posted on 01/04/2020

Consulting Rates and Travel Policy

It is expected that each project will include a written agreement with the client for work performed, travel rates and other miscellaneous fees.  Whenever no other written agreement is in place for a specific effort or expense, the following fees and policies will apply.

Consulting Rates and Definitions:

– $125/hr, Professional Work Time: Time spent performing architectural consulting/design/inspection/research or any other of type work including all aspects of project execution/management, meeting attendance, etc..

– $30/hr, Travel Time: time spent away from consultant’s office in transit to Professional Work at a Work Venue including time not spent on Professional Work which occurs away from city of residence.

–Work Venue is the location of a meeting, conference or other Professional Work which occurs outside of the consultant’s office.

-Time will be billed in increments not less than one-quarter of an hour (15-minutes).

Travel Policy:

– Client must request all travel related work, in writing, prior to the consultant making travel arrangements. The Professional Work and Travel request should include (minimally) the Work Venue, time frame, and scope of work (objectives and deliverables).

– Consultant will arrange travel utilizing client’s negotiated rates where known, available and reasonable. It is the client’s responsibility to make negotiated rates known to the consultant.

– Receipts will be provided with all billed travel expenses unless otherwise noted or typically unavailable.

Mode of Transportation:

-Air Travel: The consultant will bill airfare at cost and will include trip insurance; economy class will be selected for flights less than 6-hours in duration and business class for longer flights. Personal vehicle mileage to/from the airport will be billed at the IRS mileage rate.

-Personal Vehicle Travel: The consultant will drive a personal vehicle to destinations less than 200-miles from Raleigh, NC. Reimbursement will be calculated using the standard highway mileage between the business office and the Work Venue of the trip and will be billed at the IRS rate ($/mi) for the date of travel.

–Other Transportation Modes: Rail or bus travel will be billed at cost.

–Local Transportation:

• Public transportation (local bus, streetcar, subway) will be used whenever practicable at the destination. Consultant will use the transport system’s published Rate Schedule if receipts are not available.

• Taxi/Towncar/Shuttle Service will be billed at the cost of the ride plus gratuity (15%).

• Rental cars will only be utilized if agreed to with client; Consultant will bill for the cost of the rental car and gasoline purchased for the rental car.

–Lodging: The consultant will bill actual lodging expenses at the Work Venue at the available negotiated rate or, when lodging is unavailable, the Consultant will procure lodging near the Work Venue. When negotiated rates are unavailable, the Consultant will procure lodging at a rate that does not exceed 300% of the destination’s published GSA or State Department federal rate.

–Per Diem: The consultant will bill Per Diem as follows:

• $75/day to cover Meals and Incidental Expenses (MIE) in lieu of providing subsistence receipts. Restaurant server, bellhop and hotel cleaning staff gratuities are included in this amount.

• Travel days less than 8-hours in duration will be billed at 75% of the Per Diem, Travel days lasting more than 8-hours will be billed at 100% of the Per Diem.

–Other: Charges for registration fees, parking, ferry, bridge, toll roads, gratuity (15%), etc., will be billed at cost. International travel may be subject to additional gratuity charges atypical for North America.