How Can I Request a Cost Approval?
Learn how to request additional compensation or reimbursement for rides.
What are Cost Approvals?
Cost approvals are requests for additional funds to compensate for unexpected or supplemental ride costs or unique circumstances that may arise. These types of requests may be submitted to compensate your company for extra time, mileage, or other resources used to fulfill a transport.
While Roundtrip does consider cost approval request submissions, it is important to note that all requests are subject to our internal approval process and are not a guarantee of payment. In addition, other factors such as the listed payer for a ride or client specific rules may impact if a request can be approved by Roundtrip or not. For example, Roundtrip can only review cost approval requests for rides that are booked as facility paid where Roundtrip is the payment intermediary for the booking facility or organization. Continue reading to learn more about the different types of cost approvals and how your company can request them.
What are the Types of Cost Approvals?
There are several types of cost approvals that may be requested by your company depending on a ride’s unique circumstances. Please note that each cost approval type has its own qualifying criteria and submission process - more on this in the next section in this article.
Dead Mileage
Dead mileage, sometimes referred to as “dead head miles”, is a type of cost approval which compensates a Transportation Company for the miles traveled with an empty vehicle. Dead mileage may be applicable when a company needs to travel a far distance to the pickup location, if a company needs to travel a far distance to return to their dispatcher location after dropping off the rider, or both.
Roundtrip has a few requirements in order for a ride to qualify for dead mileage:
- The requesting Transportation Company must travel greater than thirty (30) miles from their home base to pickup and/or drop-off the rider for the requested ride.
- Dead mileage must be pre-approved for each ride via phone call to Roundtrip’s Navigation Center at (215) 774-6893.
- The ride is facility paid and Roundtrip is the payment intermediary.
- The facility or organization requesting the ride must have a cost approval threshold configured with Roundtrip.
Sit and Wait Fees
A sit and wait fee refers to compensation for a driver’s time spent on scene waiting for a rider. A driver must be waiting on scene for the rider for greater than fifteen (15) minutes to qualify for a sit and wait fee. This typically cannot be pre-approved. Sit and wait fees are calculated at $1 per minute, after the initial fifteen (15) minutes of standard wait time, and up to a maximum of sixty (60) minutes.
Equipment Fees
Equipment fees may be requested if additional equipment is required to transport the rider. This pertains to equipment used that is not standard for the requested vehicle type. For example, equipment such as oxygen, double or bariatric wheelchairs/stretchers, car seats, etc. may qualify for an additional fee.
Crew Fees
Crew fees may be requested if additional crew members are needed to safely transport a rider. Additional crew may be needed in situations such as a bariatric transport or transport to/from a location that has a high number of stairs.
Cancellation Fees
A cancellation fee, sometimes referred to as a “no show fee”, “dry run fee”, or “no load fee”, refers to compensation for when a ride is canceled once the driver is already en route or on scene. For example, if a rider cancels at the door when the driver arrives, while the driver is en route to the pickup location, or if the rider is a no-show, a cancellation fee may apply. Qualifying rides are paid at your company’s base rate plus three (3) miles.
Other Reimbursement and Surcharge Requests
For all other miscellaneous fees, these are reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis. For example, this may include fee requests such as after hours surcharges, federal holiday surcharges, or companion passenger fees. In other cases, your company may submit requests for reimbursement for expenses such as toll fees, ferry fees, or other unexpected costs.
How Can My Company Request a Cost Approval?
Dead Mileage
To request dead mileage on an available ride in Roundtrip, your company will need to submit the request via telephone prior to claiming the ride. Dead mileage requests that are not pre-approved will not be considered for payment. In addition, rides will only qualify for dead mileage if:
- The ride is facility paid and Roundtrip is the payment intermediary.
- The requesting Transportation Company must travel greater than thirty (30) miles from their home base to pickup and/or drop-off the rider for the requested ride.
- Dead mileage must be pre-approved for each ride via phone call to Roundtrip’s Navigation Center at (215) 774-6893.
- The facility or organization requesting the ride must have a cost approval threshold configured with Roundtrip.
If your request meets the criteria above, please follow these steps to request a cost approval for dead mileage:
- Contact Roundtrip’s 24/7 Navigation Center at (215) 774-6893. So our agents can better assist you, please have the ride details including the Ride ID available when calling.
- Advise the Roundtrip agent that you need to request approval for dead mileage. Provide the ride details and state the amount that you are requesting for the ride.
- The agent will then escalate the request to be reviewed for approval.
- If approved for the requested amount, you will receive a callback to confirm the requested amount was approved. Your company will then be assigned the ride within Roundtrip. Your company will be paid for the approved dead mileage amount in addition to your contracted rate for the ride - this will be paid out following Roundtrip’s standard payment schedule.
- If denied for the requested amount, you will receive a callback to advise that the requested amount was not approved. Your company will not be assigned the ride within Roundtrip. Depending on the denial reason, you may receive additional details about the denial and next steps (i.e. the selected payer does not qualify for dead mileage, the requested amount exceeds the booking facility’s approved threshold, etc.).
Cancellation Fees
To request a cancellation fee for an assigned ride in Roundtrip, your company will need to submit a cost approval request via this form. You can also access this form in-app within the Roundtrip Portal. Simply visit our Resource Center by clicking the Roundtrip icon in the bottom left corner. Click on “Submit a Fee Request” to access the form.
Once opened, please fill out all of the requested fields on this form, selecting “Cancellation Fee” as the request type. Failure to complete the requested information may result in a denial for your request. In addition, please do not include any PHI (protected health information) when completing this form.
Once submitted, Roundtrip’s internal team will review your company’s request for approval. If approved, your company will receive payment for the cancellation fee in the following billing cycle, following Roundtrip’s standard payment schedule. The cancellation fee will be calculated based on your company’s base rate plus three (3) miles.
- Please note: Roundtrip can only approve additional fees if the ride is facility paid and Roundtrip is the payment intermediary.
All Other Requests
To request any other type of fee or reimbursement for an assigned ride in Roundtrip, your company will need to submit a cost approval request via this form. You can also access this form in-app within the Roundtrip Portal. Simply visit our Resource Center by clicking the Roundtrip icon in the bottom left corner. Click on “Submit a Fee Request” to access the form.
Once opened, please fill out all of the requested fields on this form, selecting the most appropriate reason as the request type. Failure to complete the requested information may result in a denial for your request. In addition, please do not include any PHI (protected health information) when completing this form.
Once submitted, Roundtrip’s internal team will review your company’s request for approval. If approved, your company will receive payment for the requested fee in the following billing cycle, following Roundtrip’s standard payment schedule.
- Please note: Roundtrip can only approve additional fees if the ride is facility paid and Roundtrip is the payment intermediary.
