Break-Even Calculator
Every business has a sales figure below which it loses money and above which it starts to make some. This works out exactly where that line sits: the number of units you need to sell, and the revenue they bring in, before your costs are covered. It is the calculation to reach for when you are setting a price or weighing up whether the numbers stack up.
Enter all three figures above to find your break-even point.
What to enter
Begin with your monthly fixed costs, meaning the overheads you pay regardless of sales, such as rent, salaries, and software. Add the variable cost to produce or deliver one unit, and the price you sell that unit for. The tool calculates your contribution margin (price minus variable cost), then divides fixed costs by that margin to find how many units you must sell to break even, rounded up to the next whole unit. If your price does not exceed your variable cost, the tool will tell you that break-even is not achievable.
| What we show | How it is worked out | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution margin per unit | Price − variable cost (AUD) | What each sale chips in toward your fixed costs, and after that, profit. |
| Break-even units | Fixed costs ÷ contribution margin | How many you need to sell each month before you make any profit (rounded up). |
| Break-even monthly revenue | Break-even units × price | The monthly sales revenue that covers every cost, with nothing left over. |
Reading your break-even
Your break-even point is the sales target below which you lose money and above which you begin to make a profit. Knowing it turns pricing and cost decisions from guesswork into arithmetic. If the number of units required looks unrealistic for your market, you have three levers available: raise your price, reduce the variable cost per unit, or lower your fixed overheads, and the calculator lets you test each one in seconds. A high contribution margin means every additional sale moves you toward profit quickly, whereas a thin margin means you depend on volume and are exposed if sales fall. It is worth rechecking the break-even figure whenever your costs change, because a rent increase or a rise in supplier prices quietly pushes the target higher. Treat it as a planning anchor, and compare it against your actual monthly sales to see how much headroom you genuinely have. The closer you trade to break-even, the less room you have to absorb a difficult month. If sustained losses are already a concern, our plain-English glossary of Australian insolvency terms explains the formal options available to directors when a business can no longer cover its costs, and our guide to the early warning signs your business may be in trouble covers what usually shows up before the numbers turn.
Would you like these numbers tracked automatically every month?
Start free trial