← Propane delivery route margin calculator
A low-volume account's annual gallon count does not say whether the trip to fill their tank turns a profit. That number does not show the mileage, your own drive and stop-time labor, the tank rental you carry every month whether they take one delivery or four, or whether the fill is small enough that a minimum-delivery fee should apply. Two customers with the same "gallons a year" figure can land on opposite sides of zero once those come out.
Open the free route margin calculator
Fill size, not just volume. The same annual gallons split into many small top-offs means more separate truck trips than the same volume taken in fewer, larger fills — and each trip carries its own mileage and labor cost no matter how few gallons go into the tank.
Tank rental, whether or not the truck rolls. If you own the tank at the customer's property, the lease or amortized cost runs every month regardless of delivery frequency — it is the line most likely to get folded invisibly into "the price per gallon" instead of counted on its own.
Hazmat compliance cost. Your DOT hazmat endorsement, vehicle, and cargo-insurance cost has to be allocated across your customer base somehow, and a low-volume account carries the same share as a high-volume one.
The minimum-delivery fee, if you charge one. Dispatching a truck costs roughly the same whether the fill is 300 gallons or 70 — a minimum-delivery fee on small fills is how many dealers recover that fixed dispatch cost instead of eating it on every small stop.
A customer takes 220 gallons a year in small 70-gallon fills, at a $2.49 retail price against a $1.55 wholesale cost, over an 18-mile round trip at $0.95/mile, 20 minutes on-site plus 22 minutes round-trip drive at a $28/hour target rate, a $5/month tank rental, and a $3.50/month hazmat compliance allocation. First with no minimum-delivery fee charged, even though the 70-gallon fill is below a 100-gallon minimum-delivery threshold:
| Figure | No minimum fee | With a $45 minimum fee |
|---|---|---|
| Deliveries per year | 3.14 (220 ÷ 70) | |
| Fuel margin revenue | $206.80 (220 × $0.94) | |
| Minimum-delivery fee revenue | $0.00 (not charged) | $141.43 (3.14 × $45) |
| Annual revenue | $206.80 | $348.23 |
| Mileage | $53.74 (18 mi × $0.95 × 3.14 trips) | |
| Your labor | $61.60 (2.2 hrs/yr at $28/hr) | |
| Tank rental + hazmat | $102.00 ($60 + $42/yr) | |
| Total annual cost | $217.34 | |
| Net profit (annual) | −$10.54 | $130.89 |
| Net profit (monthly) | −$0.88 | $10.91 |
| Profit margin | −5.1% | 37.6% |
| Profit per gallon | −$0.05 | $0.59 |
Same customer, same 220 gallons, same 18-mile trip — a small-fill account that quietly loses money every year turns into real profit once a $45 minimum-delivery fee recovers the fixed cost of the dispatch. The fee did not change what the customer uses; it changed who pays for the trip a small fill still requires.
Subtract mileage, your own drive and stop-time labor, tank rental, and hazmat compliance cost from the fuel margin (retail minus wholesale price times annual gallons) plus any minimum-delivery fee the fill size triggers. A 220-gallon-a-year customer taking small 70-gallon fills can lose about $10.54 a year with no minimum fee charged, and turn into a $130.89 annual profit once a $45 minimum-delivery fee is added — same customer, same gallons, same drive.
Because the same annual gallons split into smaller fills means more separate truck trips — each carrying its own mileage and drive/stop-time labor cost regardless of how few gallons go into the tank that visit. A customer who could take the same annual volume in half as many fills costs you roughly half the trips for the identical fuel margin.
It is the most direct lever, because it recovers the fixed cost of dispatching a truck regardless of fill size, but it is not the only one. Widening the retail/wholesale spread for that customer, batching their delivery with a neighboring stop to cut mileage, or asking them to accept a larger tank and fewer, bigger fills can each move the number — a minimum fee is simply the one that does not depend on the customer changing anything.
No. It only prices the route economics of deliveries you have already scheduled, from numbers you supply. Whether a customer's tank can safely go longer between fills, and how much propane it needs, are supply and safety questions for your own licensed judgment — this tool never touches them.