Photography & events
Photography Break-Even Calculator
Works the shoots needed to cover a photography business's fixed costs.
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 annual costs divided by contribution per shoot gives the shoots needed. The fixed base includes insurance, software subscriptions, website, any studio rent and the equipment replacement reserve, and almost none of it varies with how many shoots happen.
What moves the number
- Fixed costs including subscriptions and any studio rent.
- Equipment replacement reserve as a fixed line.
- Contribution per shoot after direct costs.
- Shoot type mix, since contribution differs.
Where this one goes wrong
Software subscriptions are the fixed cost that accumulates unnoticed in this trade, since editing, cataloguing, delivery, booking, accounting and storage are all subscriptions and each was modest when adopted. An annual audit is worth real money. Including the equipment reserve in fixed costs is the other correction, because a break-even that ignores it is a break-even for a business that is quietly consuming its own capital.
Before you quote
- Include the equipment replacement reserve in fixed costs.
- Audit software subscriptions annually.
- Use contribution by shoot type, not blended.
Questions
About this calculator
What are a photographer's fixed costs?
Insurance, software subscriptions, website, any studio rent and the equipment replacement reserve. They continue whether or not shoots happen, and the subscriptions in particular accumulate unnoticed because each was modest when adopted.
Should the equipment reserve be in break-even?
Yes, otherwise the figure describes a business quietly consuming its own capital. Equipment wears out on a predictable basis, and a break-even that ignores it looks achievable while the business is heading toward an unfunded replacement.
Why audit subscriptions?
Because editing, cataloguing, delivery, booking, accounting and storage are all subscriptions, each adopted for one purpose and rarely retired. An annual review of what is paid for against what is used recovers real money in this trade.
The formula
break-even projects = fixed costs / (average project fee x gross margin%)
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How to use this calculator
- Monthly fixed costs ($). Rent, office wages, insurance, vehicle payments, software, advertising.
- Average project fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $1,400.
- Gross margin per project (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 62%.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to projects 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 | $4,800 |
| Average project fee | $1,400 |
| Gross margin per project | 62% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Projects needed per month main result | 6 |
| Revenue needed per month | $8,400 |
| Gross profit per project | $868 |
| Projects per working day | 0.3 |
You need 6 jobs a month, about 0.3 a working day, to cover $4,800 of fixed cost. That is $8,400 of revenue before the business earns anything.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only monthly fixed costs, this is what happens to projects needed per month. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Monthly fixed costs ($) | Projects needed per month |
|---|---|
| $2,400 | 3 |
| $3,600 | 5 |
| $4,800 example above | 6 |
| $7,200 | 9 |
| $9,600 | 12 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Monthly fixed costs ($)
- Rent, office wages, insurance, vehicle payments, software, advertising.
- Average project fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,400.
- Gross margin per project (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 95, starting at 62%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Projects needed per month | The headline result. A number. |
| Revenue needed per month | A money figure. |
| Gross profit per project | A money figure. |
| Projects 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.