diff --git a/src/app/api/core/utils/afterIfAvailable.ts b/src/app/api/core/utils/afterIfAvailable.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e434f6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/app/api/core/utils/afterIfAvailable.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+import { after } from 'next/server'
+
+/**
+ * Runs the callback via Next.js `after()` if inside a request scope,
+ * otherwise executes it directly. This allows shared service code to
+ * work in both Vercel serverless (request context) and Trigger.dev /
+ * CLI (no request context) environments.
+ *
+ * `after()` is a pure registration call — the only errors it can throw
+ * are scope/context errors. Real callback errors are handled separately
+ * via `.catch()` in the fallback path.
+ */
+export function afterIfAvailable(callback: () => Promise<void>): void {
+  try {
+    after(callback)
+  } catch {
+    void callback().catch((err) => {
+      console.error('[afterIfAvailable] callback failed:', err)
+    })
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/app/api/quickbooks/auth/auth.service.ts b/src/app/api/quickbooks/auth/auth.service.ts
index 48eecc0..3a40713 100644
--- a/src/app/api/quickbooks/auth/auth.service.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/quickbooks/auth/auth.service.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import IntuitAPI, { IntuitAPITokensType } from '@/utils/intuitAPI'
 import dayjs from 'dayjs'
 import { and, eq, SQL } from 'drizzle-orm'
 import httpStatus from 'http-status'
+import { afterIfAvailable } from '@/app/api/core/utils/afterIfAvailable'
 import { after } from 'next/server'
 
 export class AuthService extends BaseService {
@@ -344,7 +345,11 @@ export class AuthService extends BaseService {
             await tokenService.turnOffSync(intuitRealmId)
 
             // send notification to IU
-            after(async () => {
+            afterIfAvailable(async () => {
+              console.info(
+                'AuthService#handleConnectionError | running after() .. | Sending notification to IU',
+              )
+
               const notificationService = new NotificationService(this.user)
               await notificationService.sendNotificationToIU(
                 intiatedBy,