What Should an After-Hours Callout Cost?
A 9pm callout is a round trip, a night off gone and the same work at the wrong end of the day. If the fee is a number you picked years ago, it is probably not covering that. Build it from the parts instead.
Set your normal rate, the trip and the after-hours multiplier. The calculator builds the callout fee and the first-hour total from those.
Emergency Callout Fee Calculator
All figures excluding GST. Nothing is sent to us.
Your normal daytime rate, excluding GST.
Applied to travel time and time on site.
Fuel, servicing, tyres, rego, insurance and wear, not fuel alone.
Set to zero if the job is labour only.
Added on top of your cost price.
Covers the round trip only. Time on site and parts are on top.
An estimate built from your own inputs, not pricing advice. Figures exclude GST and tolls. If you employ staff, make sure the after-hours multiplier covers what you are required to pay them for that work.
What the Two Figures Mean
The callout fee covers getting there and back. The first-hour total is what the customer should expect to pay before any extra time or parts.
Callout fee
The cost of the round trip: vehicle running cost for the kilometres, plus your travel time charged at the after-hours labour rate. This is the fee you quote on the phone before you leave the house, and it applies whether the job takes ten minutes or three hours.
First-hour total
The callout fee, plus the minimum labour charge at the after-hours rate, plus the materials used in that first hour with your margin applied. It is the number to give the customer so the invoice is never a surprise.
The multiplier is the after-hours premium
Your standard hourly rate multiplied by the after-hours factor gives the labour rate for the callout. It applies to travel time as well as time on site, because the drive at 9pm is a cost too. Set it to what your customers will accept and your evenings are worth.
How the Fee Is Built
Four parts, each shown separately in the results so you can see which one is driving the total.
Vehicle cost for the trip
Distance each way, doubled for the return, multiplied by your cost per kilometre. Use a figure that includes fuel, servicing, tyres and wear, not just fuel.
Travel time at the after-hours rate
Travel minutes each way, doubled and converted to hours, multiplied by your standard rate and the after-hours multiplier.
Callout fee
Vehicle cost plus travel labour. This is the headline figure. It does not include any time on site.
First-hour total
Callout fee, plus the minimum hours at the after-hours rate (never less than one hour), plus materials at cost with your margin added.
Why the Fee Is Usually Too Low
Three things tradies leave out of an after-hours callout fee, and what each one does to the number.
Charging fuel instead of the vehicle
Fuel is a fraction of what a kilometre costs once servicing, tyres, registration, insurance and depreciation are spread across the year. A per-kilometre figure that only covers fuel makes every callout a small loss on the vehicle that nobody notices until the next big service bill.
- Work out your real cost per kilometre from a year of vehicle spending
- Include the loan or lease repayment in the annual total
- Tolls on the way there and back are extra and worth adding to the invoice
- Re-check the figure whenever fuel prices move a lot
Not stating the fee before you leave
Most callout disputes come from the number being mentioned for the first time on the doorstep. State the callout fee and the minimum charge on the phone, send it by text so there is a record, and ask the customer to confirm. If they are not willing to pay it, better to know before you drive.
- Quote the callout fee and the minimum charge in the same sentence
- Text the figure so both sides have it in writing
- Say what is not included, usually parts and time beyond the minimum
- Ask for a reply before you get in the ute
Parts sold at cost
The fitting you keep in the van cost you money to buy, to stock and to replace on the next supplier run. Selling it at cost turns that into unpaid work. A margin on materials is normal in every trade and belongs in the after-hours quote just as it does in a daytime one.
- Apply a consistent materials margin so quoting is quick and defensible
- Emergency parts bought at retail after hours should carry the retail price at least
- Keep a short price list for the parts you most often use on callouts
- Put materials as a separate line on the invoice so the fee is clear
Next Steps
Tradie Hourly Rate Calculator
The callout fee is built on your standard rate. Check that rate is right first.
Check your rate →After-Hours Call Answering for Tradies
A callout fee is worth nothing if the 9pm call rings out. See how the call gets answered.
See how it works →Tradie Job Booking Checklist
What to ask before you leave so the emergency trip is not a wasted one.
Open the checklist →Frequently Asked Questions
What is a reasonable after-hours multiplier?
There is no fixed figure and this calculator does not suggest one. It depends on your trade, your area, what your competitors do and what your evenings are worth to you. The slider lets you try different values and see what each one does to the fee. If you employ staff, check the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guides for what your award or agreement requires you to pay them for after-hours work, because the multiplier needs to cover that at a minimum.
Should I charge for travel time on a callout?
The calculator does, at the after-hours rate, because the drive is time you are working and could not spend on anything else. Some tradies fold travel into a flat callout fee rather than showing it separately, which is fine as long as the flat fee is built from the real trip. The mistake is charging a flat fee that was set for a five-minute drive and applying it to a forty-minute one.
Why does the first-hour total use the minimum hours?
Because the minimum charge is what the customer pays even if the job takes fifteen minutes. If your minimum is two hours, the first-hour total shows two hours of labour, since that is the smallest invoice the customer can receive. If you set the minimum to one hour, it shows one. The calculator never charges less than one hour of labour on site.
Is the fee shown including GST?
No. Every figure is shown excluding GST so it lines up with the rates most tradies think in. If you are registered for GST, add it when you quote the customer and make it clear on the phone and the text whether the figure you gave was inclusive or not. Mixing the two is a common cause of invoice disputes.
How do I work out my cost per kilometre?
Add up a year of vehicle spending: fuel, servicing, tyres, registration, insurance, repairs and the loan or lease repayments, and add an allowance for depreciation. Divide the total by the kilometres you drove that year. The result is usually well above what fuel alone suggests. If you do not have a year of records, start with the slider default and replace it once you do.
Does this send my figures anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is transmitted to us. The sliders are saved in your own browser so they stay put if you come back, and the reset button clears them. No sign-up and no email address needed.
Sources and further reading
- Fair Work Ombudsman: pay, awards and conditions (Fair Work Ombudsman)
Now Make Sure the 9pm Call Gets Answered
A callout fee only earns money when the after-hours call reaches someone who can quote it and book the job. Tell us your trade and your usual hours and we will show you how that works.