Moving Surveys, Estimate Types and Rate-Sheet Categories

Who pays when a moving survey misses something?

When a survey misses something, the estimate type decides who absorbs the difference: the mover with a binding price, the customer with a non-binding price, or both under a not-to-exceed cap.

Every method starts with cubic feet, weight and access; the pricing method only changes how those survey details become a charge.

A fixed binding figure can appeal to customers wary of a running meter, but missed hours come out of the mover's margin. Hourly billing leaves the customer responsible for the time used and shields the yard from a short survey. Established movers often offer both, choosing by customer and job rather than treating one method as right for every move.

Interstate household-goods moves fall under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and 49 CFR Part 375 sets federal estimate and carrier-document rules, including valuation disclosures. Intrastate moves are governed by a state regulator, often a public utilities commission or department of transportation. States differ on whether they publish or approve tariffs, so check your rules before quoting; the licensing and compliance guide explains how to identify the governing body.

What should I record during the survey?

Record the goods, shipment weight where relevant, access at both addresses, packing responsibilities, special services and move dates. These details establish the basis for the quote, whether the job will be priced by time, weight and distance, or another method allowed by the governing tariff.

A missing survey detail can turn a room count into a price that fails at the job site. Define packing, storage and specialty handling as services the estimator can identify and price; the services and packages guide explains how to set out those service choices for customers.

Which estimate can I offer, and what must it say?

For interstate work, state whether the estimate is binding, non-binding or binding not-to-exceed, and follow 49 CFR Part 375 for its contents and delivery. The shipper may waive the required physical survey, which can be conducted on-site or virtually using live or pre-recorded video.

A binding estimate guarantees the move's total cost based on the quantities and services shown, and a mover may charge for preparing one in writing. A non-binding estimate states the mover's expected total using estimated weight or volume and requested accessorial services. If volume will later be converted to a weight-based rate, explain the conversion formula in writing.

Do not assume a practice accepted locally applies across a state line. State in plain terms what each estimate type transfers to the customer, especially when a non-binding quote gives a lower initial figure. A customer who chose that lower number and then faces higher charges at delivery is a common source of complaints; review the Federal estimate rules before setting your process.

How do estimate methods differ for local and long-distance moves?

Local moves commonly use crew-hours, while long-distance shipments generally use weight and distance under a tariff. The regulator's requirements, not local custom, determine what you may charge. Check the rules, then select a method that fits the survey and the customer's circumstances.

Hourly pricing usually combines a crew-size rate, a minimum charge and travel time. Its advantages are that the customer pays for the time the job takes, the yard has protection if the survey misses hours, and the calculation is straightforward to explain.

Hourly billing also has drawbacks: an efficient crew earns less for delivering the same result, while customers may watch the clock and question breaks. A low hourly headline paired with a large undisclosed minimum is the kind of advertising claim the Federal Trade Commission says must be truthful and supported under its small-business guidance.

Treat the hourly rate as a loaded cost, not just a wage: it includes payroll burden, the truck, pads and dollies, and a share of the yard. Compare the wage component with metropolitan-area wage tables for movers, drivers and helpers, then use your own payroll records to calculate the burden.

Long-distance work is generally priced using shipment weight and distance under a tariff, with accessorial charges for stairs, long carries, shuttles and waiting. The estimate's credibility matters because the customer cannot see the shipment weight in advance.

What can affect rate-sheet charges?

Rate-sheet charges depend on more than the headline price. Access time, packing, valuation choices, timing and street restrictions can change the services, labor or truck plan a move requires.

Access hours. Stairs, long carries and elevator waits each add labor and truck time. An estimator who includes those hours gives the estimate a realistic labor basis; one who ignores them leaves the crew to absorb the difference on the day. Train estimators to identify access costs during the survey, rather than expecting the crew to absorb them on the day.

Packing. Packing is a separate service with its own materials and labor. Customers who purchase it pay for work that would not otherwise be part of the move; customers who decline and pack badly may generate claims. List packing clearly as an optional service and price it through packing services.

Valuation. On interstate moves, customers choose between Full Value Protection and Released Value. Price the selected protection option and record the customer's choice. The bill of lading must include the Surface Transportation Board's released-rates valuation statement, along with any charge for optional valuation coverage. Intrastate rules come from the state regulator, so explain the options using its wording rather than memory.

Seasonality. Demand clusters in summer and at month-end, but fixed costs arrive every month. Keep any peak-season or end-of-month adjustment visible as its own rate-sheet line.

A price also assumes the truck can reach the door. Low bridges, weight restrictions, gated communities and downtown loading zones can prevent a full-size vehicle from getting through, making a smaller-truck shuttle necessary and doubling labor at that end. The equipment and setup guide covers truck sizing; an unannounced shuttle charge at delivery creates complaints.

Which charges belong on my rate sheet?

Build the rate sheet from the actual costs and services identified in the survey. It should translate those details into repeatable quote lines, including labor, travel, packing, accessorials, valuation and any storage or timing adjustments.

Set each line using your own costs: two companies can publish identical rates and still have different margins. The U.S. Small Business Administration's business guide organizes launch work around planning, costs and pricing a service; its planning section can help structure the rate sheet around known costs rather than assumptions. The startup and market guide covers early choices such as labor-only or full-service operations.

How can I tell whether the price matched the move?

Keep the survey, estimate, quote, change orders and invoice together with the job's actual hours. Reviewing that file by estimator each month shows whether the quoted work matched what happened and helps explain a changed price to a customer.

The IRS guidance titled What kind of records should I keep says a business may choose its own recordkeeping system, provided it clearly shows income and expenses. A job file that connects the estimate to actual hours serves that purpose and gives you evidence when a customer asks why the final number moved.

You can issue a binding estimate over the phone, but it is a bet that the customer accurately described both the goods and the access. Until a survey exists, offer an hourly price with a minimum instead. That limits the risk of promising a fixed figure against details that have not been checked.

Review estimate files monthly by estimator. When one person's jobs repeatedly exceed surveyed hours, the survey or pricing process needs attention, whatever the published rates say. A rate sheet is working when actual hours match surveyed hours within a tolerance you set and each move contributes enough toward fixed costs at the crew-day count the calendar sells; until then, it remains a hypothesis.

What should I do first?

Start by confirming which regulator and tariff rules apply, then use a complete survey to select and explain the estimate type. Put the resulting labor, access and service costs on the rate sheet, and use job records to test whether surveyed hours and actual results align.