Painting
Painting Business Break-Even Calculator
Works break-even, which in painting is lower than most trades and still has to be met in winter.
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 AuditHow the calculation works
Fixed costs divided by gross profit per job gives the jobs needed monthly. Painting has a comparatively low fixed base, since equipment is inexpensive and premises can be modest, so break-even is lower than in equipment-heavy trades. The complication is seasonality: the base still has to be covered in months when exterior work is impossible, which is what makes the interior book a solvency question rather than a growth one.
What moves the number
- Fixed costs including vehicles, insurance, premises and any retained staff.
- Gross profit per job, which varies widely by job type.
- Whether crews are employed and therefore fixed in quiet months.
- Seasonal revenue variation against a level fixed base.
Where this one goes wrong
Employed crews turn a variable cost into a fixed one, and that changes break-even substantially in the off-season. A business with employed painters has to find work in winter or pay them anyway, which is the structural reason interior work matters, while one using subcontractors has a lower winter break-even and less control over quality and availability. Running the calculation for both a summer and a winter month, rather than once, is what reveals whether the model survives the season.
Before you quote
- Run break-even for a winter month as well as a summer one.
- Count employed crews as fixed cost in the off-season.
- Use gross profit per job by type rather than blended.
Questions
About this calculator
Why calculate break-even twice?
Because the fixed base is level and the revenue is seasonal. A figure that looks comfortable in June can be unreachable in January, and running it for a winter month is what reveals whether the model survives the season or just the busy part of it.
Do employed crews raise break-even?
Substantially in the off-season, because they turn a variable cost into a fixed one. A business with employed painters must find winter work or pay them regardless, which is the structural reason interior work matters. Subcontracting lowers winter break-even and costs control.
Is painting break-even low?
Lower than equipment-heavy trades, since the equipment is inexpensive and premises can be modest. That is the trade's structural advantage, and it is also why competition is heavy, because the same low fixed base lets anyone start.
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 $2,900.
- Gross margin per job (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 42%.
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 | $9,500 |
| Average job value | $2,900 |
| Gross margin per job | 42% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Jobs needed per month main result | 8 |
| Revenue needed per month | $23,200 |
| Gross profit per job | $1,218 |
| Jobs per working day | 0.4 |
You need 8 jobs a month, about 0.4 a working day, to cover $9,500 of fixed cost. That is $23,200 of revenue before the business earns anything.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only monthly fixed costs, this is what happens to jobs needed per month. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Monthly fixed costs ($) | Jobs needed per month |
|---|---|
| $4,750 | 4 |
| $7,125 | 6 |
| $9,500 example above | 8 |
| $14,250 | 12 |
| $19,000 | 16 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Monthly fixed costs ($)
- Rent, office wages, insurance, vehicle payments, software, advertising.
- Average job value ($)
- A money amount, starting at $2,900.
- Gross margin per job (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 95, starting at 42%.
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.