Break-Even Calculator (For Contractors)
Enter your monthly fixed costs, average job price, and variable cost percentage and get the exact number of jobs and revenue you need each month before you start making a profit. The math updates as you type.
Break-Even Calculator
Enter your fixed monthly overhead, your typical job price, and the share of that price eaten by variable (per-job) costs.
Contribution margin is what is left of a job’s price after variable costs (materials, subs, commissions) — that leftover is what pays down your fixed costs and, past break-even, becomes profit.
How to calculate your break-even point
Break-even is the point where contribution margin from your jobs exactly covers your fixed costs — zero profit, zero loss. Below it you are losing money every month; above it, every extra job is profit.
| Step | Example: $8,000 fixed, $3,000 avg job, 60% variable |
|---|---|
| Contribution margin per job | $3,000 × (1 − 0.60) = $1,200 |
| Jobs to break even | $8,000 ÷ $1,200 = 6.67 → 7 jobs/month |
| Revenue to break even | 7 × $3,000 = $21,000/month |
Job count is always rounded up — you cannot do 6.67 jobs, and 6 jobs would leave you short of covering fixed costs for the month. Every job past the break-even number drops its full contribution margin straight to profit.
Contractor Estimate Calculator (Excel & Google Sheets)
Price every job so its contribution margin is baked in from the start — materials, labor, markup, and profit, auto-totaled.
Why variable cost % matters more than revenue
Two contractors can both do $3,000 jobs and have wildly different break-even points if their variable costs differ. A trade with high material costs (say 70% variable) needs more jobs to break even than one with lower material costs (say 40% variable), even at the identical job price — because more of each job’s revenue goes straight back out the door before it ever touches overhead.
Once you know your number, price above it
Break-even tells you the floor, not the target. Build real profit into every bid using your true hourly rate calculator and labor burden rate calculator so each job clears break-even and still leaves money on the table.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate a contractor’s break-even point?
Find your contribution margin per job (job price minus variable costs as a percentage of price), then divide your monthly fixed costs by that contribution margin and round up. That is the number of jobs you need per month to break even.
What is contribution margin?
It is what is left of a job’s revenue after variable, per-job costs are paid — materials, subcontractors, commissions. That leftover amount is what pays down fixed costs and, beyond break-even, becomes profit.
What counts as a variable cost vs. a fixed cost?
Variable costs scale with each job — materials, subs, sales commission. Fixed costs stay roughly the same regardless of job volume — rent, insurance, office salaries, loan payments.
Is this break-even calculator free?
Yes — free, no sign-up. Enter your fixed costs, average job price, and variable cost percentage and read the jobs and revenue needed to break even. Estimates only; confirm against your bookkeeping.