Is Your 24/7 and After-Hours Work Actually Profitable? Most HVAC Owners Don't Know.

There's a badge of honor in HVAC: being the company that answers the phone at 2 AM. The one that never says no. The one that "hustles."

I get it. Customer service matters. Reputation matters. Being there when people are freezing or sweating is what separates you from the big box guys.

But here's a question most HVAC owners can't answer: Is your after-hours service actually making money?

Not "does it feel worth it." Not "do customers appreciate it." Does the math work?

Most owners don't know. And when we run the numbers, they're often surprised.

The Hidden Costs of After-Hours Calls

You charge a premium for after-hours. Maybe $150 service fee instead of $89. Maybe time-and-a-half on labor. You assume that premium covers the extra cost.

But let's look at what actually costs you money on a 10 PM emergency call:

1. Overtime Labor

If your tech is hourly, you're paying 1.5x. A $32/hour tech becomes $48/hour. With burden (taxes, workers' comp, benefits), that $48 becomes $65-70/hour real cost.

If your tech is on salary with an on-call bonus, you're still paying something—often $50-100 just to have them available, plus more if they roll.

2. True Drive Time

Daytime calls are often routed efficiently. Your dispatcher batches them by geography. After-hours? The tech drives from home—maybe 30-45 minutes each way to a call that's on the other side of your service area.

That's an hour+ of drive time at overtime rates. Call it $65-70 before the tech even touches the equipment.

3. Next-Day Impact

Here's one people miss: a tech who ran a 2 AM call is tired the next day. Maybe they start late. Maybe they're less sharp. Maybe they miss something and you end up with a callback.

Hard to quantify, but it's real. Especially if you have techs running after-hours multiple times a week.

4. Parts Markup Compression

On a normal service call, you sell parts at your standard markup. On an emergency call, customers sometimes push back: "You're already charging me $150 just to show up—now you want $300 for a capacitor?"

Some shops discount parts on emergency calls to soften the blow. That eats margin.

Running the Math: Is This Call Profitable?

Let's calculate a real example:

The call: 10 PM emergency, AC not cooling. Tech drives 40 minutes, diagnoses bad capacitor, replaces it, drives home. Total time: 2.5 hours.

What you charge:

• After-hours service fee: $149
• Diagnostic: $0 (rolled into service fee)
• Labor (1 hour at after-hours rate): $175
• Capacitor: $89
• Total invoice: $413

What it costs you:

• Tech labor: 2.5 hours × $65/hour (OT burdened) = $162.50
• Truck/fuel: ~$25
• Capacitor cost: $22
• On-call bonus (if applicable): $25
• Total cost: ~$235

Gross profit: $178 on a 2.5-hour call. That's $71/hour of tech time.

Compare that to a daytime call with similar scope:

• Invoice: $89 service fee + $125 labor + $89 part = $303
• Cost: 1.5 hours × $45 burdened + $15 truck + $22 part = $105
• Gross profit: $198. That's $132/hour of tech time.

The after-hours call brings in more revenue but makes 45% less per hour than a normal daytime call.

"Revenue isn't profit. A $400 invoice at 2 AM might make less money than a $300 invoice at 2 PM."

Three Scenarios I See

When we run this analysis for HVAC clients, we typically find one of three things:

Scenario 1: After-Hours Is a Net Loser

Some calls—especially long drives for small repairs—actually lose money. The premium doesn't cover the overtime and drive time. You're paying for the privilege of working at midnight.

Fix: Raise after-hours rates, add minimum invoice amounts, or limit service area for night calls.

Scenario 2: After-Hours Breaks Even

The premium covers the extra cost, but there's no real margin. You're doing it for customer service and reputation, not profit.

Question: Is the reputation value worth the opportunity cost? Could that tech's availability be used more profitably elsewhere?

Scenario 3: After-Hours Is Profitable (If Priced Right)

Some shops have figured it out. They charge enough that after-hours calls are actually a profit center. Usually this means $175+ service fees, premium labor rates, and no discounting.

Key: They're not apologetic about the pricing. "We're here when you need us. That costs more."

Questions to Ask Yourself

You don't need a CFO to start evaluating this. Here's what to look at:

1. What's your average after-hours ticket? Pull the last 20 after-hours invoices.
2. What's your average tech time per after-hours call? Include drive time, not just on-site time.
3. What's your true overtime labor cost? Wages × 1.5 × burden rate.
4. What's the effective hourly margin? (Invoice - Cost) ÷ Total Tech Hours.
5. How does that compare to daytime calls?

If after-hours margin per hour is significantly lower than daytime, you have a pricing problem or a cost problem.

The Bottom Line

Being the company that answers at 2 AM is valuable. But "valuable" and "profitable" aren't the same thing.

Run the math on your after-hours service. Know whether it's a profit center, a break-even reputation play, or a charity you're unintentionally running.

Then make a conscious decision about how to price it—or whether to offer it at all.