Landed A Job as A Network Analyst. They Want Me To Use My Own Car as A Company Car.

My job entails me to basically be the IT guy for 5 or 6 companies in the area. They do not have company cars and expect me to use my own. They do pay for mileage. Is this a common thing?

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Comments

bgold87

Yes, they should be reimbursing you the IRS rate which I think it around 57.5 cents per mile. You can put some money in your pocket this way so it's not all bad.

oxymoron5k

I dont think they are paying that much. Maybe I should talk to them about that.

kurosaki00

Either they reimburse it or keep an excel sheet, get it signed and send it to the IRS and they will.

Dyasis

I doubt they will pay you what the IRS mileage lists, I do the same thing and my company reimburses me .41 per mile, when you file your taxes you can claim the rest

shodown

If you feel like they are being cheap with the money get in and learn as much as you can. Then when you find something better move on. If this job is not a big jump for you pass it on.

N2IT

shodown wrote: »

If you feel like they are being cheap with the money get in and learn as much as you can. Then when you find something better move on. If this job is not a big jump for you pass it on.

Sounds like they are trying to go on the cheap. I worked for an MSP who did this. They ended up paying for everyone's cell phones to "make everyone whole". Of course they made everyone sign waivers, the funny part was they only did this because one boisterous employee who's wife was an HR Director for Accenture insisted he do this. Hey it worked in the end.

pramin

I personally wouldn't do this for very long if I had to use my car. No matter if they are reimbursing me or not for mileage.

Depending how many miles you are putting on due to work and how many miles you have on the car; you might be replacing your car soon.

srabiee

^^^ I agree. I worked for an MSP that made employees use their own vehicles. They would often send us on jobs out of state, sometimes on a weekly basis. Some of us were literally driving our cars to pieces, and only being reimbursed 45 cents per mile. 45 cents per mile doesn't buy me a new car, nor did my meager salary pay for one. It was a lose-lose situation. YMMV

olaHalo

Yeah I had an MSP do this.
Wasnt so bad. Less than 30 miles a day and was paid about 50 cents per mile.
I just hated having to haul equipment (servers, PCs, racks) in my tiny 2 door.

oxymoron5k

If I remember correctly Im only getting paid 35 cents per mile. I will have to follow up with the employer and double check that.

N2IT

35 cents is dirt, I would follow up. Not to mention, ask them if you are liable for the equipment. If you are transporting hardware and you get in an accident you might be on the hook for the equipment. Or what happens if you drop the equipment off and now it's gone missing? Guess who is responsible?

Guess who will be and losing their job and have a theft charge on their record? ***Didn't say conviction

An MSP can be very sneaky and pass the financial risk onto the engineer. I've seen this in the contract, if the employee is negligent and the destruction of property occurs the employee is responsible for full cost of the hardware.

I'd ask them to see the statement of work, usually the contract terms like this is captured in that document.

Be careful.

Thacker

MSP's are notoriously shitty.

After I moved back to Atlanta in early 2013 I landed a job with a MSP. I was given $25 a week as compensation for unlimited use of my vehicle. No overtime. No cell phone reimbursement and when I quit the job the lead tech exchange remote wiped my personal phone which was a good 6 hours of customizing and setting back up. Most charge 125-175 / hr all while paying you a salary around 50k and expecting 30+ hours of billable work per week. It's robbery of their clients, and robbery of their employees.

I interviewed with a MSP about 2 months ago. Interviewer was late, I saw him pull up in the parking lot in his new BMW X5. Wanted someone proficient with VMWare, Server 2003-2012, Linux, and the ability to troubleshoot software build management systems and be on call 24/7. $50k a year.

N2IT

Thacker you really passed up on a beauty there.

oxymoron5k

So is 30 hours of billable realistic because thats what they expect from me as well. Also I have a company phone so that is good.

N2IT

It depends on their business model. If they are set up to kill it and bill it you should be able to maintain 30 hours billable. If they are struggling to procure business well that might require creativity.

BerkshireHerd

I get 55.5 cents a mile working for a regional bank...

paul78

N2IT wrote: »

Not to mention, ask them if you are liable for the equipment. If you are transporting hardware and you get in an accident you might be on the hook for the equipment. Or what happens if you drop the equipment off and now it's gone missing?

That really doesn't change whether it's a company car or personal car. It's really about how the employer operates its business and how above-board they are.

@OP - without further understanding your compensation structure, your employers business model, or how often you travel, it is challenging to say whether you have a good or bad deal. I know for me personally, when I was consulting, I never cared about the mileage re-reimbursement and I preferred to not be reimbursed for mileage. I would travel between a couple of states weekly and it was my preference to take the tax deduction as long as my employer let's me expense the gas in my T&E. That arrangement worked out much better for both me and my employer. And company cars are only useful if you are really traveling a lot and primarily using the company car for business travel - if you use the car for personal-use (including commuting), the tax rules could end-up where you would be taxed for use of the company car as a fringe benefit.

N2IT

That really doesn't change whether it's a company car or personal car. It's really about how the employer operates its business and how above-board they are.

It absolutely changes the dynamics

A personal vehicle and the owner assume the risk unless that individual has auto transport insurance on the vehicle which is then passed on to the insurance company if something were to happen to the equipment. If the MSP or any company for that matter provides transportation (in most cases if they are competent) would carry the proper insurance to safeguard against loss, theft or damage.

In fact you may not be covered if the use of your own vehicle is being used for business. Check with your insurance company, that is for sure.

I'm not even sure laptops are covered unless you have a special plan in place. Just to move them with professional carriers you need a bill of laden or some manifest.

Dyasis

You also have to tell your car insurance agency that your vehicle is for business, had a friend that did not inform them and he got f@cked! I can not remember however if it makes your premium go up. So it's up to you. Look over your personal insurance policy

Chinook

N2IT nails it. A personal vehicle becomes a business vehicle. Not only will you likely need specialized insurance, you should also investigate coverage if you are carrying equipment. What happens if you get in an accident & it destroys the backup tapes for ABC Corp?

You will need to do the following;

- keep all receipts
- log all business related mileage with date/time
- get a bookkeeper who understands taxes

The accountant/bookkeeper will teach you other things you can write off and expense. They may be smaller, but it adds up. You also need to be diligent. That 10 miles you didn't document costs you money.

@Thacker. MSP's are notorious for asking "too much" for the job at hand. In the end you find out you really don't need half the skills. There are benefits to working in an MSP. One is that you aren't an expense. In the mind of the owner, you produce revenue whereas in a major corporation you cost money.

oxymoron5k

I didnt think about insurance. Also I need to keep a record AND get an accountant or bookkeeper?? That there alone makes it not worth it to much of a hassle for what they are paying me.

N2IT

Chinook wrote: »

One is that you aren't an expense. In the mind of the owner, you produce revenue whereas in a major corporation you cost money.

Ain't this the truth.

doobu

Let you get into a wreck and destroy all/any equipment. Let their equipment fly out your window and kill someone's dog. You're liable unless they're covering/sponsoring your insurance.

Some of these companies throw out phones and/or mileage "reimbursement" as a favor. If you're driving around and on call, they need to cover you for work related liabilities. Plain and simple. Now, I edit this because most companies will have a basic Life Insurance policy on you. So, if they say you're covered for liabilities, make sure that's not what they're assuming is covering you (psst. you have to die or get dismembered for this to cover you, and usually only your annual salary for one year).

You could even turn your car into a work item, deduct it against your income with the mileage adjustments- but that's an itemized deduction. I'm going to bank on, if you're single, you're better off taking the standard deduction in the first place since your income might not qualify (unless it is high enough, then good job brother!). It's more than 2% of your adjusted gross, so if you're making like 25,000 it'll need to be $500. Now take, 40,000. That's $800. Not much of an increase for near double the salary...but hey. If you can itemize, woo hoo..!

I'd rather them pay for any insurance/fuel than mileage count. I'd just log it and self-report. You'll have to anyway.