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Job profit and after-hours calculator

Put in one real job: the price, the parts, the drive and the time on site. See what you kept, and what to charge for the same job at 2 a.m.

Example job. A $175 lockout, 20 minutes each way. Change any number to match a real job of yours.

The job

$

Everything the customer paid, trip fee included.

$

What the parts cost you, not what you charged.

min
mi
min
$

What the tech costs you an hour, or what you pay yourself.

$

Fuel only: gas price ÷ miles per gallon. Fuel, wear and insurance: the IRS business rate is 72.5¢ for January to June 2026.

%

From your processor's statement.

$

Use 0 if there isn't one.

Profit on this job

Profit

$91.22

Margin

52.1%

Profit as a share of the price

Where the money went
CostAmountHow
Parts$20.00What you paid
Labor$40.831.17 h × $35.00
Vehicle$17.4024 mi × $0.73
Card fee$5.553% + $0.30
Total cost$83.78Out of $175.00

That's $78.19 of profit for each hour the job took, drive included.

The same job at night

What does a night call cost you that a day call doesn't? Set it here, and see the surcharge that keeps the night job paying the same.

%

50% is time and a half for the tech.

$

On-call pay, a later start next morning.

$

0 means the night job pays the same as the day job.

After-hours surcharge

Charge at least

$36.51

Night work costs you $35.42 more

Rounded for your price list

$40

23% of the day price

At night this job is $215.00 and earns $94.60, against $91.22 by day. The surcharge is a little higher than the extra cost because the card fee takes its share of it too.

Set night, weekend and holiday surcharges once. The AI receptionist adds the right one to every quote.

Set your night surcharge in LockCommand

How to use it

A $175 lockout sounds like a good job until you take out the parts, the 40 minutes of driving, the gas and the card fee. This calculator shows what is left, then works out how much more a night call has to cost so it pays you as well as the same job in daylight.

How to use it

  1. Pick a real job from last week and enter what the customer paid.
  2. Enter what the parts cost you, the drive time and miles there and back, and the time on site.
  3. Set a labor cost per hour and a vehicle cost per mile. The questions below help you pick them.
  4. Leave "Paid by card" on if they paid by card, and enter your processor's fee.
  5. In the night section, enter what a night call costs you that a day call doesn't.

How the profit is worked out

  • Labor = (drive minutes + minutes on site) ÷ 60 × labor cost per hour.
  • Vehicle = miles × cost per mile.
  • Card fee = price × card percent + the fixed fee per payment.
  • Profit = price − parts − labor − vehicle − card fee. Margin = profit ÷ price.

How the night surcharge is worked out

Extra night cost = labor × your night premium + any other extra cost per call. The surcharge has to cover that, plus any extra profit you want, after the card fee takes its percent of the surcharge. So the surcharge = (extra cost + extra profit) ÷ (1 − card percent). The rounded figure goes up to the next $5 so it reads well on a price list.

A worked example

A $175 lockout with $20 of parts, 40 minutes of driving and 30 minutes on site, at $35 an hour of labor. 24 miles at 72.5 cents is $17.40. A 3% card fee plus 30 cents is $5.55. Labor is 70 ÷ 60 × $35 = $40.83. Total cost is $83.78, so the profit is $91.22, a 52.1% margin.

At night your tech is on time and a half, so labor costs 50% more ($20.42), and you add $15 for the on-call cost. That is $35.42 of extra cost. Divided by 0.97 for the card fee, the surcharge has to be at least $36.51. On a price list, $40.

Sources

  • IRS standard mileage rates: irs.gov, standard mileage rates. Business use is 72.5 cents a mile for January 1 to June 30, 2026 and 76 cents from July 1, 2026. Last checked October 2026.
  • Card fees differ by processor and by how the card is taken. Use the numbers on your own statement.

Once you know your night surcharge, put it in your price book so every quote includes it.

Questions

What should I use for labor cost per hour?
For a tech, use what they cost you an hour, with payroll taxes and benefits if you pay them. If you work alone, use what you want to pay yourself an hour. The hourly cost calculator can help you find that number.
Which cost per mile should I use?
Use fuel only if your van payment and insurance are already counted somewhere else, like in your hourly rate. Use the IRS business rate if you want one number that covers fuel, wear and insurance. It is 72.5 cents a mile for January to June 2026 and 76 cents from July 2026.
Why is the surcharge higher than the extra night cost?
If the customer pays by card, the card fee takes a percent of the surcharge as well. The calculator grosses the surcharge up so you keep the full amount after the fee.
Should I charge a flat amount or a percent after hours?
A flat amount is easier to say on the phone and fits jobs where the night cost is mostly your time. A percent grows with bigger jobs. LockCommand takes either one.
Does drive time really count as labor?
Yes. The hour you spend driving to a job is an hour you can't spend on another one, and a paid tech is on the clock while driving. Leaving it out makes far jobs look better than they are.

More for your shop

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