Deciding exactly what to bill for is a bit personal and a bit trial and error. When I started out, I did not bill to travel to meetings, but that was a beginner mistake.

Can’t Bill Anyone Else

The turning point came after a year of being freelance. A client wanted me to get in the car and drive 2 hours to have a meeting with their team. I agreed and drove out to the meeting.

We had a 1 hour meeting, which I billed for. Then I hit traffic on the way home.

I ended up out of the office for 6 hours, with 1 hour billed. There is no way my business can survive doing that.

So I bill for all travel time outside of my own small town. You want the meeting, and I can’t bill anyone else when I’m driving. So I’m billing you.