Break-Even Jobs & Revenue Calculator

How the break-even jobs & revenue calculator works

Contribution per job = price per job − variable cost per job. With positive contribution, break-even jobs = ceil(monthly fixed costs ÷ contribution). Jobs for a profit target = ceil((fixed costs + target profit) ÷ contribution).

Whole-job break-even revenue is the rounded-up job threshold multiplied by price. It can exceed the continuous revenue threshold because a fraction of a job cannot be sold in this model. Monthly profit = jobs × contribution − fixed costs.

If contribution is zero or negative, more jobs cannot cover positive fixed costs or create a positive target profit. Unreachable thresholds are shown as unavailable. With no fixed costs and no profit target, zero jobs can produce zero profit, but loss-making work still reduces profit; a zero threshold is not a recommendation to accept it.

This model assumes one average job and unchanged price, variable cost and fixed costs at every volume. Capacity limits, step costs, changing project mix, taxes, debt payments and payment timing are outside the calculation. Enter fair compensation for work where appropriate; cash break-even and a sustainable business income are different questions.

Worked example

At a $1,000 average price and $600 variable cost, each job contributes $400. Monthly fixed costs of $8,000 require 20 whole jobs to break even, producing $20,000 revenue. A $4,000 profit target requires 30 jobs. At the entered workload of 25 jobs, revenue is $25,000 and modeled profit is $2,000. All amounts are illustrative.

Sources and assumptions

The source material explains the underlying calculation or pricing structure. Entered prices, costs, schedules and scenario choices are your assumptions; this tool does not obtain supplier quotes or predict actual results.

• SBA break-even analysis