A truck roll is one dispatch of a technician and vehicle to a site. Its cost is the labor, vehicle and drive time spent getting there and back, plus the on-site time, whether or not the job is finished. Rolls that have to happen twice are the expensive ones. Nothing you enter here is saved or sent.
The formulas
- Crew labor per hour = loaded cost per hour × technicians on the truck
- Getting there = crew labor × drive minutes ÷ 60 + miles × vehicle cost per mile
- One roll = getting there + crew labor × minutes on site ÷ 60
- Repeat rolls per year = rolls per month × 12 × repeat share
- Cost of repeat rolls = repeat rolls × cost of one roll
"Vehicle cost per mile" should cover fuel, maintenance, tires, depreciation and insurance. If you don't track it, the IRS publishes a standard mileage rate each year, which is a reasonable starting point for a per-mile vehicle cost. Your own fleet numbers are better.
Why repeat rolls are the number to watch
A first roll is the cost of doing business. A second roll to the same job usually earns nothing extra and still pays the full cost of getting there. The usual causes are the wrong parts on the truck, the wrong technician for the job, or not enough time booked to finish. Each of those is visible in your first-time fix rate and callback rate.
Scheduling feeds into it more than most owners expect. A day booked too tight forces a technician to leave before the job is done, and a long drive between jobs eats the margin that would have let them finish. That's the windshield time problem showing up in a different report.
What to take away
- One roll costs travel plus on-site labor, multiplied by crew size.
- Repeat rolls pay the whole travel cost again for no new revenue.
- Track repeat share by cause: parts, skills, or time booked.
Common questions
What is a truck roll?
A truck roll is one dispatch of a technician and vehicle to a customer site. See the truck roll glossary entry for how companies count them.
How do you reduce truck rolls?
Cut repeat visits. Confirm scope and parts before booking, send the technician with the right skills, and book enough time to finish. Remote triage can also replace some first visits entirely.
Is this calculator saving my numbers?
No. It runs entirely in your browser.