Plumbing
Plumbing Business Break-Even Calculator
Find the revenue or job volume needed each month before the business 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: vans, insurance, licensing, premises and any salaried staff.
- Contribution per job, which varies widely between a service call and an installation.
- Seasonal and weather-driven demand swings.
Where this one goes wrong
Using an average job value pulled up by a few large installations. The average describes no actual month, and the real break-even in service volume is higher than it appears.
Questions
About this calculator
Jobs or revenue?
Revenue is more stable where the job mix varies widely, which in plumbing it does. Jobs works where the ticket is consistent.
What is fixed in a plumbing business?
Vans and their finance, insurance, licensing, premises and office staff. Plumber wages sit between fixed and variable depending on how you staff.
How often should this be recalculated?
Whenever a van, a person or an insurance renewal changes it, and at least annually. Break-even drifts upward quietly.
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 $480.
- Gross margin per job (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 50%.
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 | $12,000 |
| Average job value | $480 |
| Gross margin per job | 50% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Jobs needed per month main result | 50 |
| Revenue needed per month | $24,000 |
| Gross profit per job | $240 |
| Jobs per working day | 2.3 |
You need 50 jobs a month, about 2.3 a working day, to cover $12,000 of fixed cost. That is $24,000 of revenue before the business earns anything.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only monthly fixed costs, this is what happens to jobs needed per month. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Monthly fixed costs ($) | Jobs needed per month |
|---|---|
| $6,000 | 25 |
| $9,000 | 38 |
| $12,000 example above | 50 |
| $18,000 | 75 |
| $24,000 | 100 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Monthly fixed costs ($)
- Rent, office wages, insurance, vehicle payments, software, advertising.
- Average job value ($)
- A money amount, starting at $480.
- Gross margin per job (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 95, starting at 50%.
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. |
Before you rely on this number
Pipe sizing, flow and pressure figures depend on the actual fittings, the run, the material and local code. Code requirements vary by jurisdiction and override any general calculation, so check what applies where the work is happening.
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.