Well, actually Robert I'm signed up with a petroleum company - a year contract and what a sweet deal - I am also given a meal allowance per day for a county that was already in my territory for abstracting.  Abstracting business is still opened to the tune of what my son can do as I have trained him for years - he doesn't have to make as much money as I do and I still monitor his work - check it at night before going out.  I was hit too hard this year.  Before, though, I always have charged my surveyor and engineer clients a per hour rate because that is the only way you could do large highway projects, etc.  If I went to the same county for 2 clients and worked several hours each, my drive time was split between the 2 clients and actually if I had some flat fee work for that county, I took a little off from the hourly rate clients.  When you flat fee as we do for some of our services our time time is part of the fee.  However, like I said before, we have been hit so hard in Texas that everyone has to place a minimum order amount to cover the travel time - many times we have one order per county per day now.  Has to be done. 

I did mention some time ago that petroleum and oil and gas companies were going to take the abstracting businesses and they are.  I was scouted out big time.  If I didn't love my kids so much I could work in Colorado for 1,000 a day plus all expenses.  I had a title company call me and say their abstractor up and left to Colorado - gave them the heads up on the situation.  Everyone deserves not one of us to be left in the industry - When the Records Come Off-Line and They Have No One to Go Get Them.