HVAC
HVAC Overtime Calculator
Work out what overtime actually costs once the premium is applied to a burdened rate rather than a bare wage.
Result
Burden applies to the overtime rate as well as the base wage, which is the part most often forgotten. This does not price the hidden costs: tired crews make more mistakes, and a callback erases the margin on the hours that caused it.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- The premium rate and the hours it applies to.
- Burden, which applies to overtime hours as well as regular ones.
- Whether the overtime work is billed at a premium or absorbed.
Where this one goes wrong
Working overtime at standard billing rates. If the labour costs a premium and the work bills at the normal rate, the margin on those hours is far lower and can be negative.
Questions
About this calculator
Should emergency work be priced at a premium?
Generally yes, and stated clearly when the customer calls. The labour costs more, parts availability is worse and the disruption is real. Customers calling at night usually expect it.
Is overtime cheaper than hiring?
For short peaks, often. Sustained, it costs more per hour than an additional technician and carries fatigue and retention risks that do not appear in the arithmetic.
Does burden apply to overtime?
Payroll taxes and workers compensation do, so overtime carries its premium on a burdened base rather than on the wage. That makes it more expensive than the headline multiplier suggests.
The formula
cost = hours x wage x multiplier x (1 + burden%)
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How to use this calculator
- Overtime hours. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 6.
- Normal hourly wage ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $28.
- Overtime multiplier. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.5.
- Labour burden (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 28%.
- Rate charged to the customer ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $145.
- Premium added to the customer's rate (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 25%.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to what the overtime costs you, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Overtime hours | 6 |
| Normal hourly wage | $28 |
| Overtime multiplier | 1.5 |
| Labour burden | 28% |
| Rate charged to the customer | $145 |
| Premium added to the customer's rate | 25% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| What the overtime costs you main result | $322.56 |
| What you bill for it | $1,088 |
| Gross profit on the overtime | $764.94 |
| Margin on those hours | 70.3% |
The overtime costs $322.56 and bills $1,088, a 70.3% margin on those hours.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only normal hourly wage, this is what happens to what the overtime costs you. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Normal hourly wage ($) | What the overtime costs you |
|---|---|
| $14 | $161.28 |
| $21 | $241.92 |
| $28 example above | $322.56 |
| $42 | $483.84 |
| $56 | $645.12 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Overtime hours
- A number, between 0 and 200, starting at 6.
- Normal hourly wage ($)
- A money amount, starting at $28.
- Overtime multiplier
- A number, between 1 and 3, starting at 1.5.
- Labour burden (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 120, starting at 28%.
- Rate charged to the customer ($)
- A money amount, starting at $145.
- Premium added to the customer's rate (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 200, starting at 25%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| What the overtime costs you | The headline result. A money figure. |
| What you bill for it | A money figure. |
| Gross profit on the overtime | A money figure. |
| Margin on those hours | A percentage. |
Before you rely on this number
Sizing, capacity and load figures here are planning estimates. A real installation depends on the manufacturer's data for the specific equipment, the duct system it is going into, and a proper load calculation for the building. Use this to sanity-check a number or price a job, not to select equipment.
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.