HVAC
HVAC Break-Even Calculator
Before a single dollar of profit, the month has to pay for itself. This shows the number of jobs that gets you there.
Result
This assumes one average job type. If replacements and service calls have very different economics, run it separately for each rather than blending them into one average.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- Fixed costs, which run level while HVAC demand is strongly seasonal.
- Contribution per job, which differs sharply between a service call and a changeout.
- The months where demand does not cover the fixed base.
Where this one goes wrong
Working from an annual average. HVAC demand concentrates in the first hot and first cold weeks, and a break-even that holds across the year can be missed for months at a time in spring and autumn.
Questions
About this calculator
What counts as a fixed cost?
Anything you owe whether or not you run a single job this month: rent, office salaries, insurance, loan and lease payments, software subscriptions and marketing retainers.
Should the owner's pay be in there?
Yes, if you take a regular salary. Leaving it out makes break-even look lower than it is and hides the fact that you are funding the business personally.
What if my jobs vary wildly in size?
Run the calculator separately for each major job type, or use a weighted average price and variable cost based on your actual job mix over the last quarter.
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How to use this calculator
- Fixed costs per month ($). Rent, salaries, insurance, vehicle payments, software, marketing retainers. What you owe before any job is run.
- Average job price ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $1,200.
- Variable cost per job ($). Parts, materials and direct labour that only exist because the job exists.
- Working days per month (days). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 22 days.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to jobs per month to break even, 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 |
|---|---|
| Fixed costs per month | $42,000 |
| Average job price | $1,200 |
| Variable cost per job | $620 |
| Working days per month | 22 days |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Jobs per month to break even main result | 72 |
| Revenue to break even | $86,897 |
| Jobs per working day | 3.3 |
| Contribution per job | $580 |
You need 72 jobs a month ($86,897) just to cover fixed costs, about 3.3 a day. Everything past that is profit.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only fixed costs per month, this is what happens to jobs per month to break even. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Fixed costs per month ($) | Jobs per month to break even |
|---|---|
| $21,000 | 36 |
| $31,500 | 54 |
| $42,000 example above | 72 |
| $63,000 | 109 |
| $84,000 | 145 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Fixed costs per month ($)
- Rent, salaries, insurance, vehicle payments, software, marketing retainers. What you owe before any job is run.
- Average job price ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,200.
- Variable cost per job ($)
- Parts, materials and direct labour that only exist because the job exists.
- Working days per month (days)
- Measured in days, between 1 and 31, starting at 22 days.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Jobs per month to break even | The headline result. A number. |
| Revenue to break even | A money figure. |
| Jobs per working day | A decimal figure. |
| Contribution per job | A money figure. |
Before you rely on this number
Sizing, capacity and load figures here are planning estimates. A real installation depends on the manufacturer's data for the specific equipment, the duct system it is going into, and a proper load calculation for the building. Use this to sanity-check a number or price a job, not to select equipment.
Keep going
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