15-Minute Proration

15-minute proration works in the customer’s favor on every minute the crew finishes before a full hour. A move that runs 3 hours 15 minutes is billed at 3.25 hours, not 4 hours; a move that runs 4 hours 45 minutes is billed at 4.75 hours, not 5 hours. The proration kicks in after the 2-hour minimum, so the first 2 hours are billed at the minimum and any time beyond that is prorated. Across a typical local move, 15-minute proration saves the customer 15-45 minutes of billing compared to a carrier that rounds up to the next hour — meaningful money on a multi-hour move.

15-minute proration is one of the cleanest signals of a carrier’s billing practices. Carriers that round up to the next full hour after the minimum take the worst-case minute from the customer on every move. Carriers that prorate in 15-minute increments charge for what was actually worked. The math compounds: a 30-mover-per-day carrier rounding up to the next hour collects significant additional revenue from time that was never worked. Customers comparing local movers should ask specifically about proration policy; it tells you more about how the carrier treats time and money than the headline hourly rate does.

Muscleman Elite prorates local-move time in 15-minute increments after the 2-hour minimum. A move that runs 3 hours 17 minutes is billed at 3.25 hours, not 4. The proration policy is stated on every written estimate. This is one of the concrete ways our billing favors the customer rather than the carrier.

When does the 15-minute proration start?

After the 2-hour minimum. The first 2 hours are billed at the minimum; any time beyond that is prorated in 15-minute increments. A move that runs 3 hours 15 minutes is billed at 3.25 hours.

Do all movers prorate in 15-minute increments?

No — many carriers round up to the next hour after the minimum, which takes the worst-case minute from the customer on every move. We prorate in 15-minute increments because that’s the fair way to bill for time actually worked. Ask any carrier you’re comparing what their proration policy is.

How much does proration save on a typical move?

Depends on where the move ends in the hour. On average, 15-minute proration saves 15-30 minutes of billing per move compared to hour-rounding — at typical local rates, that’s tens of dollars saved per job that the customer would otherwise pay for time the crew didn’t work.