Overtime cost is the extra labor cost a field service company pays when technicians work beyond their regular scheduled hours, usually at a premium rate set by law or by company policy.
How to calculate overtime cost
For one technician over a pay period:
Overtime cost = Overtime hours × Base hourly rate × Overtime multiplier
To track it as a trend, report it as a share of payroll:
Overtime share = Overtime pay ÷ Total technician payroll × 100
Say a technician earns $30 an hour and works 6 overtime hours a week at 1.5 times. That is $270 a week, or about $12,960 over 48 weeks. Across eight technicians, roughly $104,000. The premium portion alone, the extra half on top of base, is a third of that.
The overtime multiplier and when it applies are set by federal and state law and by your own policy. Check the rules that apply to your crews with a payroll or employment professional.
Why it matters for scheduling
Some overtime is a choice: a peak week, an emergency call, a job worth finishing today. Much of the rest is the schedule failing. Common scheduling causes:
- Days that never fit. Jobs booked without counting the drive time between them. The last job finishes after hours.
- Short duration estimates. Each job runs a little over and the day runs late.
- Late add-ons. A job inserted in the afternoon without checking what it does to the end of the day.
The first cause is preventable at booking. If a slot is only offered when the truck can reach it and still finish on time, the day holds together. CrewLink builds live travel time into availability and checks feasibility before a slot is offered. Overtime as a share of payroll is one of the metrics in The field service scheduling KPIs that actually predict profit.
A common mistake
Treating overtime as a staffing problem by default. If overtime rises, the instinct is to hire. Check first whether the days were overbooked by travel. If capacity planning is based on a board where drive time is hidden, the board will look like it has room it does not have.
Related terms
- Capacity planning decides when overtime is the right call and when hiring is.
- Drive time that was not counted at booking is a common source of overtime.
- Emergency call scheduling often ends in overtime for the truck that takes the call.
Common questions
Is overtime always bad for a field service company?
No. Planned overtime during a peak can be cheaper than hiring. The problem is unplanned overtime caused by days that did not fit.
How do you reduce technician overtime?
Count drive time when booking, use realistic job durations, and check what late add-ons do to the end of the day before accepting them.
Does travel time count toward overtime?
Travel between jobs during the workday generally counts as hours worked. Rules for commuting and overnight travel vary, so check with a payroll or employment professional.