How much does an uncovered shift cost?

At the default figures, one uncovered four hour shift costs about $102: $72 in margin you cannot bill plus $30 of office time. Covering the same shift costs about $30. Your numbers will differ, but the gap is almost always large enough to justify covering.

What does the covering pay multiplier mean?

It is what your payroll pays on the covering caregiver's hours. Set it to 1.0 if those hours are paid at base wage, or higher if your payroll applies a premium. Confirm the figure with your payroll provider; it varies by your policy and your state.

Why price a typical year?

One call-off feels small. Three a week, most of them covered but some not, adds up fast across 52 weeks. Seeing the annual number is usually what moves an owner from reacting to call-offs to preventing them.

Are these numbers exact?

They are planning estimates. Two real costs are left out on purpose: the client who quietly starts interviewing other agencies after the second unfamiliar face, and the reliable caregiver who covers one shift too many and starts looking. Both show up in revenue later.

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Caregiver Unfilled Shift Cost Calculator

Most call-offs land outside business hours, and coverage gets worked by hand from the owner's phone. An uncovered shift costs you the hours you cannot bill plus the time spent scrambling; covering it usually costs far less. Price both with your numbers, then see what a typical year of call-offs runs.

Your rates

Billable rate per hour

The national median private pay rate is about $35 per hour (CareScout Cost of Care Survey). Replace it with your own blended rate.

Caregiver base wage per hour

The BLS median caregiver wage works out to about $17 per hour at full-time hours. Replace it with your own average.

Average shift length, hours

Your typical shift length. The per-shift math below uses it.

Covering the shift

Covering pay multiplier

What your payroll pays for the covering caregiver's hours. 1.0 means those hours are paid at base wage; 1.5 means time and a half. Set it to what your payroll does.

Coverage bonus per covered shift

Any flat thank-you or pickup incentive you pay the caregiver who covers. Zero if you do not pay one.

The scramble

Office time per call-off, minutes

Value of an office hour

The calls, the texts, the reshuffle to find a covering caregiver. Time yourself for a week; most owners undercount it.

A typical year

Call-offs in a typical week

Share of call-offs you manage to cover

Count last month and divide by the weeks for the first field. For coverage, your best estimate as a percentage; after a month of logging, the in-depth workbook gives you the real coverage rate.

Cost of one uncovered shift

$0 saved by covering

If you cover it instead

A typical year of call-offs

An uncovered shift costs about $0. Covering it costs $0, so the gap the coverage protocol closes is $0 every time.

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What the uncovered shift costs

Stop working coverage from your phone at 5 AM

The Shift Coverage and Call-Off System adds the call-off log, the reason ranking, the backup roster, and the coverage scripts that shrink next quarter's call-offs, in one license.

See the Shift Coverage and Call-Off System

What one uncovered shift costs you

When a caregiver calls off and no one covers, you lose the margin between what you bill and what you would have paid, plus the office time spent trying to fill it. When you do cover it, the cost is usually just the premium on the covering hours, any bonus, and the same scramble time. The gap between the two is why a coverage protocol pays for itself.

The hours you cannot bill

An uncovered four hour shift at the national medians of $35 and $17 loses $72 in margin before you count anything else. That is money the schedule was going to earn, gone.

The scramble

The calls, texts, and reshuffling to find a covering caregiver take real time from the owner or scheduler. Priced at an office rate, an hour of it is another $30 on top of the lost margin.

What covering costs instead

If a caregiver picks up the shift, you pay the premium your payroll applies to those hours, plus any pickup bonus, plus the same scramble time. At a 1.0 multiplier and no bonus, covering costs you only the office time, which is why covering almost always beats leaving it open.

How much does an uncovered shift cost?: At the default figures, one uncovered four hour shift costs about $102: $72 in margin you cannot bill plus $30 of office time. Covering the same shift costs about $30. Your numbers will differ, but the gap is almost always large enough to justify covering.
What does the covering pay multiplier mean?: It is what your payroll pays on the covering caregiver's hours. Set it to 1.0 if those hours are paid at base wage, or higher if your payroll applies a premium. Confirm the figure with your payroll provider; it varies by your policy and your state.
Why price a typical year?: One call-off feels small. Three a week, most of them covered but some not, adds up fast across 52 weeks. Seeing the annual number is usually what moves an owner from reacting to call-offs to preventing them.
Are these numbers exact?: They are planning estimates. Two real costs are left out on purpose: the client who quietly starts interviewing other agencies after the second unfamiliar face, and the reliable caregiver who covers one shift too many and starts looking. Both show up in revenue later.

Coverage cost varies by agency, payer mix, pay policy, and state. Use it to plan, then confirm specifics for your situation.