High Earning Potential

HOW MUCH DO DRIVING INSTRUCTORS EARN?
At UDrive we think it is important to be transparent about earnings. When job hunting, people often look at the salary and would generally favour a higher salary over a lower one; but the figures are worked out differently when you run your own business and it is harder to directly compare. 

When you are employed by a company, your salary is the figure you are taxed upon. For example, your take-home pay after tax on a £30,000 salary would actually only be £24,040. 

But when running a business, you are only taxed on your profit after expenditures. So whilst your UDrive business turnover might be £30,000 also, you would pay less tax than someone whose salary is £30,000.

Here is an overview of some expenditures you probably already have, but will be able to claim against your UDrive business. These costs are tax deductible with your UDrive business, but they would otherwise have to be paid out after tax if you were employed with a salary. 

• Car finance 
• Car insurance
• MOT/Servicing
• Fuel
• Mobile phone
• Broadband
• Computer expenses 
• Stationery 
• Postage
• Well being 
• Work clothing
• Optician/glasses

New expenditures you do not already have:

• Franchise fee
• Increased fuel bill
• Increased car servicing 
• Accountant’s bill (if you choose to use one)

So you can see that the overheads of running a driving instructor business are not very different to your current overheads.

How much you can charge per hour varies slightly depending on location, but with UDrive you will earn more than with other driving schools. We are always striving to keep your hourly rate high and can bespokely change it at any time to increase your profit. 

As a guide, if you work 16-25 hours a week for a period of 48 weeks, your turnover will be around £23,000 – £36,000 per year. Working 25-40 hours, your turnover will be £36,000 – £57,600 per year.

But remember, these are turnover figures; once you factor in your expenditures, you will know your profit, which is the taxable figure. 

INDEPENDENT DRIVING INSTRUCTOR VS UDRIVE INSTRUCTOR
We cannot advise on how much you would earn per hour of your time if you became an independent ADI, because so much of the time you put in would not be paid work. Driving instructors WITHOUT a franchise have to spend a vast deal of time marketing themselves and fielding enquiries from potential customers; the time wasted on the administrative side of things cuts into their earnings drastically. This is even more true at the initial stages of being an independent ADI, as it takes several years to build a solid reputation and expansive customer base. 

When you join UDrive, the pupils are provided for you, and you immediately acquire the fantastic reputation that we have worked hard to gain and retain since 2004. You are able to choose which hours to work, and to keep your own diary; but organisation is not a problem thanks to our easy-to-use booking system and calendar with text alerts.

In short, joining UDrive means every hour you work is an hour you get paid for. The expense of our reasonable franchise fee is easily cancelled out just by the time you save from not doing administrative work, and the fact we will ensure your diary is always full so you have the means to teach as many hours as you have available. 

We also charge a higher hourly rate than other driving schools, which equates to much greater earnings for our instructors. On average, our instructors will earn £1500 more per year with each £1 rise of the lesson price. Our direct competitors are currently charging £3 less than us per hour lesson, allowing UDrive franchisees to earn £4500 more per year.