Passing AF to clients - to do or not

[distantarray]

what's the difference between econolodge and mariott in pricing anyways? usually not too much as long as you don't go to cat 3+ hotels.

A econo inn here runs around $80 and Sheraton runs $120  After the extra points with Starwood and extra nights status and 5th night free they would've paid about the same.

[Duncanrr]

@dodfire. Yes

[Duncanrr]

In Raleigh at the time of year I was there it was huge. Econo was $60/night and Marriott was $250/night

[distantarray]

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@Duncanrr wrote:
In Raleigh at the time of year I was there it was huge. Econo was $60/night and Marriott was $250/night

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always check around i'm sure you did though, differences can be huge between other hotels, one Mariott can be $299 or $599 for the same category which I think is pretty stupid

[myjourney]

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@Duncanrr wrote:
I was wondering if you pass along your AF cards fee to your clients. For example, I have Amex Delta which saves me on luggage check fees. If I didn't have the card then the client would have to pay for that luggage fee.

So, do you pass along the $25 fee to clients until your AF is covered? wake up one morning and say I lost a 6 figure client because of the price of an AF...wow sound business ethics!!!!!!!!!! You Think?

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Soooooooooo

Some would pay, some would not?  

Where are the morals in your choices of who pays the AF?

When you build and do business you understand that the client is the most important aspect of doing business after that the product or services rendered. 

Bonds in business are built on TRUST and at some point if a client feels you can't be trusted due to improper billing practices.

Your also likely to be selling inferior product or taking short cuts in their eyes and you start losing the respect of those clients...Is it really worth it?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Open123]

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@myjourney wrote:

When you build and do business you understand that the client is the most important aspect of doing business after that the product or services rendered. 

Bonds in business are built on TRUST and at some point if a client feels you can't be trusted due to improper billing practices.

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Profitable clients are the most important component of a business.

Unprofitable ones (ones who pay the bare minimum, but requires 3 times the effort) are a financial cancer that should be purged.  The "worst" 5% of clients wipe out the profitability on the 80% of good clients.

[myjourney]

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@Open123 wrote:

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@myjourney wrote:

When you build and do business you understand that the client is the most important aspect of doing business after that the product or services rendered. 

Bonds in business are built on TRUST and at some point if a client feels you can't be trusted due to improper billing practices.

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Profitable clients are the most important component of a business.

Unprofitable ones (ones who pay the bare minimum, but requires 3 times the effort) are a financial cancer that should be purged.  The "worst" 5% of clients wipe out the profitability on the 80% of good clients.

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OP stated nothing about the price of eggs and milk but the AF charge... That being said some client can and are a pain and costly but lose enough of them and a business owner will also lose in the long run....you find another way to increase or reduce cost saving measure to satisfy and retain any and all clients as long as they PAY THERE BILL..IMO

[Open123]

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@myjourney wrote:

OP stated nothing about the price of eggs and milk but the AF charge... That being said some client can and are a pain and costly but lose enough of them and a business owner will also lose in the long run....you find another way to increase or reduce cost saving measure to satisfy and retain any and all clients as long as they PAY THERE BILL..IMO

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You and I have contrasting views on running a business, and that's perfectly fine and agreeable.

I'm of the opinion the OP can pass along the fee at his discretion based on the needs of his business and clients.  I'm not sure about the price of eggs and milk, but the OP is free to throw that in too!

[myjourney]

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@Open123 wrote:

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@myjourney wrote:

OP stated nothing about the price of eggs and milk but the AF charge... That being said some client can and are a pain and costly but lose enough of them and a business owner will also lose in the long run....you find another way to increase or reduce cost saving measure to satisfy and retain any and all clients as long as they PAY THERE BILL..IMO

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You and I have contrasting views on running a business, and that's perfectly fine and agreeable.

I'm of the opinion the OP can pass along the fee at his discretion based on the needs of his business and clients.  I'm not sure about the price of eggs and milk, but the OP is free to throw that in too!

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Agree to Disagree Lol 

I just wouldn't be suppling Christmas gift cards or perks at the cost of yearly loses.Agreed? 

[scenery_guy]

Good question! 

I bill most of my clients for travel (including flights, rental cars, fuel, hotel and miscellaneous items like checked bags or valet parking) as a single line item "travel expenses". I also mark it up. I learned a long time ago not to let clients book flights, hotel rooms etc as I always had to deal with cheap flights, bad seats, poor hotels etc. and always tell them up front what I will provide and why. Most of the time its not an issue. When it is I stand my ground. Some complain that I add a margin to these costs and I gently remind them I am in business to earn a living and profit. I am covering the costs up front out of pocket and I feel I am entitled to earn a profit for doing so. 

Several have questioned the line item total and I simply reply with a quick email breaking down the costs. Never an issue. It always includes a bag fee both ways - and I carry a Delta card so I do not pay for first bag. That billable item pays for my card fee (Reserve at $450 a year) in 9 round trip flights. In the end I make money on the fees charged. That extra money billed is applied to other cards I carry with an AF internally on my end in my books. 

I do have a few clients that I allow corporate travel to book and pay for rooms. I do value points earned for spend and stays and this way I get the points for stays but lose the points for spend. Never flights and never cars.

Oh - per diem is always a separate line item billed at maximum rate from the IRS web site even if they provide me some meals during the project. 

This is not a moral or ethics question, it's simply how to bill your clients profitably. I know that most of my clients have internal accounts for these type expenses and it is assigned to those accounts when paying my bill - so my travel is not applied to the project I was doing for them. You might wonder who my clients are - they all have three or four initials and you watch them everyday on TV .