Pet services
Pet Boarding Profit Calculator
Works boarding profit, where occupancy is almost the whole answer.
Result
Gross profit is what is left after the cost of doing the job. Overhead comes out of that: the building, the office wages, the vans, insurance, software and advertising. A healthy gross margin still loses money if overhead is larger.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Revenue less direct costs less facility overhead, giving profit and margin, with the occupancy rate shown alongside. Because the cost base is fixed, profit is close to a direct function of occupancy and the slope above break-even is steep in both directions.
What moves the number
- Occupancy rate across the year, not at peak.
- Peak period rates and how much of the year they cover.
- Staffing against the occupancy achieved.
- Ancillary services such as grooming or daycare.
Where this one goes wrong
Filling the shoulder periods is worth more than raising peak rates, because the peak is already full and the empty weeks are where the fixed cost is being absorbed with no revenue against it, which makes off-peak demand generation the highest-value activity available. Ancillary services are the other answer, since grooming or daycare use the same facility and staff during periods when boarding is quiet.
Before you quote
- Focus on filling shoulder and off-peak periods.
- Add ancillary services that use the same facility off-peak.
- Measure annual occupancy, not peak occupancy.
Questions
About this calculator
What improves boarding profit most?
Filling the shoulder and off-peak periods, since the peak is already full and the empty weeks absorb fixed cost with no revenue against them. Off-peak demand generation is worth more than any peak rate increase.
Should a kennel add other services?
Grooming or daycare use the same facility and staff during periods when boarding is quiet, which is exactly the right structure for a business with a fixed base and seasonal demand. It also gives existing clients a reason to visit between stays.
Why is boarding profit so volatile?
Because the cost base is fixed and occupancy is seasonal, so profit is close to a direct function of occupancy. The slope above break-even is steep in both directions, which makes a poor season genuinely serious.
The formula
gross profit = revenue - direct costs
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How to use this calculator
- Revenue ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $33,000.
- Direct labour ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $16,000.
- Product and equipment ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $11,000.
- Other direct costs ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $2,200.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to gross profit, 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 |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $33,000 |
| Direct labour | $16,000 |
| Product and equipment | $11,000 |
| Other direct costs | $2,200 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross profit main result | $3,800 |
| Gross margin | 11.5% |
| Total direct cost | $29,200 |
| Profit per working day | $172.73 |
That is $3,800 at a 11.5% margin, about $172.73 for every working day. Overhead still has to come out of it.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only revenue, this is what happens to gross profit. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Revenue ($) | Gross profit |
|---|---|
| $16,500 | -$12,700 |
| $24,750 | -$4,450 |
| $33,000 example above | $3,800 |
| $49,500 | $20,300 |
| $66,000 | $36,800 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Revenue ($)
- A money amount, starting at $33,000.
- Direct labour ($)
- A money amount, starting at $16,000.
- Product and equipment ($)
- A money amount, starting at $11,000.
- Other direct costs ($)
- A money amount, starting at $2,200.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Gross profit | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Gross margin | A percentage. |
| Total direct cost | A money figure. |
| Profit per working day | A money 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.