Overview
When a project is not on your doorstep, you need to account for travel and accommodation costs. Ensign's job header page includes a dedicated travel section where you can set up cost per mile, lodge thresholds, and daily additional costs. Once configured, the software automatically calculates the travel allowance based on the distance you enter for each job.
Configuring travel settings
The travel and lodge settings are found in the Labour section of the job header page. You only need to fill these in once — the software stores the values for future jobs.
- 1
Open the job header page (either by creating a new job or amending an existing one).
- 2
Locate the Labour section. You will see the following fields:
Field Description Cost per mile The rate charged per mile of travel (e.g. 0.45 for 45p per mile) Lodge value The weekly accommodation cost when lodging is required (e.g. 400.00 for a week) Working week The number of working days in a week (typically 5) Starting point of lodge The distance in miles at which lodging kicks in (e.g. 75 miles) - 3
Fill in the values that match your business costs. For example:
- Cost per mile: 0.45
- Lodge value: 400.00
- Working week: 5 days
- Starting point of lodge: 75 miles
The lodge arrangement assumes your engineers travel to site on Monday and return home on Friday. The starting point of lodge sets the distance at which the software switches from daily mileage to a weekly lodge allowance.
Entering the travel distance for a job
Once your travel settings are configured, the Travel Distance field on the job header page becomes active.
- 1
In the Travel Distance field, enter how many miles away the job site is.
- 2
The software uses your stored cost per mile and lodge settings to calculate the travel allowance automatically.
- If the distance is below your lodge threshold, only mileage costs are applied.
- If the distance is at or above the threshold, lodge costs are included as well.
The travel distance is stored per job, so you can have different distances for different projects while keeping the same underlying cost-per-mile and lodge settings.
Daily additional costs
Below the travel settings, you will find a Daily Additional Cost field (sometimes labelled Additional Cost per day). This is a flexible field you can use for any daily expenses beyond mileage, such as:
- Parking charges
- Congestion charges
- Site access fees
- Any other per-day allowance
Simply enter the daily amount and it will be factored into the labour cost calculation for the job.
How travel costs appear in the estimate
Travel and lodge allowances are included in the Site Labour Cost on the summary table. You will see the travel component reflected in the overall labour figure, ensuring it is carried through to your final tender price.
On the summary table, you can also view a breakdown of the total days on site, which includes the travel allowance. If you need to adjust the number of days, you can overtype the value directly on the summary table.
Typical setup example
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost per mile | 0.45 |
| Lodge value | 400.00 per week |
| Working week | 5 days |
| Starting point of lodge | 75 miles |
| Daily additional costs | 15.00 (parking) |
With this configuration:
- A job 30 miles away would incur daily mileage costs (30 miles x 0.45 = 13.50 per day) plus 15.00 daily parking.
- A job 100 miles away would trigger the lodge allowance (400.00 per week) plus 15.00 daily parking, since it exceeds the 75-mile threshold.
Remember to update your cost per mile and lodge values periodically to keep pace with actual expenses. These settings carry forward to new jobs, so keeping them current avoids underquoting on travel.
Next steps
- Setting Up Labour Rates — configure your hourly labour rates
- Labour Factors — adjust installation hours for site conditions