Auto repair & detailing
Auto Detailing Break-Even Calculator
Find how many vehicles a month the detailing business needs before it starts making money.
Result
Break-even, not a target. It is the point where the business stops losing money, which is a floor rather than a plan. Owner's pay only counts here if it is inside the fixed costs you entered.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- Fixed costs, which for a unit with bays and equipment are substantial.
- Contribution per vehicle, which varies widely by service type.
- Seasonal distribution, since break-even is monthly and demand is not even.
Where this one goes wrong
Calculating break-even on a blended average vehicle. If your mix is a few high-value corrections and many quick washes, the blended figure describes no actual month.
Questions
About this calculator
Should break-even be per vehicle or per bay hour?
Bay hours is usually more honest for detailing, because vehicle counts conceal enormous variation in how long each one takes.
How do I break even in the quiet months?
Either with recurring maintenance work that is not weather dependent, or by planning the year so busy months carry the quiet ones deliberately rather than by accident.
Does mobile detailing have a lower break-even?
Lower fixed costs, yes, but a lower ceiling too, because travel limits how many vehicles a day is possible. The break-even is lower and so is the maximum.
The formula
break-even jobs = fixed costs / (average job value x gross margin%)
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How to use this calculator
- Monthly fixed costs ($). Rent, office wages, insurance, vehicle payments, software, advertising.
- Average job value ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $520.
- Gross margin per job (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 46%.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to jobs needed per month, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly fixed costs | $21,000 |
| Average job value | $520 |
| Gross margin per job | 46% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Jobs needed per month main result | 88 |
| Revenue needed per month | $45,760 |
| Gross profit per job | $239.20 |
| Jobs per working day | 4.0 |
You need 88 jobs a month, about 4.0 a working day, to cover $21,000 of fixed cost. That is $45,760 of revenue before the business earns anything.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only monthly fixed costs, this is what happens to jobs needed per month. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Monthly fixed costs ($) | Jobs needed per month |
|---|---|
| $10,500 | 44 |
| $15,750 | 66 |
| $21,000 example above | 88 |
| $31,500 | 132 |
| $42,000 | 176 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Monthly fixed costs ($)
- Rent, office wages, insurance, vehicle payments, software, advertising.
- Average job value ($)
- A money amount, starting at $520.
- Gross margin per job (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 95, starting at 46%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Jobs needed per month | The headline result. A number. |
| Revenue needed per month | A money figure. |
| Gross profit per job | A money figure. |
| Jobs per working day | A decimal figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.