The form comes in on a Tuesday night: a deck repair, a good description, photos attached, and an address 50 miles from your shop. It is tempting to say yes because the lead is real, or to ignore it because it is far. Both are mistakes. There are three honest answers: take it with the travel priced in, refer it to someone closer, or decline it politely. Which one depends on arithmetic you can do once, in advance, and then reuse every time a far lead arrives.
What the far job really costs
Distance costs you in four ways, and only the first is obvious.
Say a two-person deck crew costs $45 an hour each, fully loaded (Your Real Hourly Cost shows how to find yours). The job is 50 miles away, about an hour each way, and takes three days plus the estimate visit and one return for the punch list.
| Travel cost (an example) | Per round trip | Five round trips |
|---|---|---|
| 100 miles at $0.76 | $76 | $380 |
| Crew time: 2 people × 2 hours × $45 | $180 | $900 |
| Travel cost of the job | $256 | $1,280 |
That $1,280 has to be in the price, and it is the same whether the deck is $4,000 or $14,000. On the small job it is a third of the price; on the big one it is easy to carry. That is why the decision is about job size as much as distance. (The estimate visit counts too; for a first look at a far job, ask for photos before you drive out.)
If the job needs nights away, add lodging and meals. As a yardstick, the federal government’s standard per diem rates for its own travelers, from October 1, 2026, are $113 a night for lodging and $68 a day for meals and incidentals (GSA bulletin FTR 27-01); real prices where you are going may be higher.
Build a travel zone into the price
Working this out per lead is slow. Work it out once, as zones by drive time from the shop, and quote from the zone:
| Zone (an example) | One-way drive | Travel charge per visit | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home zone | Under 30 minutes | $0 | All jobs |
| Zone 2 | 30 to 60 minutes | $256 | Jobs over a set minimum |
| Zone 3 | 60 to 90 minutes | $385 | Larger jobs only, or refer |
| Beyond | Over 90 minutes | — | Refer or decline |
The zone 2 figure is the round trip from the example above; zone 3 is 150 miles at $0.76 and three hours each for two people at $45, rounded. Put the charge per visit in the price as a line the customer can see, and count the visits before you quote. A minimum job size per zone keeps a $300 repair from costing more in travel than in work. Minimum Charges and Trip Fees has the wording for saying a trip fee out loud and on the website without sounding like a penalty.
The most important part is when you say it: in the first reply, before anyone books the estimate. “We do work in your town; jobs there carry a travel charge of $256 per visit, and a deck like yours takes about five visits.” Some people stop there, which saves you both the drive.
Your Google profile and the far lead
If far leads reach you through your Google Business Profile, set it to match the zones you actually want. Google’s own limits for a service-area business:
Google’s ranking help says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, and that distance means how far each business is from the person searching. Adding a far town to your list does not move your shop. List the towns where you want work at the price their distance requires, and leave off the ones you would refer anyway. Google Business Profile for Contractors covers the rest of the setup.
A referral you can stand behind
A homeowner you send to a good company nearer to them may remember you for it, and so may the company. Keep a short list ready, one or two names for each direction you get far leads from, built before the leads come:
- Choose companies whose work you have seen, or whose owners you know from supply houses and job sites.
- Look up each one’s license on the state board’s search (Do I Need a Contractor License? shows where to find the board), and ask for a current certificate of insurance.
- Ask each owner whether they want referrals, for which jobs, and how they would like to be reached.
- Give the homeowner the company’s name and website, and say plainly that you are passing along a name, not vouching for their price or their schedule.
If the far lead is across a state line, the referral is often the simpler answer unless you already hold a license there. Working Across a State Line lists what you would need first.
Declining without leaving them hanging
A lead you will not take still deserves an answer, quickly, because until they hear from you, the homeowner may be waiting instead of looking elsewhere. Three sentences do it:
Thank you for the photos of your deck. Your town is outside the area we serve, and our travel charge would add more than the repair is worth to you. A company closer to you is [name], at [website]; we have not worked with them on a job like yours, but they do this kind of work in your area.
That reply costs a minute. Not replying costs the homeowner a day of waiting and costs you whatever they say about you afterward.