A signing fee tells you what a job pays. It does not tell you what the job pays per hour, and that is the number that decides whether you can afford to take it. Effective hourly rate turns every offer into the same unit, so a $200 job two hours away and a $125 job around the corner can be compared honestly.
The formula
The calculators and the iPhone app use one formula:
- Direct costs = miles × cost per mile + pages × cost per page + other direct costs
- Estimated net = gross quote − direct costs
- Effective hourly rate = estimated net × 60 ÷ (appointment minutes + travel minutes)
Take a $175.00 signing with 46 miles of driving, 280 pages printed, 60 minutes at the table and 70 minutes on the road, using example costs of $0.65 a mile and $0.07 a page:
- Mileage: 46 × $0.65 = $29.90
- Printing: 280 × $0.07 = $19.60
- Estimated net: $175.00 − $49.50 = $125.50
- Time: 2 hr 10 min
- Effective hourly rate: $57.92
Count all the time the job takes
The estimate divides by appointment time plus travel time, round trip. If you spend real time printing the package, reviewing it or dropping it at a courier, add it to the appointment minutes; the calculator only knows what you tell it. Undercounting time is the easiest way to make a job look better than it is.
Compare offers in the same unit
| Offer | Est. net | Per hour |
|---|---|---|
| $125 signing, 12 miles, 45 min + 30 min driving | $100.40 | $80.32 |
| $200 signing, 90 miles, 60 min + 150 min driving | $124.70 | $35.63 |
Both print 240 pages at the same example costs. The bigger fee earns more in total and much less per hour, because most of the time it takes is spent driving.
Set a floor, then price to it
Pick the lowest hourly rate you are willing to work for, and turn it around: the quote a job needs is its direct costs plus your target rate times its hours. For the $175.00 job above at a $60/hr target, that is $49.50 + $60 × 2 hr 10 min = $179.50. The profit calculator does this for you in its target field.
To see the rate for a job you are pricing yourself, use step 5 of the loan signing fee calculator or the mobile notary fee calculator.
This site provides pricing and statutory-fee reference information for convenience and is not legal advice. Laws and fee limits may change. Verify current requirements with your commissioning authority.