Worked example from the course, stated assumptions: a $100 entry-level signing, 20 miles round trip, typical entry-level appointment.
| Line | Worked example | Your job |
|---|---|---|
| Paper and toner, both borrower and lender copies | $8–$12 | |
| Miles, 20 round trip at the federal business mileage rate | $14.50–$15.20 in 2026 (72.5¢ first half, 76¢ after July) | ______ mi × ______ |
| Phone, software, E&O insurance, amortized | a few dollars per job | |
| Your time: print, confirm, drive, sign, check, ship, scan | 2–3 hours | |
| Net cash at a $100 fee | around $70, paid a month later |
Recompute the mileage line at the current federal rate rather than trusting any course's number. Fee bands from the course's sourced rows: independent signings typically $75–$200; seller packages around $60–$75; home equity around $40–$50; experienced agents with direct title relationships $150–$200. Slow-market forums describe accepted fees sliding toward $60–$80.
| Number | Your value | Test |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-away fee | Below this, an order costs more in wear and risk than it pays. If paper, toner, and miles make an $80 signing at forty miles a loss, the correct response is a polite decline | |
| Distance threshold | Past this, drive time and fuel eat the margin | |
| Printing cutoff | Communicated when you accept, not gambled |
| Distance | Published schedule reference | Your fee |
|---|---|---|
| Within 5 miles | $15 | |
| 5–10 miles | $25 | |
| 10–20 miles | $40 | |
| 20–30 miles | $50 | |
| 30–40 miles | $60 | |
| Waiting past two hours (loan signing) | $25 per hour |
Copy the shape: travel worth about as much as the notarial acts near home, several times the acts far away, waiting time priced once it stops being brief. Hospital, late-night, and after-hours calls carry a premium on top.
Worked example from the course: twenty signings a month at a $100 average fee. $2,000 gross, $500 in printing, miles, and supplies, $1,500 net, none of it in your bank account for thirty to sixty days, while next month's consumables are bought with this month's money.
| Line | Worked month | Your month |
|---|---|---|
| Signings × average fee | 20 × $100 = $2,000 | |
| Printing, miles, supplies | -$500 | |
| Net (sitting in receivables) | $1,500 | |
| Days of invoices aging at any moment | 30–60 | |
| Buffer target: one month of business costs held before going heavy on the loan lane |
Defenses: invoice the day of the signing with the required order number; follow up at thirty days, then weekly, politely and relentlessly; keep the receivables ledger; grade payers and drop the sixty-day three-reminder companies when better work appears; bank the general lane's same-day cash to fund the loan lane's float.