The Truck Roll Minimum: What Your Smallest Ticket Must Cover

Every dispatch has a floor cost whether the invoice is $89 or $2,800. The truck roll minimum is the lowest total you will accept for showing up — trip fee, diagnostic, and any repair combined — so short calls stop quietly losing money.

Build the floor from costs, not from competitors

Sum a realistic short call:

• Travel hours both ways at burdened labor
• Onsite time for a small repair or diagnostic
• Vehicle miles
• Overhead for those hours
• Average lead cost if paid channels feed small tickets

Add the profit you need per hour on that capacity. That total is your minimum. If a flat-rate item sits under it, either raise the item, bundle it with the trip fee, or stop selling it as a standalone dispatch.

Example

1.2 hours travel + 0.8 hours onsite at $48 burdened = $96 labor. 28 miles at $0.65 = $18. Overhead at $35/hour × 2.0 hours = $70. Lead allocation $25. Floor before profit ≈ $209. A $149 "quick fix" is a loss before you count the owner's time.

How to enforce it

• Publish a service-call / diagnostic minimum on the phone script and website.
• Train CSRs: below the floor, offer a later window, membership visit, or decline.
• Do not let techs "just take care of it" for cash under the minimum — that trains the market and the crew.

Recalculate when inputs move

Wage bumps, fuel, insurance, and longer average drives all raise the floor. Recost the minimum quarterly with the job profitability calculator using your current rates and a typical short-call profile.