Every business has one number that decides whether it is a business or an expensive hobby: how many sales it takes to stop losing money. This works it out, and then shows what it takes to actually pay yourself.
Your numbers
One "sale" can be anything — a product, an hour of work, a monthly client. Just keep it the same all the way down.
Rent, tools, phone, software, insurance — what you pay even with zero sales.
Leave at zero for the classic break-even. Add a number to see the sales you need to actually live on this.
Materials, packaging, shipping, platform fee. Not rent.
Equipment, first stock, website, registration.
What this tool does
Break-even is the moment a business stops eating your money. This works out how many sales you need in a month before that happens, and what those sales are worth.
It starts with the margin on one sale — the price minus what that sale costs you to deliver. That leftover is the only money that pays your fixed costs. Divide the fixed costs by that leftover and you have your break-even number. Simple arithmetic, but almost nobody does it before starting, which is why so many small businesses feel busy and still lose money.
When you should use it
Before you start anything — a shop, a service, a side hustle, a stall.
Before you raise or drop a price, to see how many sales that decision costs or buys.
Before you sign a rent or subscription, because every fixed cost raises the bar.
When the business is busy but there is nothing left at month end.
How to read the answer
Margin per sale — the real engine. If this is small, no amount of hard work saves the business. Fix it first, either by raising the price or cutting delivery cost.
Break-even sales — the number you must beat every single month. Ask yourself honestly whether you can find that many buyers.
With your own pay included — the more useful number. A business that only covers its costs is a hobby with paperwork.
Profit at your expected sales — positive is good. Negative tells you the plan does not work yet, on paper, before it costs you real money.
Months to get your start-up money back — if this is longer than two years, look hard at the plan again.
Example. Fixed costs 600 a month. You sell at 40 and each sale costs you 15, so the margin is 25. Break-even is 24 sales a month. If you also want to pay yourself 800, you need 56 sales. Expecting 30 sales is fine for covering costs and nowhere near enough to live on — better to know that now than in month eight.
What this tool cannot tell you
It does not know your tax, and tax lands on profit — treat the profit shown as before tax.
It assumes one price and one cost. If you sell several things, run it separately for each, or use your average.
It ignores unpaid time. Your own hours are a real cost even when no money moves.
It cannot tell you whether the customers exist. That is the harder question, and no calculator answers it.
It is not advice. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved.
Common questions
What is a break-even point?
The number of sales at which money coming in exactly matches money going out. One sale below it you are losing; one above it you are earning.
What is the difference between fixed and variable costs?
Fixed costs arrive whether you sell anything or not — rent, subscriptions, insurance. Variable costs only happen when you make a sale — materials, shipping, platform fees.
Should I include my own salary in fixed costs?
Both answers are useful, which is why this tool asks separately. Without your pay you see survival. With it you see whether the business can actually replace a job.
My break-even number looks impossible. What now?
Three levers, in order of power: raise the price, cut the cost of delivering each sale, then cut fixed costs. Most beginners reach for the third, which is usually the weakest of the three.
Next step
A business needs runway behind it. Before you start, check how many months of cash you are standing on.