For contractorsOverhead recoveryJobs to break evenBusiness owners
Break-Even & Overhead Recovery Calculator for Contractors
Find the revenue and jobs you must sell to cover fixed overhead at your real contribution margin —
plus overhead % of revenue and an optional hours view. Built for owners planning capacity —
not for homeowners shopping a project budget.
Calculate break-even
Break-even revenue
—
Jobs to break even
Exact: —
Jobs you must sell (ceil): —
Exact can be fractional; ceil is the whole jobs you need to book.
Self-serve math for business owners. Not consulting, coaching, tax, legal, or insurance advice.
This page does not rebuild a full wage→burden→bill-rate stack (see
billable hourly rate) or a full job price stack (see
job pricing). Not a homeowner project-cost tool.
Methodology
Fixed overhead is recovered from contribution margin — what remains after job-direct (variable) costs:
Mode 1 — Jobs / revenue
cm_per_job = avg_job_price − avg_direct_cost
(or cm_per_job = avg_job_price × cm_pct)
jobs_to_BE = fixed_overhead / cm_per_job
BE_revenue = fixed_overhead / cm_pct
With profit goal G: use (fixed_overhead + G) in the numerators
Per day = BE_revenue / working_days
Per truck = BE_revenue / trucks
Mode 2 — Overhead %
overhead_pct = overhead / revenue
Mode 3 — Hours
contribution_per_hour = rate − variable_cost_per_hour
hours_to_BE = fixed_overhead / contribution_per_hour
Warning: a P1 fully loaded bill rate may already include OH — prefer Jobs mode
Unlike P1 (bill rate from wage + burden + OH + margin) and P2 (full job price),
this page plans capacity from contribution margin only — so we do not re-apply the same fixed OH twice.
Worked example (fictional service business)
Input
Value
Fixed overhead / month
$10,000
Average job price
$1,000
Average direct job cost
$600
Contribution / job
$400 (40% CM)
Target profit (optional)
$5,000
Working days
20
Trucks
2
Jobs to break even = 10,000 ÷ 400 = 25.00 (ceil 25).
Break-even revenue = $25,000.
To hit $5,000 profit: 37.5 jobs (sell 38), revenue $37,500.
Per day $1,250; per truck $12,500.
Fixed overhead = period costs that do not rise with one more average job (rent, admin, core insurance, software).
Direct / variable job cost = labor, materials, and job-tied variable spend that scales with selling the job.
Contribution margin = price − direct, as $ and as % of price (margin-on-price vocabulary).
Monthly is the default period; annual toggle multiplies/divides money fields and working days by 12.
Percent fields take percent points (enter 40 for 40%). Values like 0.40 auto-correct with a warning.
Money rounds to 2 decimals; jobs show exact decimal and a ceil “jobs you must sell.”
This page does not rebuild P1 bill rates or P2 full job stacks.
Common mistakes
Treating wage alone as the only cost (ignores materials and job variable costs → overstated CM).
Ignoring variable costs so contribution margin looks healthier than it is.
Pasting a P1 fully loaded bill rate into Hours mode as “contribution $/hr” and subtracting OH again.
Calling any revenue above break-even “profit” while ignoring debt service, capex, or owner draw not in OH.
Entering 0.40 under a % field when you meant 40%.
Using this as a homeowner “what will my project cost” estimate — it is an owner capacity tool.
FAQ
Overhead % vs break-even — what’s the difference?
Overhead % is OH ÷ revenue (a snapshot). Break-even asks how much revenue (or how many jobs) you need at your CM to cover OH.
Weekly vs monthly?
Default is monthly. Switch to annual for a year view, or divide monthly results by ~4.33 for a rough weekly check.
Multi-crew / multi-truck?
Enter trucks/crews to see break-even revenue (and jobs) per unit. It divides the period target evenly — adjust if crews are not equal.
Why show exact jobs and ceil?
Math can say 37.5 jobs; you cannot sell half a job. Ceil is the whole jobs you must book to clear the target.
Can I use my P1 bill rate in Hours mode?
Only with care. P1’s required bill rate often already embeds fixed OH. Prefer Jobs mode, or enter contribution $/hr (price − variable) so you do not double-count OH.
Is this for homeowners?
No. It is for contractors and home-service business owners planning overhead recovery — not a homeowner project budget.