Tree service
Tree Service Break-Even Calculator
Works break-even, where the equipment payments continue through every weather day.
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 the gross profit per job gives the jobs needed monthly. The fixed base in tree care is heavy and genuinely fixed: equipment finance, insurance, vehicle registration, premises and the core crew you keep through the quiet season. None of it stops when wind cancels a week, which is why break-even here has to be met across fewer working days than the calendar suggests.
What moves the number
- Equipment finance and insurance, which are the largest fixed items.
- Core crew retained through quiet periods.
- Available working days after weather losses.
- Average gross profit per job, which varies widely by work type.
Where this one goes wrong
Average gross profit per job is a weak input in this trade because job sizes vary by an order of magnitude: a pruning visit and a large crane removal are both one job. Running break-even on a blended average hides whether you need four large jobs or twenty small ones, and the mix is what actually determines whether a month works. Splitting it by work type is more informative. Weather is the other adjustment: calculating against a full month of working days overstates capacity, and the honest figure uses the days you actually expect to work.
Before you quote
- Run break-even by work type rather than on a blended average.
- Use realistic working days after weather, not calendar days.
- Include the core crew you retain through the quiet season as fixed.
Questions
About this calculator
Why is break-even high in tree care?
Because the fixed base is heavy and does not pause. Equipment finance, high insurance, vehicle costs and the core crew you keep through winter all continue when wind cancels a week. That base has to be covered across the days you actually work rather than the calendar.
Is average job value useful for break-even?
Weakly, because job sizes vary by an order of magnitude. A pruning visit and a crane removal are both one job, so a blended average cannot tell you whether a month needs four large jobs or twenty small ones. Splitting by work type gives a figure you can plan against.
How many working days should I assume?
Fewer than the calendar. Wind, ice and heavy rain stop work at height, and daylight limits the day seasonally. Calculating break-even against a full month overstates capacity, and the resulting target looks achievable while actually not being.
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 $1,250.
- Gross margin per job (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 46%.
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 | $11,500 |
| Average job value | $1,250 |
| Gross margin per job | 46% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Jobs needed per month main result | 20 |
| Revenue needed per month | $25,000 |
| Gross profit per job | $575 |
| Jobs per working day | 0.9 |
You need 20 jobs a month, about 0.9 a working day, to cover $11,500 of fixed cost. That is $25,000 of revenue before the business earns anything.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only monthly fixed costs, this is what happens to jobs needed per month. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Monthly fixed costs ($) | Jobs needed per month |
|---|---|
| $5,750 | 10 |
| $8,625 | 15 |
| $11,500 example above | 20 |
| $17,250 | 30 |
| $23,000 | 40 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Monthly fixed costs ($)
- Rent, office wages, insurance, vehicle payments, software, advertising.
- Average job value ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,250.
- Gross margin per job (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 95, starting at 46%.
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.