Priority by scope and risk
Two questions settle most after-hours IT tickets: how many people are affected and is there a security or data risk? Everything urgent scores high on at least one.
| Ticket | Scope | Risk | After hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server or whole office down | Everyone | Business stopped | Page |
| Ransom note, strange encryption | Any | High | Page; don't power off or pay |
| Email down for everyone | Everyone | Medium | Page |
| POS or phones down at an open business | Everyone | Revenue | Page |
| One user can't log in | One | Low | Morning |
| Password reset, printer | One | Low | Morning |
| New laptop setup | One | None | Morning |
Example call
I can't get into my email.
Is it just you, or is everyone at your company affected?
Just me I think.
I'll log a priority ticket for first thing tomorrow so an engineer contacts you at 8am.
Rule matched: "Single user" → Morning ticket · nobody paged
Put it in the contract
The cleanest policies are written into the service agreement: what counts as an after-hours emergency, the rate, and response times. Then your after-hours line enforces it consistently, states the rate, and pages the on-call engineer only when the policy says so.
What Josie does
- 24/7 Emergency Line: Answers every after-hours call and sorts real emergencies from routine jobs with your rules.
- On-Call Paging + Schedules: Calls your on-call tech with the details. Press 1 to accept. No answer? Next person, then you.
- Smart Call Routing: Daytime triage: urgent calls jump the queue and reach the right person or department.
- For your trade: After-Hours Emergency Line for IT Support Companies and MSPs
Common questions
Should MSPs charge for after-hours emergencies?
Most do, either as a rate in the agreement or a per-incident fee. Josie states your rate before paging and the consent is on the transcript.
What should a caller do with a ransomware message?
Not turn machines off, not pay, and disconnect from the network only if your policy says so. Your on-call engineer takes it from there.
What does HireJosie cost?
HireJosie is $29/month for 200 AI minutes, starting with a 7-day free trial — cancel before day 7 and you pay nothing. Pro is $79/month for 500 minutes, with $0.25/minute overage after that. Every feature is on every plan, and every plan starts with a 7-day free trial.