A copyable rate sheet plus the math behind every number on it.
A limo rate sheet is a one-page price list that shows customers, corporate accounts, and your own staff what each vehicle costs by the hour, by the transfer, and by the package, along with minimums, surcharges, and the policies that apply. It is the single document that keeps every quote consistent, whether the customer books online, calls your office, or emails a travel planner.
Below is a complete template you can copy, followed by how to calculate each number, a worked example, and how to turn the sheet into rate rules so quotes price themselves. Every dollar figure in this post is a placeholder to show structure. Replace them with numbers built from your own costs and market.
Why you need a rate sheet
A rate sheet stops every quote from being a fresh negotiation. Without one, two people in your office quote the same job differently, corporate accounts notice, and margin leaks through rounding and forgotten surcharges.
A good rate sheet does four jobs at once:
Gives customers a clear, professional answer to "how much?"
Gives corporate travel managers something to approve and file
Gives your staff one source of truth for phone quotes
Gives your software the exact inputs for rate rules
The complete limo rate sheet template
Copy this structure into a document or spreadsheet. Brackets mark fields to fill in.
[Company Name] Rate Sheet, effective [date]
Section 1: Hourly rates by vehicle
Executive sedan, Passengers: [3]; Hourly rate: [$X]; Minimum hours (weekday): [2]; Minimum hours (Sat and peak dates): [3]
Luxury SUV, Passengers: [6]; Hourly rate: [$X]; Minimum hours (weekday): [2]; Minimum hours (Sat and peak dates): [3]
Stretch limousine, Passengers: [8 to 10]; Hourly rate: [$X]; Minimum hours (weekday): [3]; Minimum hours (Sat and peak dates): [4]
Sprinter or executive van, Passengers: [12 to 14]; Hourly rate: [$X]; Minimum hours (weekday): [3]; Minimum hours (Sat and peak dates): [4]
Limo coach or party bus, Passengers: [20 to 30]; Hourly rate: [$X]; Minimum hours (weekday): [4]; Minimum hours (Sat and peak dates): [5]
Section 2: Flat-rate transfers
[Downtown] to [Main airport], Sedan: [$X]; SUV: [$X]; Sprinter: [$X]
[Suburb or zone A] to [Main airport], Sedan: [$X]; SUV: [$X]; Sprinter: [$X]
[Main airport] to [Secondary airport], Sedan: [$X]; SUV: [$X]; Sprinter: [$X]
Point to point within [city], up to [X] miles, Sedan: [$X]; SUV: [$X]; Sprinter: [$X]
Section 3: Packages
Wedding, [X] hours, Vehicle: Stretch limo; Includes: Red carpet, [beverages], ceremony and reception; Price: [$X]
Prom, [X] hours, Vehicle: SUV or stretch; Includes: Pickup at up to [X] homes; Price: [$X]
Wine or brewery tour, [X] hours, Vehicle: Sprinter; Includes: Up to [X] stops; Price: [$X]
Night out, [X] hours, Vehicle: Party bus; Includes: [Details]; Price: [$X]
Section 4: Surcharges and fees
Gratuity, Rate: [X]% of base fare, added to every booking
Fuel surcharge, Rate: [X]% of base fare, or none
Late night ([11 p.m.] to [5 a.m.]), Rate: [+$X] or [+X%]
Holiday and peak dates, Rate: [+X%], dates listed below
Airport pickup fee, Rate: [$X], includes [30] minutes wait
Additional wait time, Rate: [$X] per [15] minutes after grace period
Extra stop, Rate: [$X] per stop
Tolls and parking, Rate: Actual cost
Cleaning fee, Rate: [$X] if required
Overtime, Rate: Hourly rate, billed in [15]-minute increments
Section 5: Policies
Deposit: [X]% at booking, or full prepayment for [event types]
Cancellation: [Free cancellation until X hours before pickup]; [X]% charged after that; full charge for no-shows
Payment: Card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. Card kept on file for post-ride charges.
Peak dates: [List: New Year's Eve, prom weekends, graduation weekends, local events]
Rates valid: [date] to [date]
That is the full sheet. Now the part most templates skip: where each number comes from.
How to calculate your hourly rates
Your hourly rate should come from your cost per hour plus a target margin, then be checked against your local market. Start with cost, because market rates alone can hide the fact that a vehicle loses money.
The cost method in short:
Add up the annual fixed cost of the vehicle: payment or depreciation, insurance, registration and permits, and scheduled maintenance.
Divide by the billable hours you realistically expect that vehicle to run in a year.
Add the variable cost per hour: driver wages and taxes, fuel, and wear.
Add your overhead per billable hour: office, software, marketing.
Add your target margin.
The full walk-through, line by line, is in how much to charge for a limo per hour.
Worked example: filling in one row
Here is one row of the sheet filled in for a hypothetical stretch limousine. Every input is an assumption to show the math, not a benchmark.
Assumptions:
Annual fixed cost (payment, insurance, registration, maintenance): $36,000
Billable hours per year: 900
Driver cost per hour, including payroll taxes: $28
Fuel and wear per billable hour: $14
Overhead per billable hour: $12
Target margin: 25% of the final rate
Math:
Fixed cost per hour: $36,000 / 900 = $40
Total cost per hour: $40 + $28 + $14 + $12 = $94
Rate at 25% margin: $94 / (1 - 0.25) = $125.33, rounded to $125
Minimums: if your typical stretch booking needs 45 minutes of deadhead each way, a 1-hour booking would lose money. A 3-hour weekday minimum and 4-hour Saturday minimum keep each job above cost.
Result for the sheet: Stretch limousine, 8 to 10 passengers, $125 per hour, 3-hour weekday minimum, 4-hour Saturday and peak minimum.
Repeat this for each vehicle class. Then sanity-check the results against what you can learn about local market rates. If your cost-based rate is far above the market, the fix is usually utilization or cost, not discounting.
How to price flat-rate transfers
A flat transfer price should cover the drive time, the wait or deadhead, and any airport fees, rounded to a clean number. A simple formula:
Transfer price = (drive time + expected wait + deadhead time) x hourly rate for the vehicle, plus airport fees, rounded up.
For example, with assumptions: a sedan at $85 an hour, 40 minutes of driving, 20 minutes of airport wait, and 30 minutes of deadhead adds up to 90 minutes, or 1.5 hours. 1.5 x $85 = $127.50, plus a $10 airport fee = $137.50, rounded to $140.
Zone-based pricing makes this easier at scale: group pickup areas into zones and set one price per zone per vehicle. More detail is in how to price an airport transfer service.
How to price packages
A package price is the hourly rate times the included hours, plus the cost of extras, minus any discount you choose to offer for the commitment. Keep the math visible to yourself even if the customer only sees one number.
Assumed example: a 6-hour wedding package in a $125-an-hour stretch is $750 in time. Add $40 for beverages and a red carpet, giving $790. If you want a round package price, list it at $795, and state that overtime is billed at the hourly rate.
Surcharges: what to include and how to word them
List every surcharge on the sheet, even small ones. Customers rarely argue with a fee they saw before booking, and they almost always argue with one they did not.
Wording tips:
Use "added to every booking" for gratuity if it is automatic, so nobody is surprised.
List exact peak dates instead of "holidays and special events."
Say "actual cost" for tolls and parking and keep receipts.
State the billing increment for overtime and wait time.
If you charge for tolls, overtime, or cleaning after the ride, list the billing increment and the card-on-file terms on the sheet so the charge is never a surprise.
Seasonal and peak-date pricing
Peak-date pricing is a set premium or higher minimum on the dates when demand for your vehicles outruns supply. Put it on the sheet as a rule, not a judgment call made on the phone.
Most operators have three tiers of dates:
Standard, Typical dates: Weekdays, most weekends; Pricing lever: Base hourly rate and standard minimum
Busy, Typical dates: Saturdays in wedding season, Friday nights; Pricing lever: Higher minimum, same hourly rate
Peak, Typical dates: New Year's Eve, prom and graduation weekends, major local events; Pricing lever: Higher minimum plus a percentage premium
Raising the minimum is often better than raising the hourly rate. A customer comparing quotes sees a familiar hourly number, while you protect the vehicle from being tied up on a short, low-value job on your busiest night.
A worked example with assumptions: on a peak date, a stretch limo at $125 an hour with a 5-hour minimum and a 20% premium quotes at 5 x $125 = $625, plus 20% ($125), for $750 before gratuity. The same vehicle on a standard weekday with a 3-hour minimum quotes at $375. Both numbers come from the same sheet, so neither surprises your office.
List the actual peak dates for the year on the sheet and update them each season. "Holidays and special events" invites argument; "December 31, May 8 and 9, May 15 and 16" does not.
Two versions: public and corporate
Most operators keep two versions of the sheet.
Who sees it, Public rate sheet: Website visitors, event customers; Corporate rate sheet: Travel managers, executive assistants
Focus, Public rate sheet: Packages and hourly minimums; Corporate rate sheet: Transfers and hourly rates by vehicle
Payment, Public rate sheet: Card at booking; Corporate rate sheet: Invoice on terms, or card on file
Rates, Public rate sheet: Standard; Corporate rate sheet: Standard or negotiated account rates
Updated, Public rate sheet: Each season; Corporate rate sheet: Each contract term
Keep the structure identical so updates are easy and your staff never quotes from the wrong version.
Turn the rate sheet into rate rules
A rate sheet in a PDF still needs someone to do the math on every call. The next step is to enter the same numbers as rate rules so quotes calculate themselves.
In Ride Sync, you set your rate rules once: hourly rates and minimums by vehicle, flat rates, per-mile pricing, airport fees, and surcharges. Gratuity and cleaning can be custom default fees that appear on every quote without retyping. From there:
Customers get an instant quote from the booking and quote widget on your website, priced by the same rules as your sheet.
Your office gets the same number on a phone quote, every time.
With instant booking, the customer pays to confirm by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay through your own Stripe account.
The quote flows into the reservation and the invoice, so what you quoted is what you bill.
That is how a rate sheet stops being a document and starts being a system. For how to turn a single inquiry into a winning quote, see how to quote a limo job.
Rate sheet review checklist
Before you publish, check that your sheet:
Shows an effective date and an expiry date
Lists a minimum for every vehicle and day type
Names every surcharge with a number, not "may apply"
Lists peak dates explicitly
States deposit, cancellation, and payment terms
Matches the rate rules in your booking system exactly
Has been tested on ten real past jobs to confirm the totals look right
Frequently asked questions
What should a limo rate sheet include?
Hourly rates and minimums by vehicle, flat-rate transfers for common routes, packages, every surcharge and fee, and your deposit, cancellation, and payment policies, with an effective date.
How do I calculate my limo hourly rate?
Add the vehicle's annual fixed cost divided by billable hours, driver cost, fuel and wear, and overhead per hour, then add your target margin. Check the result against your local market.
Should I publish my limo rates on my website?
Many operators publish packages and starting rates to filter out price shoppers, and use an online quote widget for exact prices. An instant quote widget gives customers a real number without publishing your full sheet.
How often should I update my rate sheet?
Review it at least once a year and whenever fuel, insurance, or wage costs change materially. Update peak dates each season.
Should corporate clients get different rates?
They can. Many operators offer account rates in exchange for volume and invoicing on terms. Keep the same sheet structure for both versions so staff do not mix them up.
Quick recap
A limo rate sheet lists hourly rates and minimums, transfers, packages, surcharges, and policies on one page. Build each rate from cost plus margin, set minimums that cover deadhead, list every surcharge explicitly, and keep public and corporate versions in the same format. Then enter the same numbers as rate rules in Ride Sync so every online and phone quote prices itself.
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