Kitchen Hood Suppression Installation Break-Even: $63K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $40.0K/mo Monthly overhead base

Contribution margin 69.5% After job costs

Break-even revenue $57.6K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 10 Forecast crossover

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test how monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs shape break-even for a kitchen fire suppression contractor.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the cash that has to cover direct costs and overhead. $ Lower sales Higher sales Variable expenses Use direct costs that rise with each install, service visit, and sale. $ Lower direct Higher direct

Money available to cover fixed costs $133,542 $184,167 revenue - $50,625 variable expenses

Margin ratio

73%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead your margin must cover before profit starts. $ Lower overhead Higher overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which fire suppression contractor expenses are fixed, variable, semi-variable, or semi-fixed?

Cost classification

Break-even gets unreliable when job materials, fuel, and commissions are mixed with overhead. Keep direct job percentages variable, salary payroll and insurance in overhead, and scale-driven expenses in separate buckets.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office & Warehouse Rent	Fixed	Carry $4,500 per month in overhead before calculating contribution margin.	Spreading rent across each job and overstating job margin risk.
General Liability Insurance	Fixed	Carry $2,800 per month as required operating overhead.	Moving insurance into job margin instead of monthly overhead.
Fleet Insurance	Fixed	Carry $1,200 per month even when job volume is light.	Treating truck insurance like fuel that rises with every job.
Salaried Technician Payroll	Fixed	Treat salaried field labor as overhead unless technicians are paid per job.	Putting technician salaries into job margin and hiding break-even load.
Utilities & Communications	Semi-fixed	Start with $650 per month, then step it up as dispatch, office, or field capacity expands.	Assuming it moves directly with every dollar of revenue.
System Equipment & Parts	Variable	Model as direct job expense at 18.0% of first-year revenue, declining to 15.0% by the fifth year.	Recording job parts as overhead and overstating contribution margin.
Fleet Fuel & Maintenance	Semi-variable	Use the revenue-linked rate, starting at 4.5% in the first year, with usage tied to field activity.	Treating all vehicle expense as fixed because the trucks are owned.
Sales Commissions	Variable	Apply commissions to sales volume, starting at 3.0% of revenue in the first year.	Leaving commissions out of contribution margin and overstating break-even safety.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full scenarios for a kitchen hood fire suppression installer?

Scenario table

Lean is below break-even, base sits on it, and full scale adds cushion. The swing comes from margin mix and how much payroll and overhead each dollar of revenue has to carry.

Planning cases only; timing, job mix, and staffing can move break-even.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$49.2k	$15.0k	$44.0k	69.5%	-$9.8k	Still short of break-even; monthly burn is about $9.8k.
Base break-even case	$63.3k	$19.3k	$44.0k	69.5%	$0	This is the break-even line; small misses turn negative.
Full Year 2 scale case	$111.6k	$32.2k	$48.9k	71.1%	$30.5k	Clear cushion here; added volume can support more hiring.

What breaks the break-even plan for a kitchen hood fire suppression installer?

Stress test

The plan is tight at about $633k of revenue against $440k of fixed cost. Delayed starts, heavier technician hours, truck cost creep, and permit-driven billing delays are the pressure points that can wipe out the cushion.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change; revenue and cost mix stay at plan.	$633k	$0 gap	No cushion if starts slip.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 15% to about $538k.	$633k	$66k gap	A slower launch cuts cash fast.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed costs rise 10% to about $484k.	$696k	$63k gap	Headcount or rent growth outpaces sales.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise to 34.5%, cutting margin to 65.5%.	$672k	$39k gap	Truck and technician cost creep eats cushion.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 15%, fixed costs rise 10%, and margin drops to 65.5%.	$740k	$132k gap	Late starts and permit delays stack into a real shortfall.

What should you verify before you lock the lease and buy the first truck?

Founder checklist

Don’t lock the lease or hire up until booked work can cover the first fixed-cost stack. The model breaks even in Month 10, but cash still dips to $356K in Month 14, so demand, margin, and runway need to be real before you spend.

1Signed pipelineMonth 10

Verify signed installs and maintenance work exist before you commit to the lease, because the model does not reach break-even until Month 10.

2Fixed load$40.0K/mo

Check that booked gross margin can cover about $40,000 a month of fixed cost, including the eight fixed expense lines and Year 1 salaried payroll.

3Unit margin69.5% CM

Confirm the math on service pricing, because Year 1 COGS and variable expenses total 30.5% of revenue, leaving 69.5% contribution to absorb overhead.

4Inventory terms$75K

Set supplier terms before stocking the $75,000 initial inventory, so parts do not drain cash before the first jobs are billed.

5Tech ramp2 techs

Delay extra trucks and hires until utilization justifies them, since the plan starts with 2 Fire Technicians in Year 1 and ramps to 3 in Year 2.

6Runway cap$356K

Keep cash above the $356,000 minimum and hold launch marketing to the Year 1 plan of $4,000 a month until CAC lands near $1,200.