The problem
You track miles but you don't track what those miles cost. At 25 cents a mile — which is conservative — your 400-mile week costs $100 in vehicle wear alone, before fuel. Add fuel at current prices and you might be losing $200+ a week in travel costs that never show up in your job margins.
Why we built it
Travel cost breakdown uses your rate per mile (you set it in settings) to calculate the actual dollar cost of every trip. Fuel rate, wear rate, and time cost — shown per trip and totaled per job.
How it works
- 1
Set your cost-per-mile in Settings (IRS rate, actual fuel cost, or your own number).
- 2
Every logged trip shows a dollar cost in addition to mileage.
- 3
Job detail shows total travel cost for that job in the expense breakdown.
What changes for your business
Before
Log miles. Don't think about what they actually cost.
After
Every trip has a dollar cost. Job margins reflect the full picture.
Common questions
How much does driving actually cost a contractor per mile?
The IRS standard mileage rate accounts for fuel, depreciation, and maintenance. At a typical rate of $0.67/mile (rates are updated annually — verify the current figure with the IRS), 400 miles a week costs roughly $268 in deductible travel expense. In DIRT, you set your rate per mile and every trip shows a dollar cost in addition to mileage.
How do I calculate the real cost of job-related travel?
Set your cost-per-mile in DIRT settings — use the IRS standard rate, your actual fuel cost per mile, or a combined rate that includes wear. Every logged trip multiplies your miles by that rate and shows a dollar cost. The job detail shows total travel cost for that job in the expense breakdown.
Should I charge clients for mileage?
That depends on your market and the job type. Local residential work often has drive time absorbed. Longer drives to commercial sites, or jobs that require multiple site visits, are commonly billed. DIRT lets you tag each trip as billable or absorbed — billable trips appear as a line item on the invoice, absorbed trips reduce job profit without showing on the invoice.
What is the difference between fuel cost and total vehicle cost per mile?
Fuel is just one component. Vehicle cost per mile includes fuel, oil changes, tires, depreciation, and insurance allocated per mile. The IRS standard mileage rate is designed to approximate total vehicle cost. Using only fuel cost per mile understates your real cost.
How do I see total travel costs per job?
In DIRT, the job detail shows a travel cost line in the expense breakdown. It is the sum of all logged trips assigned to that job, calculated at your set rate per mile. This is included in the job's net profit and EHR calculation.
Can I see how much I spent on travel across all jobs for a month?
Yes. DIRT's travel stats view shows total miles and total cost for any time period. You can compare travel cost as a percentage of your revenue for the month — useful for knowing whether drive time is a significant drag on your overall margin.
Start free
Try it free.
Every DIRT plan includes this feature — Solo included. No credit card, no trial that expires. Set up in minutes and use it on your next job from the truck.