Self-drive hire charges: pricing overtime, extra kilometres and deposits
By The Odobase team Published
Self-drive hire looks simple until the first late return. Was 20 minutes late free? Is two hours and ten minutes two hours or three? Who pays for the 180 kilometres over the limit? Clear rules, applied the same way every time, save arguments at the counter and money at month end.
How should overtime be charged on a late return?
Set a grace period, such as 30 or 60 minutes, and use it as a threshold:
- Returned within the grace period: no overtime.
- Returned beyond it: charge for the whole extra time, rounded up to the next hour or day.
So with a 30-minute grace on hourly overtime, a car 15 minutes late costs nothing extra, while a car 90 minutes late is charged two extra hours, not one. This keeps small delays friendly while making real lateness predictable.
How should extra kilometres be charged?
Only charge excess kilometres when three things are true:
- The hire has a kilometre allowance.
- The hire has a rate per extra kilometre.
- You have both odometer readings, at handover and at return.
If any is missing, bill no excess. Unlimited mileage is a common and valid offer, and a missing reading should never quietly turn into a charge. The allowance is simplest as one total for the whole hire rather than per day.
What about early returns?
An early return usually does not earn an automatic refund; the car was reserved for the full period. If you choose to give money back as a goodwill gesture, adjust the rental line before you issue the invoice.
How should security deposits be handled?
A deposit protects you against damage and unpaid charges. It is not revenue: you are holding it and will normally return it. Record it on the hire, mention it on the invoice as a note, and keep it out of your sales figures.
Record the evidence at both ends
Every rule above depends on facts from handover and return: the times, the odometer readings, and photos of the car’s condition. Recording them on the spot, every time, is what makes the charges defensible.
Odobase self-drive hire applies these rules automatically: grace periods as thresholds, overtime rounded up, excess kilometres only with an allowance and a rate, and deposits kept out of revenue.