Trip charge
A flat fee some vendors charge to come out to a property, before any work starts.
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Trip charges add up when a visit is wasted because nobody could get in. Agree on them up front, and confirm access with the tenant before the vendor drives over.
Trip charges, also called service call or dispatch fees, cover the vendor’s drive and the first part of the diagnosis. Some vendors waive them if you approve the repair on the spot. Others charge them every visit. After-hours and weekend calls often carry a higher fee. Whether you pass it to the owner as billed or with a markup is covered in maintenance markups and coordination fees.
An example
An appliance technician drives 40 minutes to a unit for a broken dishwasher. Nobody answers the door, the lockbox code is wrong, and the tenant is at work. The vendor bills the trip charge and the visit is rebooked for next week, so the owner pays twice and the tenant waits a week longer.
How to avoid wasted trips
- Agree the trip charge, and any after-hours rate, before the first job
- Confirm the visit with the tenant the day before
- Send the vendor the access details and any pets in the unit
- Ask for photos first when the problem might be simple
How Now Ours handles it
Ours books visits with both the tenant and the vendor, in your company’s name, and every message is recorded on the case. Vendors can call or text the same number, and it is logged. See the vendor onboarding checklist for the terms to agree up front.