Break-even calculator for small business.
Enter your monthly fixed costs, what you sell things for on average, and what each sale costs you. See how much you need to sell — per month and per day — to break even.
Your business numbers
Defaults work for most small shops in the EU.
Units per day to break even
How this calculator works (same formula nouz uses).
Break-even answers one question: how many sales does it take to cover all your fixed costs? The answer depends entirely on contribution margin — how much each sale "contributes" toward the rent and salaries after you pay for the thing you sold. Everything else is noise.
The formula is Sales per month = monthly fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost), then Sales per day = monthly ÷ days open. Contribution margin is price − variable cost, and as a percentage it is (price − cost) ÷ price. A high margin means few sales clear your fixed costs; a thin margin means you have to sell a mountain before you keep a cent.
A worked example
Take the defaults: €4,500 in monthly fixed costs, an average sale price of €25, a cost per sale of €9, open 26 days a month. Each sale contributes 25 − 9 = €16, a contribution margin of 16 ÷ 25 = 64%. To cover the fixed costs you need 4,500 ÷ 16 = 281.25 sales a month — round up to 282 — which is 282 ÷ 26 ≈ 11 sales a day. Below eleven you are losing money; at eleven you are level; every sale above eleven drops €16 straight toward profit.
What a healthy number looks like
There is no single right break-even — it depends on your traffic — but the cushion between break-even and reality is what matters. As a rough rule of thumb, you want break-even to sit at roughly 60–75% of your typical daily sales so an ordinary slow day still clears the floor. On margin: a contribution margin above 50% is comfortable for most retail and service businesses, 30–50% is workable but leaves little slack, and under 30% means you are selling volume for very thin cover and are exposed to any dip. If your break-even sits at or above your real daily sales, the business is structurally underwater and no amount of hustle fixes it — you have to change the fixed costs, the price, or the cost per sale, not just work harder.
Common mistakes
- Confusing price with contribution. A €25 sale does not put €25 toward rent — it puts €16, after the €9 it cost you.
- Leaving costs out of "variable." Processing fees, packaging and materials all belong in cost per sale, or the margin is flattered.
- Ignoring price as a lever. Owners cut costs by cents and never test a price rise, which flows entirely into contribution margin.
- Using an unrealistic average price. Discounts and a cheap best-seller pull the real average down — use what actually rings up.
- Treating break-even as the goal. It is the floor, not the finish line; your target is well above it, with room to pay yourself and set money aside.
When to use it — and what's next
Reach for this before any big decision — a new hire, a lease, a price change — because it converts fixed commitments into a concrete daily sales target you can feel. Then check whether you clear that target for real: capture your days in the daily profit and loss template, and pressure-test the rest with the daily profit calculator and the cash flow runway calculator.
Common questions
What is contribution margin and why does it matter for break-even?
Contribution margin is price minus variable cost — the amount each sale contributes toward covering fixed costs. It is the only input that really drives break-even. A €25 sale that costs €9 contributes €16, or a 64% margin. The higher the margin, the fewer sales you need to cover rent and salaries.
How do you calculate how many sales you need to break even?
Divide monthly fixed costs by contribution margin per sale to get sales per month, then divide by days open for the daily target. With €4,500 fixed, €16 contribution, and 26 days, that is 281.25 sales a month — round up to 282 — or about 11 sales a day.
What does it mean to be above or below break-even?
Below break-even you are losing money because your sales are not yet covering fixed costs. At break-even you are exactly level, taking home nothing. Above it, every additional sale drops its full contribution margin — €16 in the example — straight toward profit, since the fixed costs are already paid for.
What are the three levers that move break-even?
Lower your fixed costs, raise your price, or lower your variable cost per sale. Most owners fixate on the third and cut costs by cents. But a price rise flows entirely into contribution margin, so it usually lowers the break-even target faster than an equal cost saving does.
Does this break-even calculator work for services, not just retail?
Yes. Use your average sale or invoice value as the price and your direct cost of delivering it — materials, subcontractors, processing fees — as the cost per sale. Fixed costs stay the same: rent, salaries, software, insurance. The contribution-margin math is identical whether you sell products or services.
How should I choose the average sale price to enter?
Use what actually rings up on a normal day, not your list price. Discounts, promotions and a cheap best-selling item all pull the real average below the sticker. If you are unsure, take a recent week of total sales divided by number of transactions — that blended figure gives an honest contribution margin.