Service Business Break-Even Calculator
Find the monthly revenue you need to cover all costs, plus what it takes to pay yourself a real wage.
Free forever, no signup needed, results update instantly
Most service business owners don't know their break-even number, so they can't tell if a slow month is normal or panic-worthy. This calculator works the math: monthly fixed costs (rent, insurance, vehicle, software), variable cost % per job (labor + materials), and target owner pay. Output: monthly revenue you need to break even, and the higher number you actually want to hit.
Quick startPick your industry to load real-world numbers
Your inputs
Edit any field, results update automatically.
Rent, insurance, vehicle payments, software, phone, marketing baseline. Costs that exist whether you do 0 jobs or 200.
Labor + materials + fuel + sub costs that scale with revenue. Service businesses typically 50-70%.
What you want to pay yourself net of taxes. Use $0 if you're salaried or just want pure break-even.
Self-employment + federal + state. Default 30% is typical for sole proprietors.
Your results
Break-even monthly revenue
$11,250
Just enough to cover fixed costs (no owner pay)
Track your break-even in real time
Smarfle's Reports dashboard shows monthly revenue + cost rollups so you know mid-month whether you're tracking ahead or behind your break-even number. No spreadsheet maintenance.
Free for 14 days, no credit card
How this calculation works
Break-even = the revenue at which your gross profit equals your fixed costs. Math: - Contribution margin = 1 - variable cost % - Break-even revenue = fixed costs / contribution margin - Break-even jobs = break-even revenue / avg job value A business with $4,500/month in fixed costs and 60% variable costs (40% contribution margin) breaks even at $11,250/month, or about 30 jobs at $380 average. The "Target revenue" line goes one step further: covers fixed costs PLUS the owner's pre-tax pay (your take-home target grossed up for taxes). Most owners want this number, not pure break-even. The "Margin of safety" tells you how much revenue can drop before you start losing money. Above 30% is healthy. Under 15% means you're one slow month away from negative cash flow. Daily numbers (revenue/day) make the goal more tangible. $11,250/mo doesn't feel real; "$512/day to break even" does.
Real scenarios
Find the persona closest to yours, then click to load those numbers into the calculator.
HVAC owner, mid-size shop
$8,500 fixed, 58% variable, $450 avg ticket, $8,500 owner take-home target.
Break-even ~$20K/mo (44 jobs). Target ~$49K/mo (108 jobs). Daily target $2,217/day. Mid-month tracker tells you if you're on pace.
Solo handyman
Lean overhead ($1,500/mo), low variable %, modest goals.
Break-even just $2,300/mo (10 jobs). Target $14,400/mo (59 jobs). Margin of safety: 84%. Solo operators have huge cushions if they keep overhead low.
Cleaning company, 3 cleaners
Labor-heavy (70% variable), $3,200 fixed, $180 avg job.
Break-even ~$10,700 (60 jobs). Hard work because each job has thin contribution margin. Pricing increases are the highest-leverage move.
Smarfle CRM
Run this in your business, not just in a calculator
These Smarfle features close the loop on what this tool surfaces. Built for local service businesses, used by HVAC, plumbing, electrical, cleaning, lawn care, and 40+ other trades.
Per-Job Expense Tracking
Log every variable cost (parts, fuel, sub) per WO. Real variable cost % stops being a guess.
Learn moreTime Tracking
Real labor cost per job from auto-tracked hours. Plug into the calculator's variable cost % with confidence.
Learn moreWorkflow Automation
Auto-trigger fill-up campaigns (SMS, email reactivation) when monthly bookings fall behind pace.
Learn moreFrequently asked questions
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