How many sales do you need before the month starts making money? Enter your costs and find out.
Break-even calculator
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$
Rent, wages, utilities, software, loan repayments
$
Your average order or ticket
$
Ingredients, stock, packaging, card fees
Sales needed per month
1,091
Sales needed per trading day
42
Revenue to break even
8,727.27
Contribution per sale
5.50
The break-even point is the number of sales at which revenue covers both fixed and variable costs; this calculator gives it per month and per trading day.
How the break-even point is calculated
| Figure | Formula |
|---|---|
| Contribution per sale | Average price − Variable cost per sale |
| Break-even sales (units) | Fixed costs ÷ Contribution per sale |
| Break-even revenue | Break-even units × Average price |
| Per trading day | Break-even units ÷ Trading days |
A café with $6,000 of monthly fixed costs (rent, wages, utilities), an average order of $8 and ingredients of $2.50 per order contributes $5.50 per order. It breaks even at 6,000 ÷ 5.50 ≈ 1,091 orders a month — about 42 a day over 26 trading days. Every order after that is profit.
Questions
- What is a break-even point?
- It is the level of sales at which total revenue equals total costs, so the business makes neither a profit nor a loss.
- What counts as a fixed cost?
- Costs that do not change with how much you sell in the month, such as rent, salaried wages, insurance, software and loan repayments.
- What counts as a variable cost?
- Costs that rise with each sale, such as ingredients, stock bought for resale, packaging and card fees charged per transaction.
- How can I lower my break-even point?
- Raise the contribution per sale by increasing prices or reducing variable costs, or reduce fixed costs; raising the average order value has the same effect as a price rise.
Keep reading
- Free toolProfit margin calculatorFree profit margin calculator: enter cost and price to get profit, margin and markup — or enter a target margin to get the price to charge. Formula shown.
- GlossaryAverage order value (AOV)Average order value is what a customer spends per order on average. The formula, a worked example, practical ways to raise it and the mistakes that distort it.
- GlossaryCost of goods sold (COGS)Cost of goods sold (COGS) is the direct cost of what you sold. The formula, a worked example, common mistakes, and how COGS drives your gross margin.
- GuideWhat to track in a daily sales reportThe numbers to check every day: net sales, orders, average order value, payment mix, voids and discounts, cash variance, and the right day to compare against.
- FeatureExpensesRecord business expenses in seconds and see real profit: takings minus expenses, for each day and any period, next to the sales you already track. Free.
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