4 ms·

More like bill one client $1000/hr for travel and work on another client's $1000/hr case during the trip. /nojoke

gamblor956 4y ago
That is fraud, and if you get caught you would be looking at prison time. And in the case of the legal and accounting professions, doing this will get your license revoked.
- SkyPuncher 4y ago
  It's inconclusive if it's fraud without knowing contract details. If you're being paid simply to travel, then it is not fraudulent to also work on another client. If your being paid to travel _and_ focus on that client, then it would be fraudulent to work on another client.
  - tomatowurst 4y ago
    question: how would they know?
    - rogers18445 4y ago
      If they suspect and sue it would come out during discovery. There is very little you can do to hide that fact at any point.
  - gamblor956 4y ago
    No, if you are paid by a client hourly for travel, you cannot bill that same hour to another client. That's bog standard for every profession. If you bill two clients for the same hour, that's "double billing," and it's fraud, and a number of accountants and lawyers have had their licenses suspended or (more commonly) terminated over this. Most of them usually plea bargain to avoid time behind bars, and this is generally acceptable because the true punishment is that their professional career is dead. Very few (basically no) client will agree to pay you for travel time while also permitting you to work on another client's case for that same time. (Note however that if invoicing client for expenses like tickets but not for travel time, it is generally acceptable to work on another client's matter during the time spent traveling.)
    - SkyPuncher 4y ago
      Oh, yea, I agree that by default you should assume that travel time == client time. I'm getting a bit "well, technically" on this. While rare, it is possible to have a contract that allows for this.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]

That is fraud, and if you get caught you would be looking at prison time. And in the case of the legal and accounting professions, doing this will get your license revoked.

SkyPuncher 4y ago
It's inconclusive if it's fraud without knowing contract details. If you're being paid simply to travel, then it is not fraudulent to also work on another client. If your being paid to travel _and_ focus on that client, then it would be fraudulent to work on another client.
- tomatowurst 4y ago
  question: how would they know?
  - rogers18445 4y ago
    If they suspect and sue it would come out during discovery. There is very little you can do to hide that fact at any point.
- gamblor956 4y ago
  No, if you are paid by a client hourly for travel, you cannot bill that same hour to another client. That's bog standard for every profession. If you bill two clients for the same hour, that's "double billing," and it's fraud, and a number of accountants and lawyers have had their licenses suspended or (more commonly) terminated over this. Most of them usually plea bargain to avoid time behind bars, and this is generally acceptable because the true punishment is that their professional career is dead. Very few (basically no) client will agree to pay you for travel time while also permitting you to work on another client's case for that same time. (Note however that if invoicing client for expenses like tickets but not for travel time, it is generally acceptable to work on another client's matter during the time spent traveling.)
  - SkyPuncher 4y ago
    Oh, yea, I agree that by default you should assume that travel time == client time. I'm getting a bit "well, technically" on this. While rare, it is possible to have a contract that allows for this.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]