Break-Even Calculator for Contractors
How many jobs do you need each month just to keep the lights on? Itemize your real overhead, plug in your average ticket, and see the number that matters.
🏢 Monthly Overhead
Everything you pay whether or not your crew is on a job. Be honest. Missing one category throws off the whole number.
Insurance includes general liability, workers comp, vehicle, and umbrella policies.
Include all vehicle payments, fuel, maintenance, and fleet costs across your team.
Software: ServiceTitan, QuickBooks, CRM, phone systems. Office staff: dispatchers, CSRs, bookkeepers.
Loans: equipment financing, SBA loans, lines of credit. Other: uniforms, training, licenses, association dues.
💰 Average Job Numbers
Your average job numbers. Use your real averages, not your best job.
Job cost = labor + materials + any per-job variable expense. Do not include overhead here. That is already counted above.
"What If" Scenarios
| Avg Ticket | Break-Even Jobs | Break-Even Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| $500 | 0 | $0 |
| $750 | 0 | $0 |
| $1,000 | 0 | $0 |
| $1,500 | 0 | $0 |
| $2,000 | 0 | $0 |
| $3,000 | 0 | $0 |
| $5,000 | 0 | $0 |
Your Break-Even Point
0
jobs per month to break even
Adjust your overhead costs and average job numbers to see your break-even point update in real time.
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Why Break-Even Analysis Matters for Contractors
Most trade business owners know roughly how much they spend each month. Very few know exactly how many jobs it takes to cover those costs. That gap is where businesses fail.
Break-even analysis answers the simplest, most important question in your business: how many jobs before I start making money this month? If you do not know this number, you are flying blind.
The Hidden Overhead Problem
Contractors tend to undercount overhead by 20% to 40%. They remember rent and insurance but forget about software subscriptions, fuel costs, the part-time bookkeeper, and the marketing spend that hits the credit card every month. This calculator forces you to itemize everything so the break-even number is real, not wishful.
How to Use Your Break-Even Number
- Set monthly job targets. If break-even is 18 jobs, your minimum target should be 25 to 30. Build your schedule and marketing around hitting that number by mid-month.
- Price with confidence. When you know your overhead per job, you stop guessing on bids. Every quote accounts for the real cost of keeping your business open.
- Evaluate new expenses. Before adding a truck, hiring office help, or increasing your ad budget, run the new overhead through the calculator. See how many extra jobs that expense requires.
- Spot trouble early. If your break-even number creeps above 80% of your capacity, you have a problem. Fix it before a slow month puts you underwater.
Two Levers to Improve Break-Even
There are only two ways to lower your break-even point: reduce fixed costs or increase profit per job. Cutting $1,000 from overhead has the same effect as adding multiple jobs per month. Raising your average ticket 15% through better pricing or service tiers often has an even bigger impact. The fastest path is doing both.
The "What If" Scenarios
The scenario table below the calculator shows what happens to your break-even at different ticket sizes while keeping the same margin. This is where you see the power of raising prices. A $200 increase in your average ticket can drop your break-even by 5 or more jobs per month. That is the difference between stress and stability.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate break-even for a contracting business?
Divide your total monthly fixed costs (rent, insurance, marketing, vehicles, software, office staff, loans) by your average profit per job (revenue per job minus variable costs like labor and materials). The result is the number of jobs you need each month just to cover overhead. Everything above that number is profit.
What counts as overhead for a contractor?
Overhead includes every cost you pay whether or not you are on a job: shop or office rent, insurance premiums (general liability, workers comp, vehicle), marketing and advertising spend, vehicle payments and fuel, software subscriptions (ServiceTitan, QuickBooks, CRM), office staff salaries (dispatchers, CSRs, bookkeepers), loan payments, and miscellaneous costs like uniforms, licenses, and training.
What is a good break-even point for a trade business?
Most healthy trade businesses break even within the first 10 to 20 jobs per month. If you need more than 40 jobs per month just to cover overhead, either your overhead is too high or your profit per job is too low. The goal is to break even early in the month so the remaining jobs generate pure profit.
How do I lower my break-even point?
Two levers: reduce fixed costs or increase profit per job. Cutting $1,000 from monthly overhead has the same effect as adding several jobs per month. Raising your average ticket by 15 to 20% through better pricing, upsells, or premium service tiers often has a bigger impact than cutting costs. The most effective approach is doing both.
What is the difference between fixed costs and variable costs?
Fixed costs (overhead) stay the same regardless of how many jobs you run: rent, insurance, software, office salaries. Variable costs change with each job: labor hours, materials, subcontractor fees. Break-even analysis uses fixed costs divided by per-job profit (revenue minus variable costs) to find the crossover point where you stop losing money.
Should I include owner salary in my break-even calculation?
Yes. If you pay yourself a salary, include it in fixed overhead. If you take owner draws based on profit, do not include it. The goal is to know the true minimum number of jobs to keep the doors open. Many contractors forget to pay themselves a real salary and end up working for free once actual overhead is accounted for.
Knowing Your Numbers Is Step One
This calculator shows you one piece. The Growth Report shows you the full picture: where you're leaking revenue, what to fix first, and how contractors like you are growing past the ceiling.