Build your break-even plan.

Choose your model and adjust the monthly assumptions.

SMALL BUSINESS BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS

A free break-even calculator built for real operating decisions

MyBreakeven helps small business owners calculate exact break-even revenue, required sales volume, customer demand and delivery capacity. Unlike a basic fixed-cost calculator, it tests whether the target is operationally feasible. Results retain fractional precision and also show the minimum practical whole orders, jobs, clients or appointments needed.

HOW THE CALCULATION WORKS

From contribution margin to a feasible monthly sales target

  1. Calculate contribution per sale. Subtract direct materials, labor, other variable costs, acquisition cost and payment fees from average price.
  2. Set the monthly amount to cover. Add operating overhead, owner pay and optional target profit.
  3. Calculate exact break-even volume. Divide the monthly amount to cover by contribution per sale without prematurely rounding the result.
  4. Test feasibility. Compare required sales with team capacity and translate the sales target into required customer inquiries.
WORKED SERVICE BUSINESS EXAMPLE

How many customers do you need to break even?

These are illustrative inputs, not market averages. Suppose a service sells for $200. Materials, labor, travel and acquisition cost $95 per job, and a 2.5% payment fee costs $5. Each completed job therefore contributes $100 toward monthly costs.

With $2,400 in overhead and $1,600 in owner pay, the business needs 40 jobs ($8,000 in sales) to cover costs and owner pay. Add a $1,000 profit goal and the target becomes 50 jobs ($10,000 in sales). At a 25% inquiry-to-job conversion rate, those 50 jobs require 200 inquiries.

Now check delivery: two people working 20 hours a week at 50% productive utilization provide about 87 delivery hours a month. If each job takes two hours, they can complete only 43 whole jobs. The 50-job profit target needs more capacity or a change in price, costs or the profit goal.

The basic break-even formula is fixed costs divided by contribution per sale; this example separately includes owner pay, a profit target, inquiries and delivery capacity. See the U.S. Small Business Administration's break-even method. Run your own numbers in the free calculator.

Contribution per job
$100
Break-even jobs
40
Jobs for $1,000 profit
50
Inquiries at 25% conversion
200
Whole jobs the team can deliver
43
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Small business break-even calculator FAQs

What is a break-even point?

A break-even point is the sales level where total revenue equals total fixed and variable costs. At that point, the business has no operating profit or loss under the assumptions entered.

How do I calculate break-even revenue?

MyBreakeven first calculates contribution per sale: average selling price minus direct costs, acquisition cost and payment fees. It then divides monthly fixed costs, owner pay and target profit by that contribution and multiplies the required units by the average price.

Does the calculator include owner salary and target profit?

Yes. You can keep either field at zero for a traditional break-even calculation, or include owner pay and a profit goal to calculate a more practical monthly revenue target.

Why does business capacity matter?

A financial target is not feasible if your team cannot deliver the required orders, jobs, clients or appointments. The calculator compares required volume with productive team hours.

Can I use a currency other than US dollars?

Yes. Select a supported currency before entering your figures. The calculator labels all amounts in that currency; it does not perform exchange-rate conversion.

Are my financial figures saved?

The free calculator runs in your browser. Inputs are not sent or saved automatically. If you sign in and choose Save scenario, that scenario is stored with your account and can be deleted from your dashboard.