How it works
Zippabout does one thing: it turns a job offer into a real hourly rate, and shows every step so you can check it yourself. There is no clever model and nothing hidden. Just the sums you would do on the back of an envelope, done fast.
What you tell it
For each job you are offered, you type in three numbers:
- Offered pay in pounds, the amount the job is worth to you.
- Distance in miles, the driving the job involves.
- Total time in minutes, door to door. That means the driving plus the wait at pickup and at drop-off, not just the drive.
What it works out
Then it does four sums, in order, and puts each one on the screen:
- Mileage cost = distance times your cost per mile. If a job is 8 miles and your cost per mile is 45p, that is 8 times 0.45, which is 3.60.
- Net pay = offered pay minus your costs. If the pay is 10.00 and the mileage cost is 3.60, your net pay is 6.40. If you have set other costs per hour, those come off too.
- Hours = total time in minutes divided by 60. So 30 minutes is 0.50 of an hour.
- Net pay per hour = net pay divided by hours. 6.40 over 0.50 of an hour is 12.80 an hour.
The verdict
The last number, net pay per hour, is the one that matters. Zippabout compares it against your floor, the least you are willing to take home per hour after costs, and gives a plain verdict:
- Good: at or above your floor.
- Marginal: within 10% under your floor. Close, your call.
- Below your floor: more than 10% under. The job pays less than you said you would accept.
Your two settings
You set two things once, and they are used on every job. Cost per mile defaults to 45p. That is the HMRC approved mileage rate for the first 10,000 miles, an open public figure that is meant to cover fuel plus wear and tear. Change it to your real running cost if you know it. Your floor is the hourly take-home you will not go below. You pick the number. Nobody sets it for you.
Logging and the weekly picture
When you accept a job you can log it. Zippabout keeps a history and adds up your week: total net pay, total hours, your average pay per hour, how many jobs cleared your floor, and your best and worst job. The average is the honest one, total money kept divided by total hours worked, not a flattering mean.
The honest bits
These are estimates to help you decide, not a wage slip and not tax advice. The mileage rate is a rule-of-thumb cost, not your exact fuel bill. Time is your estimate, so a job that drags on will really pay less per hour than the check said. Treat the number as a good working guide.
Common questions
How does Zippabout work out the real pay per hour?
It takes the offered pay and subtracts your running costs, then divides what is left by the time the job takes. Mileage cost is the distance times your cost per mile. Net pay is the offer minus that cost. Hours are the total minutes divided by 60. Net pay per hour is the net pay divided by the hours. Every one of those lines is shown on screen.
What counts as the total time for a job?
Door to door. The driving, plus the wait at pickup and the wait at drop-off. Counting only the driving is the most common mistake and it flatters the hourly rate, sometimes badly.
What is the default cost per mile?
HMRC's approved mileage rate for your vehicle type. That is 55p a mile for a car or van on the first 10,000 business miles, 24p for a motorbike and 20p for a bicycle. It is a published public figure meant to cover fuel plus wear, not a measurement of your own vehicle, and you can change it to your real cost.
What is my floor?
The least you are willing to take home per hour after costs. You choose it. It starts at £12.71, the National Living Wage for people aged 21 and over from April 2026, as a reference point only. A self-employed worker is not entitled to the minimum wage, and gets no holiday pay or pension, so many people set their floor higher.
What do the good, marginal and below verdicts mean?
Good means the job is at or above your floor. Marginal means it is within 10% under your floor, so it is close and it is your call. Below your floor means it is more than 10% under what you said you would accept.
How is the weekly average worked out?
Total money kept divided by total hours worked. That is the honest figure. Averaging the per-job rates instead would let a quick, well-paid job flatter a week made up mostly of slow ones.
Is this a wage slip or tax advice?
No. The figures are estimates built from numbers you typed in, including your own guess at how long a job will take. It is a working guide for a decision, not a record and not advice. For tax, go to gov.uk.