How Can You Tell Whether Your First 100 Deliveries Were Profitable?

Use confirmed earnings, full work miles, time, and vehicle costs to see what your first 100 deliveries actually produced.

By TRUE Driver Profit · October 7, 2026

Your first 100 deliveries can show whether the work is producing profit—but the count alone does not answer the question. One hundred short lunch trips are different from one hundred long routes, and your first month may not match the season or schedule you will work later. Use the milestone to build a clear personal baseline.

Gather the numbers for each completed trip

Use the final amount that actually posted, not only the offer estimate. Collect the date, platform, miles driven for work, time spent, and direct expenses. Include approach, return, and repositioning miles when they were part of your delivery work. If you worked across multiple apps, record each trip while counting overlapping time only once in your shift total.

For records that support income and expenses, keep the relevant receipts, app statements, mileage notes, and other supporting documents organized. IRS guidance says a recordkeeping system should clearly show business income and expenses; tax treatment depends on your circumstances and the method you use.

Calculate profit, not just payout

Total confirmed earnings = final payouts, tips, and incentives actually received for the period.
Estimated vehicle cost = work miles × your personal vehicle cost per mile.
Estimated profit = confirmed earnings − vehicle cost − other work expenses.
Profit per work mile = estimated profit ÷ work miles.
Profit per work hour = estimated profit ÷ total hours spent working or available.

Do not use a tax mileage rate as though it were your exact operating cost. Keep your business-planning estimate separate from tax calculations, and avoid counting fuel or vehicle costs twice if your chosen method already includes them.

Look for patterns inside the 100

Break results down by platform, store, day of week, time block, order type, and mileage range. A single overall average can hide a store with long waits or a time window that consistently produces poor results. Compare similar trips with similar trips, and include actual time rather than relying only on offer estimates.

Check the median or typical trip as well as the total. One unusually large payout can raise the average, while a cluster of slow routes can pull down your full-shift hourly result. Keep unusual trips in the record; label them so you can decide whether they represent a rare event or a normal part of the work.

Decide what to change next

Ask: Which trips produced the strongest profit per hour and per mile? Which stores or time periods added unproductive waiting? Did return miles or expenses change the result? Did your final payouts match the estimates often enough to rely on them? Use those answers to adjust your personal offer targets and schedule, then review the next 50 or 100 deliveries using the same method.

Your first 100 are a useful checkpoint, not a guarantee of future earnings. Markets, costs, and platform conditions change. Continue tracking so you can see whether your results are improving, holding steady, or slipping.