Beaconshire Advisory · www.beaconshireadvisory.com · Break-Even & Target Profit Calculator · printed
Calculator · Operations
How much do I have to sell to break even — and to pay myself?
Enter fixed costs and either unit economics or a contribution margin. The calculator returns break-even revenue and units, the revenue for any profit target, how far above (or below) it you sit today, and how sensitive the number is to price, cost and overhead.
Revenue vs. total cost
Profit is the gap between the lines. Break-even is where they cross.
What moves break-even
Break-even revenue under each change, holding everything else constant.
Profit ladder
Revenue required for a range of monthly profit goals.
What this means
Reading the numbers like a CFO would.
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How it works
Methodology & assumptions
- Contribution margin per unit = price − variable cost; as a percentage, ÷ price. In margin mode you supply the percentage directly.
- Break-even revenue = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin %. Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ contribution per unit. Owner pay is added to fixed costs when entered.
- Target-profit revenue = (fixed costs + target profit) ÷ contribution margin %.
- Margin of safety = (current revenue − break-even revenue) ÷ current revenue. Degree of operating leverage = total contribution ÷ operating profit; it tells you how much a 1% change in revenue changes profit.
- Sensitivity recomputes break-even with one input moved ±10% (or ±5 points of margin). Price changes are more powerful than equal cost changes because they alter the margin percentage, not just the fixed total.
- Assumptions. Linear costs and a single blended product or margin. Semi-variable costs (a part-time hire at the next volume step) are not modeled; re-run the calculator with the new fixed cost to see the step.
This calculator is an educational estimate built from published figures and the assumptions listed above. It is not tax, legal, or financial advice, does not account for every provision that may apply to you, and is not a substitute for a return prepared from your actual records. Figures are checked when published and may lag mid-year changes.
Questions
Common questions
Should owner pay be in fixed costs?
Yes, if you want an honest number. A break-even that assumes the owner works for free is the level at which the business can survive while you cannot. Enter a market salary for your role; the calculator adds it to fixed costs.
What is a good margin of safety?
There is no universal figure, but under 15% means a single soft month produces a loss, and 25–35% gives most owner-operated businesses room to absorb a lost customer or a seasonal dip. Businesses with high operating leverage (high fixed costs, high margins) need more cushion because their profit swings harder.
My business has several products with different margins.
Use margin mode with your blended contribution margin from the P&L. If the mix is shifting toward lower-margin products, the blended figure will drift and break-even will rise — which is exactly why mix is worth tracking separately in a monthly close.
How is this different from the pricing calculator?
The pricing calculator works per unit and asks how a price change affects what you keep on each sale. This one works at the business level and asks how many of those sales you need. Use them together: set the price there, then confirm the volume is realistic here.
Keep going
Related calculators
Want break-even tracked every month, from your real books?
A CFO Advisory engagement turns this one-off calculation into a monthly reporting package: contribution margin by line, break-even, margin of safety, and the decisions they point to.
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