hotel, airline ticket, parking, etc.) +travel time to and from
my office to distant location (whether courtroom, office, etc.) at my usual hourly rate. I
do not charge for overnight stays. I then charge my usual hourly rate for meetings.
My policy has been to have a charge per day. Counting the day I leave and the day I
return plus any expenses...air, train, hotel, taxi fare and similar expenses. I do not include
charge for food unless I pay for client’s meal as a meeting. I have to eat wherever I am
and the other expenses are directly due to the consultation with the client. Hope this will
help.
My policy is that all travel time during regular business hours should
be billed. That said, I try to do most travel outside of business
hours. During travel and airport waiting, etc. I try to be productive
on that client's matter. Review files, drafting, etc.
Great question.
Not sure there is a one-size fits all approach.
I believe there are several approaches. If the travel is periodic and
not continual, I think any of these can work. I tend to use the all
but the first one based on the size of the project, budget constraints,
and purpose of the meeting.
1. Time spent traveling to meet a specific client is billable time.
Unless the amount of time is limited (e.g., driving for a couple of
hours to a nearby meeting), I do not think this is the best approach as
it is difficult to demonstrate 10 hours of value in a 4 hour meeting
that took 6 hours to travel back and forth to.
2. Bill for travel time within normal business hours. So if you are
traveling outside of 8 am and 5 pm, do not charge for those hours. For
example, if your flight in leaves after 5:00, you do not bill for that
time. If you leave the client at 4:00 to get to your flight, you bill
for an hour of your return travel. I have never had a client question
this billing approach.
3. Discount travel time based on value provided. Bill for a portion
of your travel time (e.g., 50%) so that your client can still see value
in the amount of time you bill in total.
4. Bill for travel time if you can be working while traveling. If you
have client work that you can be doing during your flight or waiting,
this alleviates some of the issue.
Our engagements only occasionally require travel, so I do not include
specific details in our standard service agreement for travel.
However, I have seen other service agreements that do specify this, and
we would do so if our engagements required travel regularly.
Curious as to if someone else has a better way...
Your hourly charge is multiplied by the hours spent traveling from
office to office up to a maximum of ten hours per 24 hour day, plus
preparation time and expenses. This basically is a portal-to-portal fee
in my practice as an expert medical witness. As an alternative, one
might charge a flat fee for the day, or days, away from your office to
include preparation time plus expenses.
I either charge for travel time that I'm not doing other work (driving,
waiting around) at my usual rate or I charge for same but at 1/2 of
usual rate - negotiated and agreed on before hand with client. I do
try to do other work when I'm on a flight. I don't bill one client
when I'm working for another.
As physician experts, we have a ‘per day’ charge when the physician is required to be outside the
office while serving as an expert. For multi-day trips, we will charge less for ‘travel days’ than for
‘professional days’.
I would charge for all of the hours at your full hourly rate plus all
expenses related - portal to portal. In fact, I would consider charging
a premium for the night flight time. I see no reason to discount
anything. Your next day's work plus travel time getting back home looks
like a 14 hour day!!!
I charge door to door my regular hourly fee. Sometime I discount this
for a solo practitioner or if the travel is for my convenience.
If I fly and do work on the same day I charge from the time I leave my
home, or office, until I am at a hotel or back home. If I fly all day
and do no work, I charge for 8 hours. Even if the trip is international
and takes up to 20 hours of travel I just charge 8 hours per day.
1. Generally we bill all time spent traveling, but not more than a 8 hr. day
2. If you can work on other matters at the airport, you can elect not to charge for that time.
3. If your client won’t pay for this, you need to get rid of them. To spend hours to collect a
couple of hours work is completely unreasonable on their part. If you are essentially
retired and doing it for fun, that is your choice. But you will be a tired retired guy.
4. We don’t nickel and dime for parking and tolls even if somewhat expensive. Expanding
time for 15 minutes will cover chicken feed costs, and simplify bookkeeping.
5. Many carriers refuse to pay travel etc. We bill anyway plus for driving .75/mile. They
make noise at the start but always pay the bills.
6. We have a retainer fee that is non refundable, and not credited to bills. It is designed to
chase away whiners at the start. They range from a few hundred on homes w/o litigation
to 2 or 3 thousand when a lot is a stake, such as death or disability and I am the main
resource to make some recovery possible. Such retainers allow you to set up and keep
files because they sometimes come back years later, and they try to go on the cheap and
make you a percipient witness. This will protect your right to your work.
In the example provided we charge for Portal to Portal service. When expert leaves his/her
office portal to go to the airport the time begins. after arrival at destination and meeting
with client the time continues until the discussions are completed. No charge for down
time until meeting with client the next day. After concluding the meeting and going to the
airport and returning to the office portal the time is continuous.
I have been an expert since 1987. The clock begins the moment you
leave your office and does not stop until you return. Your price sheet
should reflect this up front. Show all services and fees in your price
sheet and if you want to charge a different rate for travel time then
that is the place to do it.
To me, fair is charging for all CONSUMED time: that would include
travel to/from airports, etc.
I also figure that if I have 3 hours on a flight
read, sleep, etc, this may not be billed (unless
stuff at the time). But from the time I get off
checked in at a hotel; this is billable, since I
over that time.
where I am free to
I am working on their
the plane until I get
do not have control
The theory: I bill for that part of travel for which I am unable to do
anything else. For the part that I am free to do as I wish, I don't
bill.
I charge 1/2 time for alltraveltime, fulltime for allworking time. If I
am out of town for a fullday and the totalhours are more than
charges for an 8-hour day, I charge for a max fee for the fullday.
Interesting inquiry, and I am curious to read the responses of other experts. Our hourly
rates are charged portal to portal, but we cap our charges at 10 hours per calendar day.
There is a point at which hourly assessments become excessive and arguably beyond
reason. No one is going to build client rapport by charging for down time, or worse yet
sleep time. We also recognize that you might be gone from home or office for 24 or
more hours, but how often do you actually work/travel beyond 10 hours in any given
day? This policy has not short-changed us, and while it might cause a few very long
days, it has never met with an objection from attorney clients.
My answer is pretty easy: if I'm not doing my own R&D and I'm not with
my family, then I'm charging.
For a full day away from the office I charge 10 hours flat rate, even
if I work a 24-hour day. That includes a travel day. Then the client +
I don't quibble over whether I charge for supper, for example.
Typically I'm working on the plane, coming and going, for a legal case.
If I can bill an odd hour for another client during the plane ride,
then I credit the client paying for the trip.
On occasion I will charge just a half day for travel, for example if I
travel on a Sunday to start work on a Monday.
For your expert's question, it's not your expert's fault that the
client isn't available until early afternoon. The expert's time is
being taken and the expert charges for time.
I charge for any time spent - at the airport, on the plane, sitting on the ground, whatever - actually
doing work for the client. Otherwise, I do not.
I use three types of charges:
1) Specific fixed charges for a day set aside for deposition or trial. One never knows
whether these will last 1/2 hour or the entire day (or days). Therefore there is a fixed (not
hourly) charge for these. These are based on an eight hour day. If in consultation with
the attorney, waiting time or travel time that day falls within those eight hours, there is no
additional charge.
2) There is an hourly charge for high intensity time--review of records, literature review,
conference with attorney, telephone calls, etc. This is charged for the exact time that I
have put in.
3) There is a lower hourly charge for low intensity time--waiting time, travel time, etc. I
usually limit this charge to ten hours/day. If I travel 14 hours to go to a trial, I charge for
only ten.
Travel is a part of what is required. It should be a part of your agreement with a client
prior to engagement.
I charge for all my time on a "expert" assignment - from the time I leave my home, to the
time I arrive back home or at my hotel. Same for the trip home. I charge the client for
full fair coach tickets, though I travel first class. (First class is my choice so I pay the
extra - full fair coach would give me flexibility in scheduling so it’s fair to charge the
client for that.) I stay at up-scale hotels but charge the client for Marriott-style
accommodations. Again, the added accommodations are my choice so I pay.
I charge the exact expenses for ground transportation (cabs, limos) but only charge for
car mileage if I travel more than 50 miles from home.
In my consulting assignments I never charge by the hour – a fixed fee based on the
expected value I will provide. I charge my consulting clients for travel expenses only never office expenses – it’s just too cheap to bill for postage and phone calls.
I provide my clients with great value. It is right for them to pay well for that. Further,
my comfort and ease is valuable to me.
OUT-OF-TOWN SERVICE REQUIRING AN OVERNIGHT STAY: Billing is computed on the basis of
a minimum of twelve hours per working day or actual working time, whichever is greater. Travel time
at both ends of a trip is a billable item as shown in the following examples. EXAMPLE A: Day 1 Leave Cherry Hill at 3:00 p.m. and arrive destination at 8:00 p.m. Bill 5 hours if no meetings,
investigations, etc., this day. Day 2 - Start consulting at 7:00 a.m., perhaps at a breakfast meeting,
and end consulting day at 6:00 p.m. Bill 12 hours. Day 3 - Start day at 8:00 a.m., consult, depart and
arrive Cherry Hill at 4:00 p.m. Bill 8 hours. For this example I was away from Cherry Hill a total of 49
hours while trip billing is 25 hours plus expenses. EXAMPLE B: Day 1 as above. Day 2 - Start
consulting at 8:00 a.m., depart and arrive Cherry Hill at 10:00 p.m. Bill 14 hours. For this example I
was away from Cherry Hill a total of 31 hours while trip billing is 19 hours plus expenses.
I charge the same rate throughout all billing.
If I am in the office, traveling, waiting for a flight, driving to a
site or office--it all comes down to my time!!!
Instead of waiting in the airport for two hours for a flight,
I could be doing research and charging my full fee. So why charge less
for waiting in the airport.
I routinely work around the country, my clients are willing to pay for
me to travel.
When I do my final billing, I generally will offer a discount at that
time.
If clients are late on invoice payments, I charge interest.
This takes extra time out of your schedule to call and remind clients
of past due invoices.
If a client has been a pain in the back side, I don’t discount them.
The way I do this is:
Usual prep and work time is $X per hour, including meetings in my
office, or in my city; however, I charge a flat rate for any full day
"lost" to other (non-expert) activities. This includes waiting around
in court in my own city, travel days, partial days in other cities
where I have to travel back and lose the entire workday from my usual
job, etc.
As it happens, I use a rate which is 10 times my hourly rate, for such
days. No one has ever objected or even mentioned it.
Charge door to door just like the lawyers do. With over 20 years
experience and pushing 100 cases, this has never been an issue. I
recommend charging a flat hourly rate for "all work done." Charging
higher rates for depositions and trial testimony looks bad from a
marketing perspective and garners little extra income.
The ground rules for travel time are different and require negotiation
for technical consulting.
Lawyers taught me well. I charge from Portal to Portal (i.e., time leaving my office to
airport, time of flight, time from destination airport to hotel). I don't charge for sleeping
obviously, but I do charge hourly for any meetings or prep prior to a deposition or trial
(or just meetings). I also fly first class for any flight over 3 hours and of course bill for
all travel expenses. If it looks like an expensive trip, I sometimes ask for a retainer to
cover the costs. Hope this helps.
I just flew to Oklahoma from California for a court appearance. I hope I can help your
client, as I thought about these issues.
I billed by the day, in advance, as per my retainer. I booked the flight and asked that
payment be made by FedEx shipment of the re-imbursement to me. I asked that a check
be available before I testify to cover car service to and from the airports and hotels in
advance. I charge for meals at the hotel. The hotel is booked by the client utilizing the
client's credit card. This is all confirmed in advance. I fly during business hours and
charge for a full day if out of state. I don't charge for sleeping time or evening time in the
hotel, although maybe I will increase my fee for my daily rate to cover the time I spend in
a hotel at night. If I anticipate lost income at night from loss of night call income, I will
likely increase my fee accordingly, but this has not been incorporated into my retainer
agreement, yet.
I ask for everything up front. Usually, counsel asks on cross examination about my fees
and makes an issue as to my collection of fees, in advance before showing up. ("Doctor,
you would not even let me take your deposition until everything was paid in advance?").
I usually state that if I plan to spend time away from patients and be unavailable that I be
paid in advance.
For all out of town assignments, I charge a flat per diem charge for what amounts to a 10-hr day
that includes all work, conferences, depositions, trials, waiting in airports, etc.
Well, this is one man's solution to the problem:
Re travel time, the operative words on my fees schedule are:
Travel Time (portal-to-portal), if required, during physicians' usual
working hours, pre or post testimony.
And this is charged on an hourly basis, in advance.
As to the actual working day, I charge a daily - rather than an hourly
- fee, payable in advance. I will often not charge for return travel
time, considering it part of the daily fee. However, if I know in
advance that I won't get home till very late, I'll add a charge for
return travel time, per hour, on the original invoice, to be paid in
advance.
Concern about fairness for both sides is noble but remember that ALL
time spent in the service of the client is your revenue-generating time
that you could spend doing something else.
Time away from home base has a double 'cost': you are unable to keep
the balance of family time and business time, and the business is the
sole reason that you have been relocated. While you don't have to
charge for each minute or quarter hour, it is reasonable for the client
to be charged for your time, especially if you are unable to perform
other ordinary business activities while you are away.
I am frequently asked to discount, or adjust a price, or not bill for all the work
performed. My response to those requests is that I will match the law firms discount or
reduction in fees on a proportional basis. Usually that ends the discussion.
Since I have a "day job" in addition to my consulting practice, I charge as many of my day job
hours that I will miss. If I have to take a full day off, then I charge for that day (eight hours). If I
have to take four hours off, then I charge four hours. I don't charge for travel time on weekends,
unless during the course of travel I am actually working on the case. I also charge for anytime
that I am working on the case. In the example that you cited:
Re: "How do experts charge for time away from home, e.g., fly in the night before, taking 6 hours
starting mid-afternoon, spend 5 hours with client the next morning, wait 2 hours before flight time,
spend 7 hours flying home?"
If it was a weekday, I would charge from the time I left for the airport until my "day job" quitting
time of 5:00 PM. For the following day, I would charge a full day (8 hours) regardless. If I travel
out on a Sunday, then I wouldn't charge for the travel unless I was conducting actual work on the
case while traveling. Of course, this assumes that the client is picking up all the costs associated
with the travel. The following day would be the same eight hours charge. I realize that this is not
everyone's cup of tea, but I don't feel like I'm unreasonably gouging the client.
I charge half my hourly rate for all travel time, plus all expenses incurred. I always fly at the lowest
rate. Occasionally, one gets stuck for a waiting day when there is no field work to do. Unless I'm
actually doing research or prepping the case, I charge half rate for eight hours for a 24 hr day. If
this delay causes me to lose a piece of business for which I have to be physically present, I warn
my client in advance and charge half rate for the entire 24 hours.
All of this is spelled out in my contract. Before incurring any travel expense, other than minimal
local travel, I estimate the round trip cost of the trip and get the money in advance..
I've been using this policy for 40 years, submitting every conceivable receipt to the client, and it
has served me well.
It depends on what your contract and fee schedule say. Most experts
would be justified in charging their full rate X 20 hours. As a
consulting Arborist our rates are so low compared to other expert
professions that I would not have a problem charging for all my time at
full rates and I'm sure the client would feel the same way since he
called you.
However, you would be wise in getting a good part or all of those
estimated hours up front in a retainer and a signed contract, and
travel expenses before doing any work or travel IMHO.
I bill for travel time at one half the rate I bill for professional
time. That's spelled out in my retention agreement, and I've never
had anyone object to it. It seems fair to me, and it apparently
strikes my clients as fair, also.
My retention agreement provides for the following scenario in this
example:
I bill for all time spent on an engagement for traveling, waiting, and
in meetings. For this example, on Day One I would bill to drive to the
airport, wait for my flight, the flight itself, baggage claim, and
transport to the hotel. Day 2 I'd bill any time worked on the case
before departing for the meeting, from the time I leave the hotel until
I return to the hotel, and bill for any additional evening hours worked
on the case. If I sit in a lawyer's lobby reading the firm's magazines
or waiting unattended in a conference room for any period of time
waiting for the attorneys to spring free from another issue that is
concurrent with our appointed time, I bill for it. On Day 3 I'd bill
from departure from hotel to the meeting, until I finally get home that
night. I try to work on the case during convenient waiting and
traveling times to provide some value for time billed.
I charge $300/hr for file review and $200/hr for travel time. I charge
the flight time, plus the time spent changing planes, and I add at
least 1 hour for check-in, plus any ground travel time. I charge the
client $300/hr for our meeting. My fee schedule also reads, "Any flight
time outside of Montana (my home state) is always First Class". (I
underline the word "Always").
I rarely discount these fees, but since my first class ticket is
usually $1,500 - $2,200, I sometimes reduce the price of the ticket,
and then add 2 hours on each end for the airport check-in time, instead
of 1hr. This generally looks better on defense cases so the law firm
doesn't get into trouble with the insurance company. Strange... They do
not bicker about the travel costs, but they are sometimes shocked at
the high cost of airline tickets.
I charge my hourly rate (up to a maximum of 8 hours per day) for all
time, starting from when I leave home until I return home. This keeps
it simple, and is based on the rationale that this is what I would be
getting if I were home.
We charge regular rates for travel on the assumption that if we were
not traveling for the client we would be doing other chargeable work.
After ten hours (if the trip exceeds ten) we will charge a fraction of
that. If the travel is overseas and is extensive, say 25 hours to the
far east, we charge the ten hours and then charge full days upon
arrival.
For trips under ten hours we charge travel time plus consulting time
for that day, but never less than one day total spread among one or
more clients.
Here is my take as an economist on charging for travel time:
If you are a renowned expert in high demand, turning down business,
etc. you can charge whatever you like, within reason, and justify an
"hour is an hour" and bill your travel time at your expert rate. I
would avoid double counting, i.e. billing time for your flight and also
billing the same hours for the document review you do on the flight.
If you are just starting out, building a practice, not booked full
time, and trying to expand your geographic market area, then do not
bill for travel time. You can do work in transit, on the case you are
traveling to or other cases, while waiting for your flight, flying to
the destination, waiting in the hotel room, etc. So, all the travel
time is not "lost".
Most of us are in between these two examples, and work out some
compromise and bill travel time at a reduced rate at one-half or one
third normal expert rates. I would still avoid "double billing." It
does not sound good when asked in court if you billed for travel and
also billed another client for research for the same hour of time.
I bill one hour to and one hour from my office for travel outside my
offices at my expert rate; it doesn't matter if it is travel across
town or to the coast. I do bill for travel expenses. I am competitive
with the local experts and have enjoyed working on engagements across
the country.
Here is the travel section of my contract.
TRAVEL TIME AND RELATED EXPENSES
Travel within one day is billed at $300/hour. All reasonable and related portal-toportal time and expenses are to be paid for by the law firm, including lodging,
meals and costs of travel. Coach class air travel will be used on flights less than
4 hours (paid frequent flyer upgrades will be used if available). Flights over 4
hours will be business or first class. Air travel is to be paid in advance by the law
firm.
1/2 normal rate for waiting and travel plus expenses. Full rate for
meetings, scene inspection and analysis. I charge a min of 10 hrs for
away from home, overnight, split as above. If the client does not want
to pay move on. Also the client is to pay for air fare, hotel, all
expenses, etc in advance before I leave my home.
I charge a separate fee for mileage and travel time. mileage used to be $1 a mile, but if you are
flying and the client provides the airplane ticket--hopefully in advance-- then you charge half or a
quarter of your hourly rate for travel time and mileage from home to airport and airport to client
office or court.
We bill on what is known as portal to portal. We would bill the client 20 hours. There
would be no discount. When it comes to this we ask ourselves: Could this time be spent
billing on another case? In other words, waiting the 2 hours, I could be in the office
billing that time. Also, I always say: "An hour of my life is worth $XXX.XX per hour."
We would only discount if I could do billable work at the same time, such as reading
materials while flying to the client meeting.
I charge half my working rate for travel. With air flights I generally
read the file, make notes, etc while en-route so I charge full rate for
that time. Expenses are cost X 120. Mileage is $.60/mile. When I
hire technicians or helpers in the field I just charge the customer the
actual cost of the tech. I have been told that that could exclude me
from having a financial interest in the tech's work and possibly avoid
Bailment (I hope that was used correctly) and liability, should the
tech's work prove to be negligent.
If you are traveling for the case (including waiting and flying) and
don't have your hands on the file, charge 1/2 rate.
If you are traveling for the case and reviewing the file, charge full
time. Anytime you are actively working on the file, charge full time.
Anytime you are taken away from the office on a case, where you could
be doing billable work, then some compensation is reasonable.
Caveat: All the above is discretionary. Your billing is a factor in the
relationship with your client.
Hint: Sometimes, it looks good to the client to charge them full time
on a bill, then add a line item where you discount the bill due to
charging only 1/2 time while traveling or any other discounts that you
consider reasonable.
We charge half our standard hourly rate for travel time. If the staff
member can substitute standard-rate billable hours by working on
another case while traveling, then this method encourages them to do
so,to the mutual benefit of both clients and practitioner.
The five hours spent with the client are, of course, full fare. I charge one-half my hourly rate for
"non-working" travel and waiting time. If I'm doing work for that client during any of those times,
that time is also full rate. And of course I charge for any ground travel, meals and hotel.
My fee schedule specifies that "round-trip travel time, portal to portal," is paid at the same
hourly rate I charge for review time, as this is still time away from my other income-producing
activities. Moreover, I will also review documents pertinent to the case while traveling to the job,
so this time should be compensated at the regular review rate. However, if I testify on a Friday,
and my return trip is on Friday night or Saturday, I usually do not charge for the return trip. If the
return trip is during the week, and interferes with my other business activities, I charge for full
portal to portal round trip travel time. When traveling to testify in court, I specify that my testimony
fee [which is always for a full day] covers any combination of testimony time and travel time up to
12 hours, beyond which the hourly charge kicks in. I will estimate the time required for the round
trip, including airport transfers, and bill the client in advance for this amount. If I don't get paid up
front, I don't travel. This always works. And now that air travel is such a hassle, I have modified
my fee schedule to state that I require "business class seating, or the equivalent," at the expense
of the client retaining me. I don't need to fly economy class immediately before [or after] expert
testimony, and I won't do it anymore.
I charge half my hourly rate for travel, door-to-door, but not for
time spent sleeping overnight.
Another solution for air travel I
have heard of is to require a first class ticket but charge nothing
for travel other than expenses.
This scenario of travel comes up fairly often. My solution is to
charge a per diem rate (approximately 10 times my hourly rate) for any
travel involving an overnight stay. The client can consult with me as
many hours as they want for that fee. Your expert had a 2 night stay
resulting in a charge of his per diem rate times two.
Charging for traveling time is always subject to negotiation. However, it takes two
willing parties to reach an agreement.
I always ask for my travel time to be fully compensated at my usual and customary rate
because it is time that I would otherwise spend on other engagements or in leisure time
activities. I charge the same rate for all hours of work performed, including more than
eight hours in a day and hours spent testifying in court or in deposition. On occasion, I
discount travel time, depending on the client's ability to pay and my desire to obtain the
work. Usually, however, I charge a flat hourly rate on all relevant hours because there is
sufficient demand for my work. I make exceptions, but they are rare.
I do not charge any travel time, But I do charge for a full 8 hours each day I am away regardless
of the hour on the investigation.
It comes out very fair and I get work all over the country. Yesterday I worked one hour in
Pittsburgh and got 1400 bucks. I was gone from my office nine hours. I just did case no. 1080
I establish a "standby time" rate, about half my research/consulting
rate (not my court or deposition rate). My standby is $95 an hour, and
I cap at $600 a day, no matter if I travel and sit for 7 hours or 12
hours.
Charge portal to portal, from your office to the hotel. When leaving charge, from the
hotel/attorney's office to your office. That includes processing/delays at airports. Remember,
your client is using your time that you could use for other billable work.
If you think you normal rate is excessive for simply traveling you can charge something less per
hour. I am in Florida and all travel within Florida is my full hourly rate and travel outside Florida is
1/2 that rate.
Two ways to do this Portal to portal charging for time = total of 20 hours, opinions are offered free of charge because all you
pay for is my time.
1/2 time for travel = 15 hours, 5 hours at full billable rate w/ reimbursement for airfare and hotel, again my
plethora of opinions are offered freely.
The reasoning for both of these is that I can make just as money working on a case in my office and
therefore it's more beneficial to work locally. Perhaps I have this mindset because I am so incredibly busy
and I am "just that good". I know, it sounds a bit arrogant but as an "expert" my time is valuable in many,
different ways.
15 hours of travel for 5 hours of work? Perhaps there are experts in
your network who are closer, and you could swap clients with them.
An alternative kinder to the bottom line might be to find other
work/learning/social/tourist options nearby, and travel when you can
take an extra day or two in that locale.
Depending on the client, I charge travel both ways, or travel just one
way, or travel at a reduced rate. Does it affect the appearance of
objectivity to have different fee schedules for different clients?
I charge 1/2 my hourly rate per hour of travel time, and 1/2 my hourly
rate (for one hour) for overnight stays, as well as all my expenses.
For example, my overnight surcharge is $250 - my hourly rate is $500/hr.
All stand-by (non-productive) time should be charged at a rate
somewhere between the expert's normal hourly rate for the work he is
doing and the minimum rate he normally earns or charges in the course
of business. For me, that means $300 per hour for expert work, but in
the normal course of business I am sometime grossing only $100. So I
charge $150/hour for stand-by time to expert witness clients.
My charge for trial is $525/hour. I cap it at $5000 per day as a business decision for out of town
cases. I used to split the day but since I am several hours from the Chicago airport, I now
charge a full two days for an out of town trial. That assumes a flight to the trial the day before and
a flight out the day of the trial. If I get out the day after the trial (day 3) and it is a weekend, I don't
charge extra. If the next day is another business day, then I pro-rate the full day's fee.
I am sure everyone knows some of the other basics. I insist that the payment is received no
fewer than 14 calendar days (not business days) prior to the departure and is non-refundable in
the event of settlement or cancellation. I actually don't charge the penalty if the testimony is
rescheduled but I always leave open the option to do so if I please. That way if later on they
actually settle then I have been reimbursed for my lost opportunity costs. Philosophically, the
settlement was likely based on my input so I have no problem in this kind of an arrangement. I
also insist that the firm arrange and pay for all hotel, airline, and travel costs. The less you expect
to get reimbursed after they don't need you, the better.
Charge $100 for each hour of the business day in which I am not actively involved in client
conference, deposition, testimony, etc. That includes travel time the night before, up to eight
hours per day.
To respond to these questions, I charge just over one-half my normal
rate for all travel and waiting time. The clock starts when I leave
the office/home (where ever I depart from). The clock stops when I get
into the hotel/destination. If any study is done at the hotel/on the
plane, etc., it gets charged at my normal rate. The clock starts again
when I leave the hotel to go to the client's office. When I arrive at
the destination, the clock goes into regular rates/trial-deposition
rates mode, as appropriate - and so on. The trip back is the same,
only in reverse. All air travel is arranged and paid for by the
client's office. I will not pay for an airline ticket. They also have
to make the hotel/motel and car rental reservations.
I will pay for the hotel/motel and car rental and add them to my
expense report. My agreement requires an advance payment to adequately
cover the expenses incurred for travel however, I am not as insistent
about collecting it as I should be. In all my years of dong things
this way, I have never had any trouble with it. This is all spelled
out as clearly as I can make it in my Expert Witness/Consultant
Agreement so there are no surprises.
I've seen a variety of cost schedules, but it's hard to come up with
one that's fair for both sides.
1. My agreement states that the attorney retaining me pays me for all
of my work. If there is payment due from the other side for a
deposition or other expenses, then I will provide an invoice and the
attorney who retains me may simply pass through the payment. I do not
have an agreement with the other side and I will not invoice them. I
learned this the hard way when a State Attorney General who shall
remain nameless canceled a deposition with less than 24 hours notice
and uncharitably refused to pay my lost opportunity fee.
2. I have a down-time rule. If I can conduct business, which in my
case explicitly requires telephone and Internet access, then waiting in
an airport or hotel room is not down time. If what I'm doing is what I
might be doing if I was at home, like eating dinner or going for a
walk, that's not down time either. When I am required to be in a court
building hallway or other situation where I can't work and am there
explicitly to be of service on the case, I charge a fee for down time.
Depositions and testimony are billed at the highest rate, consultations
and other work are billed at a standard rate, and travel and other
legitimate down time are billed at the lowest rate.
3. How much should we charge? What we think we're worth. Charge too
much and you get no work and charge too little and you're not an expert.
My Consulting Agreement states that I charge portal-to-portal. In the example you cite
below, I would charge my standard billing rate for 6 hours +5 hours +2 hours +7 hours.
Simultaneously, I do not charge a higher rate for testifying.
When pressed about high rates while traveling, I've offered to cut travel hours in half.
However, doing so has never won me any additional business.
If I am hired with the client knowing I am an out-of-town expert, I
charge as follows:
Half rate for actual travel time
Once in town, charge for half day for 1-4 hours and full day for 5+
hours
Over 8 hours charge at full rate.
I charge a flat daily fee for the day of the meeting plus out of pocket
expenses. If, by my own choice or by the airlines decision and their
scheduling, I must make it an overnight trip, rather than a day trip, I
charge the client for the hotel and meals and bring work that is not
related to the specific client. I view it as fair to the said client
and I get some other work completed, albeit not under the ideal
circumstances.
Here's what I do regarding travel and have not had any issues:
- All out of pocket expenses are billed at my cost with airfare at
coach rates including fully refundable fares if used
- I get agreement from the client to use non-refundable fares but they
have to agree to pay for any change fees / penalties they or the court
schedule creates, OR, the client agrees to pay for full-fare coach
(fully refundable)
- All travel time after the first hour is billed at one half (the time
or the rate)
- The first hour or part thereof is free because that would be the
equivalent of a local meeting / appointment for which I do not charge
my travel time.
- If I work on the matter while on the plane/train, then those hours
are subtracted from the total travel time and billed at my standard
rate.
-Example: I take a 3 hour flight each way, in the airport for an
hour before each flight and I am a 45 minute drive from the airport. I
would bill for 8 hours at one-half my standard rate + expenses.
- Same trip, but I work on the case for 2 of the 3 hours
on the way there, I bill for 6 hours at one-half my rate + 2 hours at
standard rate + expenses.
I always charge for the time that I cannot be with clients in my own
office earning my usual hourly rate. So, if I have to leave at noon
from my office and do not arrive at my destination until 8 PM, I charge
8 hours of my usual hourly rate. If I also work after I arrive on the
case at hand, then I will charge my usual hourly rate for that time.
If however, I spend a substantial amount of time making calls to other
clients as I travel, I will reduce my fee accordingly. It is my usual
practice to spend every minute possible of my time waiting or in the
air preparing for my upcoming testimony, to the extent that I can do so
without exposing any material to other travelers.
Hello. I charge an hourly rate for non-testimony services and a
slightly higher hourly rate for testimony. For travel time, I charge
one-half the non-testimony rate after the first hour in each direction.
Travel time includes all time in the act of travel, including waiting
at the airport, etc. The rationale is that this time should be charged
because the expert cannot be doing anything else, but not at the full
rate. Any time during a flight spent working on the case is billed at
the regular, non-testimony rate and is not counted for travel time.
While not uniform for all experts we work with (over 200 of them) we
encourage the use of a "Portal to Portal" rate. For travel this rate
charge about 1/2 of the normal hourly rate from home or office door to
arrival at the destination 'portal.' The destination portal is either
the hotel the expert is staying at or the office or court at which the
meeting, deposition or testimony is occurring. All meetings with the
client, research, report writing, review time, etc are charged at the
normal expert hourly rate.
While traveling the most "connected" people can be as effective and
efficient at they are in the office. However, there is undeniable dead
time. Therefore without requiring ridiculously detailed time logs,
while recognizing that experts will be working while traveling a half
rate is the most post popular portal to portal rate of our 200+ experts.
Whether or not an expert wants to discount their normal rate for travel
time, it is important to have a separate portal to portal rate as some
attorneys will not allow an expert to charge for travel without an
explicitly stated rate for it.
I hope that this helps.
Basically, all time spent actually investigating/case review/consulting
is billable; however I and many others consider that SLEEPING is NOT.
There are firms that flat-rate per diem (including sleep time) but they
are few and outside the norm.
All airport standby time (security and layovers) is billable.
I charge half-rate or half-time for actual travel with a maximum of 8
travel hrs/direction or day (4 hrs at full rate) plus travel expenses.
For your example, I would charge full rate hours as 3 hrs for travel
the day before,5 hrs w/Client, plus 4 hrs for return travel for a total
of 12 hours at full rate for the trip.
As to the charges for domestic travel, I would just
charge for a regular business day (eight hours).
Furthermore, I would also only charge that business
day for court appearances. If the day extends
beyond eight hours, I would just charge my hourly
rate thereafter. Too simple? It's all about fair
business practices. If one wants more money, then one
should increase the hourly rate. I only charge $150
per hour.
Thinking time...not expenses (plane, food, etc.). I have always
discounted the travel time that is beyond regular hours. For example,
if I can be in the office and productive between two and five, those
hours are regular billing. From five till the next morning are
substantially reduced. I've always figured this method was both fair
to me and my client.
The expert's travel time questions (in the future) can be handled through the fee agreement. In
general, this is how I work:
My round-trip time in transit to the departing airport is charged at "half-rate." The expert needs
to remember that it's okay to bill for actual expenses such round-trip federal mileage
reimbursement, parking fees, airfare, etc..
I do not charge my clients for time spent in the airport between flights and/or delays. Flying is
tough enough today without burdening the client with billable hours for "unproductive time."
The only exception to this is if I am able to get actual preparation done while I am between
flights. I tend to do "leisure reading" while in the sky, since I treat all client work as confidential.
This practice obviates any problems with "roving eyes."
I do charge the client at half-rate for "time in the sky." This time is based on the published
schedule, not for "circling" or other delays.
Any time that I meet with the client (whether over the phone or in-person), the client is charged
my full-rate for the time that we are engaged in preparation discussions. My "A-List" clients
and I refer to this as "coaching."
I have a good picture of how I will be directly examined, but I do need to have a good picture of
what I should expect to be asked under cross-examination. The last thing that I want (and my
client wants) is for me to be unprepared and to not do a professionally credible job.
Based on the expert's numbers, I would not bill for the 2 hours of waiting, but I would bill for 13
hours at half-rate (in transit/time in the sky) and 5 hours at full-rate (actual billable
professional expert support).
I trust that this information is helpful to you. Thanks for your collective service to the expert
community.
We bill for actual time (portal to portal) up to a maximum of 10 hours
per day.
The answer depends upon a number of factors. If the expert is very busy, and is missing
out on other paying work to travel, charging full price for all time lost on other work is
appropriate. (Yet, if traveling by plane, the expert could prepare for the case during the
flight, and it would not be fair to double-dip during that time.)
If the expert is not very busy with paying work, the situation is a little different. One
needs to examine variables such as uniqueness of one's expertise, desire to not price
oneself out of future referrals from the referral source, and one's own sense of fairness.
In such a case, having a discounted "travel time" rate may be appropriate, or not billing at
all for time to travel.
But, if busy with paying work, what I would do given the factual scenario is:
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Charge full fee traveling to the airport.
Review the case documents at airport and on plane - charge full fee.
Travel to hotel - full fee.
In hotel - only charge fee if working on case.
Five hours with client - full fee.
Traveling to airport for flight - full fee.
At airport waiting - charge fee to whatever case I am working on.
On plane - charge fee to whatever case I am working on.
Driving home from airport - charge full fee.
The way I see it, if I can be working and elect not to, I don't charge, even if I am
traveling.
But, if I cannot otherwise work because I am traveling, I bill my fee to whichever client
is causing me to miss out on full-paying work.
We charge portal to portal at our regular rate. We do not charge for
time eating, sleeping, or social activities. We do not charge for time
out of the office if we can do other billable work, e.g., during a
layover in an airport. If the client has late night meetings or
inspections, all of this time is billable.
I charge a day rate that is higher for days out of town (more than 100
miles each way) than my standard local day rate, the rationale being
that not only is my day spent away, so is my night. For the flight day
I might charge a lower rate. The client arranges flight and hotel, and
pays for that directly. Payment for the number of days expected to be
away must be paid in advance. Any other incidental expenses are billed
at cost.
Best answer is to have a clear policy; communicate same to the client
prior to engagement, and follow your agreed guideline.
My suggestions for a policy (assuming that all charges are based upon a
fixed hourly rate) include the following:
1 - Have a minimum number of hours charged for a deposition and trial
Appearance--like 6 or 8 hours-- because you need to set aside the
entire day and have no control over the duration.
2 - Charge your fixed hourly rate for all travel and waiting time,
unless otherwise agreed. However, plan to do work on behalf of your
client while waiting or traveling if this is practical to do, and do
not bill for it. Never double dip.
3 - For prolonged travel and delay times (as you have defined this for
the client pre engagement) , charge the fixed rate for time spent
working on the case while traveling or waiting, and a 25 to 50% reduced
hourly rate for other travel/delay time. I also suggest a minimum
charge per day equal to no less than 75% of your hourly rate for 8
hours. For example: if your normal rate is $200.00 per hour, and you
are discounting the rate for prolonged travel/delays, your minimum
billing per day should not be less than $200.00 X 8 hours X 75% =
$1,200.00.
4 - Define if you will or will not charge extra for travel time on
weekends and holidays, and define the holidays.
5 - Be reasonable and willing to consider alternative compensation
that your client may suggest.
6 - If you are traveling very far, plan to allow for time to rest well
prior to testimony. This is in the best interest of you and your lient.
I am eager to hear the ideas from others on this issue.
If I travel X hours to get to an assignment, those are hours I could
have spent on something else. It's a matter of opportunity cost.
Working as much as possible during travel/waiting hours is a way to
provide value to your client, but there certainly is a lot of
travel/waiting time that is either inefficient or impossible to use for
meaningful work. There is nothing unfair about charging your client
for your time spent. I understand some consultants reduce their rates
for travel, but (if one has a full plate) that methodology simply
replaces fully paid time for reduced-pay time.
I just bring work with me and work on the plane, at the airport, etc., and bill at the normal
rate for time spent working while traveling. I can generally get work in for 2/3 of total
travel time.
I would charge that 15 hours of travel at half the actual time spent,
i.e. 7.5 hours, in addition the 5 hours of work time.
We charge "portal to portal", including all of the travel time
involved, even if you leave "mid-afternoon", because you could have
left in the "early morning" instead. The only exception being if
travel time is somewhat longer than 8 hours (a full work day), in
which case sometimes we only charge for those 8 hours. We frequently
do work overseas (Asia, Europe) and also on the east coast and clients
are typically charged (and they pay) for flying time, including airport
waiting time. This is typically agreed to in advance with the client,
and rarely do we get a client objecting to this policy.
The reasoning behind this is simple: we would otherwise be charging
the time to some other project would we have stayed at the office
working 8 hours/day (well, typically more like 10 to 12 hrs/day, but
who's counting...), and clients understand this. So there would be a
disincentive for us to take on a project where we cannot charge for a
day's work due to time involved in travel.
My policy is that I bill 1/2 of my hourly rate for wait and travel
time. Hotels, car rental, parking, and meals are billed at cost. No
extra charges for "Away Time". A half day minimum charge at my full
rate also applies.
I would charge for 1/2 day (4 hours) for the first day, then 10 hours
the second day. My general policy is to charge out of town trips in
half day increments, unless there is a long day necessitated by travel
after working during the day, in which case I'll charge 10, rather than
8, hours. A long day to avoid an extra night away enables a full
productive day the next day and avoids at least a half day of travel
costs for the client. So I gain a half day of productive time, and
the client saves a half day of travel time.
I charge travel time to the airport, actual flight time, if it's over an hour, as I will work on the case,
actual travel time from the arrival airport to see the attorney, actual time meeting with the attorney
and then actual time preparing for the next day. I rarely charge time for return trip, but always
include mileage, tolls, parking. If this amount seems too high, I will charge a flat day rate,
reflecting a discount. Also consider how timely the attorney has paid, if it's a repeat client, if you
want more work from the attorney...
I charge travel and unproductive waiting time at 50% of my consulting
rate.
At this time I do not charge portal to portal and therefore the
overnight hours are not billable, unless spent working on the case. All
expenses are passed to the client at cost.
I charge on an hourly basis [$300/hr] for general meetings; review of documents; report
preparation and similar; and I charge on the basis of a flat rate [$3,000] for a day or part
thereof for Depositions and Court Appearance.
Related to charges that would typically be made on an hourly basis that require travel:
I charge for a full [8 hour] day, or for the day-or-part-thereof flat fee for any
combination of travel and consultation that will keep me out of the office for the
entire day.
• Also, 8 hours is both my minimum and maximum for general consultation that
requires travel. Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, I don’t charge for
more than 8 hours in the day even if the actual consultation time exceeds that.
• For travel days: I charge $200/hour (my general consultation fee is $300/hour)
for travel in excess of two hours during a given day. I waive this travel charge if I
bill for an entire day.
I would charge for time I spend reviewing documents or working on the
case while traveling. I usually do not charge for time that I am not
working on the case.
I charge my standard hourly rate for time + expenses when I am away from home. That includes
time during normal business hours (8 am – 5pm less lunch hour) while away plus time outside of
normal business hours for travel or for work for the client; e.g., preparing the night before for a
deposition. Regarding travel costs, if there is a question on the most economical method, I
normally evaluate the cost difference between flying and driving and choose the least expensive
for the client. I do not charge mileage expenses for the car (I take the deduction at the end of the
year instead) but I do charge for driving time. Typically, I find it more economical to drive
anywhere within a 300 mile radius. Timing depends on airline and client schedules. I usually try
to fly in and out on the same day if possible. If I am giving testimony, I prefer to come in the
night before but I still leave it to the client’s discretion.
My policy:
Although a long-time frequent flyer (over 2 million miles), I don't fly
anymore; I drive in our company-owned vehicle. That gives me total
schedule flexibility and I can carry everything I need, including computer,
printer and a case full of paper and reference material. I can even carry
sharp instruments, such as scissors and a pocket knife, without worrying
that the TSA will confiscate them.
This works for me because most of my clients are east of the Mississippi.
I charge POV mileage at the GSA rate in effect at the time, for lodging at
actual cost and for meals and incidental expenses (MIE) at the published
GSA rate for the destination city. I don't charge for driving time, but I do
charge for a full professional day at the client's site even if I finish before
the end of the work day.
I also have struggled with this problem. One concern I have is that I
don't want to make it so expensive for the client to bring me in that
they find some one locally who doesn't have the travel expenses.
In order to have a frame of reference you need to know that I am a
police practices expert and I charge $225.00 an hour for reading
materials and report preparation.
For a typical trial out of town I get in the day before I testify and
meet with the clients and prep for my testimony. Depending on the
complexity of the case I charge between 2 & 4 hours for prep.
For the testimony day I charge a flat fee of $2,500.00. Some Doctors I
have been on cases with charge by the half day so if they are there
longer than 4 hours they charge for the 2nd 4 hours.
As for travel time I charge $100.00 an hour. Usually I charge for a
total 10 hours of travel time for trials I have to fly to. Of course
all expenses are paid by the client.
Re: charging for expert travel time. Your expert asked an important question and I'm sure
you'll get lots of different answers, What is important for the expert is to be compensated,
but not appear greedy. Usually I charge 1/2 my expert fee as a travel fee - for example, if
I charged $ 100 per hour as an expert, I'd charge $ 50 per hour for travel (those are not
my real numbers). I then charge for the time for travel to the airport, time on the plane,
and time to the hotel or clients office. I don't charge for waiting time at an airport - I
leave 2 to 3 hours in advance and that wouldn't be fair. I also don't charge for my hours
overnight in a hotel. I've never had a problem with that, although a recent potential client
said they would not accept travel time charges (nor increased fees for depositions or trial)
but suggested I simply increase my hourly fee, which I did and thy were grateful. They
also said that if I worked on the plane I should charge my regular fee.
I charge a flat rate per hour for all time expended, including travel. On a typical trip, I fly
to the meeting site on the afternoon/evening before, then fly home in the
afternoon/evening after the deposition or site inspection. When I start on a trip, I start the
clock running when I leave my home or office (thus charging for driving to the airport,
waiting at the airport, flying, etc) and stop the clock when I check into the hotel -- unless
I have to work in the hotel that evening on case materials. If I meet with the client that
evening, I charge for that time also. The next morning, I start the clock when I leave the
hotel (unless I get up early and study case materials before leaving), then stop the clock
when I arrive back home that night. I have had no complaints from clients on this
practice.
It is only right to charge as though you are working. Your time is money so
hourly rate is correct. However many people think your time isn’t worth it
when you are sitting on a plane. I guess you could adjust your rate, but if you
do, think of the rate you would charge if you weren't flying....... you would be
charging your normal rate. As to night time, is your personal time valuable?
If so, charge for it.
We charge $100/Hr.( We bill $300/hr.for regular, non-travel work) for
all normal working hours engaged in traveling.
I run a national firm, and don't in general charge for travel time as I don't wish to discourage
clients from distant points from Washington Dc.
Travel time for me begins when I step out of my door and doesn't stop until I arrive in my
destination hotel room. The same goes when traveling home. Wait time and actual air time is
billed at the same rate because I'm of no value to any other client during that time.
As an independent contractor, the company I contract with doesn't allow
us to charge for time while at the airport or while flying.I personally
don't agree with this approach. All of my time has value.
When contracting direct with a client, I charge my going rate for
travel within my county and several adjacent counties where my travel
will take less than 2 hours. Outside of that area I charge 1/3 my
going rate. My time is valuable and if I am not doing work directly
for my client, such as sitting at the airport or sitting on the
airplane, then I don't believe I should charge full rate. Travel to
and from the airport on both ends is charged at the full rate.
I typically include time at half hourly price plus expenses for travel - unless it knocks out a full day
- then it is a full daily charge.
Although I rarely have to leave my home city, I do have a charge that applies to all situations.
That is: PORTAL TO PORTAL. I do not have situations in which I am overnight and away
from my business locale. Thus, I have not dealt with that situation. No help from me there.
I charge a flat fee for up to 12 hours of travel or 24 hours of travel,
if traveling by air. Plus per diem, mileage, and normal billable rate
for the time it takes to drive to and from the airport, and of course
the hotel, parking, any other out-of-pocket fees. And charge the
normal hourly rate while working on client file in the plane.
If traveling by car, same day, or driving to hotel and staying
overnight, I charge my normal hourly rate for all travel time. no
charge for waiting time or down time but I usually have billable time
for the client pre meeting prep, or I bring other client work to work
on.
Hope this helps.
First, tell your client that this is an issue all experts wrestle with.
You want to be fair to the client, yet not deprive yourself of fees to
which you are entitled. Here is what I have developed as sort of the
Golden Rule of billing: The client owes me for the business hours
that the project occupies. That said, here is how I operate-my
engagement letter states "My fees are $XXX for all services rendered
including travel time." Therefore, the client is on the hook, and I
can modify this to his/her advantage. I am in Denver; let's use
a Chicago trip as an example. Going there for a Tuesday meeting, I
will book a flight Monday afternoon that gets me in by early eveningusually about 7:00 at the latest. I do not feel an obligation to
travel late (off the clock) and deal with the fatigue and gamble of a
cancelled or delayed flight that gets me there in the wee hours. If
practical, I will save reading material to review during the flight, to
make productive use of that travel time. However, realistically, I
can't plan on more than an hour or so work on a 2 hour flight. The
bottom line is the client must pay for 3-4 hours of travel time. If I
leave my office at 2:00 for a 4:00 flight that arrives at 7:00, I bill
from 2:00 to 5:00, the end of the business day. If I return the next
evening, I will bill for 8 hours Tuesday, unless there is actual time
spent in excess of 8 hours, or if I use the return flight time to
review additional material, that goes on the bill time. As sometimes
happens, I can't get out Tuesday night (for any reason), I bill for the
next day actual travel time until I return to my office. I have
discussed this with attorney friends (not in a client relationship) who
have said it is "more than fair". Some would expect billing after a
full day in Chicago for the total time until the return to Denveranother 3-4 hours. Stick to your guns-I had a recent case on the east
coast where I was going to have to be gone for about 2 1/2 days, and
they wanted to pay for only the time they used me-travel time only when
work performed; and time there only during meetings and actual
testimony. I held firm and they paid-in advance. I hope this helps.
I charge $250 to $300 per hour for research time, etc., but tell my
clients that I charge them $50 per hour for travel time when I'm not
available to other clients, generally for auto travel but also for
flight time if I'm not working during my flight.
That seems to be an arrangement that is generally accepted by clients
as fair.
I charge portal to portal for local services, just as I do for my
architectural clients. I participate in cases involving environmental
issues like asbestos, lead and mold remediation, and for architectural
issues such as slip and fall cases where building codes have been
violated or failure of other architects to met the standard of care.
In the case of having to fly to a remote city, I generally default to a
day’s pay (8 hours) plus expenses when I have to travel.
This is a great example of how fees can get confusing. I think the expert should simply charge a
daily fee that is slightly discounted. If the expert charges $150 per hour and the daily rate is
$1000,
I apologize for the mail that was not completed...let me finish:)
After having this happen several times, I make things less complicated by having a daily fee to
allow for travel and subsequent evening work. You can discount it for significant "empty" time-but
the fees are to pay for the expert's knowledge and for his or her time away from other earning
opportunities. If I have a good relationship or I want to further establish one, I will consider
discounts. Obviously, all expenses are covered by the retaining party. This has led me to have
repeat business and good relationships with numerous clients.
Generally we charge for all travel time incurred, unless agreed otherwise. This means we
start charging when we leave the office to go to the airport, stop charging when we arrive
at the hotel, and start charging again when we leave the hotel to meet the client the next
day. This is generally described in our basis of services, so unless the client arranges
something different when we are retained, this is how we do it. However, we also try to
keep the total (including working time) daily hours charged to a reasonable amount, such
as 10 hours per day, on a travel day.
I can understand why you might feel a bit awkward charging 15 hours of travel time over
two days for a 5 hour meeting, but that's just the way it goes. That's time you are taking
away from other engagements, and you (or your firm) should be paid for it. If you want
to try to be more equitable, apply a credit to your invoice for time over a certain amount
of hours per day, or just charge what you believe is reasonable, such as a maximum of 5
hours travel time per day. Whatever you do, I would put your policy in your agreement
up front, this way the client knows you are giving time away for free.
I charge for 8 hours each day I am out of town because I am not working in my office during that
time.
First, ask the attorney who retained you how she/he charges for travel, and then do the
same.
Otherwise, charge one-half the case rate and apply it to door to door time (home to
either hotel or office); no markup on out-of-pocket travel expenses.
Exception: If one is actually working on the instant case or another case (reading docs,
reviewing depositions) while flying or waiting in the airport, then applicable rate for
such work is charged to that case and not travel time (no double dipping).
I charge for travel with a maximum of 8 hours per day.
First, I believe it is important to know (as I am sure this survey will show) that
there are a myriad of ways to charge.
I charge a reduced rate for travel time. I would charge for time traveling from my
home or office to the airport at my reduced travel rate. I would charge that same
reduced travel rate waiting for the flight and for flight time as well as time from the
airport to the client's office (same day out and back) or to the hotel (overnight
travel).
It may be just me, but the next morning (for overnight travel) I wouldn't start
charging until I reached the client's office (assuming it is a relatively quick cab
ride away). From that point, I would charge regular rate while at the client office
and then charge the reduced travel rate from the time I left their office until I
returned to my home or office.
For perspective, I charge $185 hour for consulting, review of documents and
depositions etc. I charge $285 for testifying at deposition or trial, and $125 for
travel time.
Here's what works for me. For office work that involves neither travel
nor stand-by time, I charge by the hour. For work away from home, I
charge by the day, and my daily rate is equal to my hourly rate times
eight. If a day involves nothing but traveling or standing by -- that
is, no actual work for the client -- I charge half the daily rate.
I could possibly increase my billing by charging the full hourly rate
for every hour on the road. But I cannot justify getting my standard
fee when I'm reading a book on a cross-country flight or drinking a
beer in an airport bar.
I charge a flat rate for days I am away from my business for travel to a maximum of
8 hours. If airline travel is involved, I now leave one day early should the flight be
delayed or cancelled. That way I arrive in time to be alert for the manual/technical
work days I face for one or two days. Last year, I spent two days trying to get
flights to a one day inspection and never got to my destination. All unproductive time
for me, as I have a full time business, and do consulting work as an additional service
whenever I am contacted about my expertise in the field of aircraft wreckage
inspections. Here’s an example of what you can expect:
I had to rearrange my current shop schedule to accommodate this client who had given
me very little notice of when I would need to attend an inspection out of state. After
receiving the invoice, he now says he only wants to pay me for three hours to get to
my destination. I asked him if traffic delays had put me in the car for 4 and ½
hours, and the ferry part of the trip also had delays, am I expected to donate that
extra time to his firm (one of the largest in the country). I have yet to receive his
answer or a check for my time (two months from original billed invoice. I also charged
LESS for administrative time and the logistical problems I experienced with making this
particular trip as I live in a rural area and travel is more complicated than living in a
large city. He felt that I should not be charging for time to make all those
arrangements. And, I spent an hour’s time to review the history of this matter for
which I did not charge him.
You have to factor in many things so that you are not inconvenienced while trying to
accommodate your clients at the same time. You should always explain first in a fee
schedule or contact them to ask if they are OK with your travel arrangements so as to
avoid any misunderstandings and problems with collecting your costs. Each expert is
going to have a different method which best serves his needs for travel. In all my
reading about the subject, I have seen experts who travel first class and those who
use coach. It will all depend on the client’s ability to pay your rates, what the rates
are for your area of expertise and comparable expert fees. Each situation should be
agreed upon ahead of time however as I have now learned from experience. I also
found that since they take a minimum of two months to reimburse me, I now plan to
ask for a much larger retainer upfront to cover my expected travel expenses and
related work.
First of all, I charge for an entire day whenever I am out of town,
regardless of the amount of time I actually spend with the client. So
in this example I would charge for two whole days.
The only time I would not charge for travel time in connection with a
out of town visit is if I traveled the night before or after the client
meeting for my own convenience, such as not wanting to take an early
morning or late night flight.
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