Contractor Break-Even Calculator
That’s about $6,923/week just to break even.
For planning and education only — not financial advice. Results depend on the figures you enter.
Know the number that keeps the lights on
Break-even is the revenue you have to bring in each month before you make a single dollar of profit. Below it, you’re paying to work. Most contractors have never put a hard number on it — so they take jobs, stay busy, and still wonder where the money went. Enter your fixed overhead and your average gross margin, and this calculator tells you the monthly revenue you must hit to cover the business, plus what you’d need to hit a profit goal on top.
The math
Break-even revenue = monthly fixed overhead ÷ gross margin %. The logic: only your gross margin (what’s left after direct job costs) is available to pay overhead, so the lower your margin, the more revenue it takes to cover the same fixed costs. To hit a profit target, revenue = (overhead + profit goal) ÷ gross margin %.
Fixed costs vs. job costs
Fixed overhead is what you pay whether you book a job or not — rent, insurance, office salaries, software, truck payments. Direct job costs (materials, sub labor, fuel for the job) are already baked into your gross margin, so don’t double-count them in overhead.
Frequently asked questions
What gross margin should I use? Use your real average — price minus direct job costs, across recent jobs. If you’re not sure, the Job-Costing & Profit Tracker measures it per job.
How is this different from my hourly rate? Break-even is a whole-business revenue target; your hourly rate is what to charge per hour to get there. Use them together.
Related: Markup vs. Margin Calculator · True Hourly Rate Calculator · Job-Costing & Profit Tracker.