Building Commissioning Service Break-Even Analysis: $708K/Month

Fixed costs $15.0K/mo Core overhead base

Contribution margin 85% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $17.6K/mo Revenue to cover base

Break-even timing Month 8 Model reaches zero

Break-even calculator

Use this to test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs against break-even for a building commissioning service.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool that pays direct costs and overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses Travel, referral fees, and direct project costs rise with work. $ Lean cost Heavy cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $108,333 $144,333 revenue - $36,000 variable expenses

Margin ratio

75%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs Rent, software, payroll, and other overhead hit each month. $ Light overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which building commissioning expenses are fixed, and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even is only useful if delivery costs and overhead sit in the right buckets. In the first year, revenue is $874K and EBITDA is negative $95K, so small classification errors can hide the real Month 8 break-even risk.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent and Utilities	Fixed	Include $7,500 per month in fixed overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Spreading rent across projects and understating the monthly hurdle.
Professional Liability Insurance	Fixed	Include $2,200 per month as recurring overhead needed to operate.	Leaving insurance out because it does not attach to one job.
Engineering Software Subscriptions	Fixed	Include $1,800 per month before calculating project contribution.	Treating core software as optional until revenue scales.
Salaried Engineering, Project Management, Technician, Analyst, and Admin Staffing	Semi-fixed	Model payroll in hiring steps as full-time equivalent headcount rises with capacity.	Treating all payroll as variable and overstating contribution margin.
Project Travel and Site Expenses	Variable	Apply 10% of first-year revenue, then reduce per the forecast as delivery gets tighter.	Ignoring travel in project pricing and eroding job margin.
Sales Commissions and Referral Fees	Variable	Apply 5% of revenue in each forecast year as a direct sales-volume charge.	Counting booked revenue before the sales fee burden.
Cloud Data Infrastructure and Hosting	Semi-variable	Apply 8% of first-year revenue, declining to 6% by the fifth year as scale improves.	Putting all data platform spend in fixed overhead and missing usage drag.
Field Equipment Maintenance and Calibration	Semi-variable	Apply 4% of first-year revenue, declining to 2% by the fifth year.	Assuming field tools are only startup equipment, not recurring delivery support.

How does break-even shift from a lean setup to base and full capacity for this building commissioning service?

Scenario table

The lean plan sits close to the line, while higher utilization and a stronger fee mix create more room above break-even. The fixed load rises with headcount, so margin mix has to keep pace.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will move with project mix, staffing, and win rates.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean commissioning setup	$72.8K	$19.7K	$51.7K	73%	-$7.9K	Still tight; one weak month can push it below break-even.
Base commissioning buildout	$144.3K	$36.1K	$71.9K	75%	$20.6K	Small cushion; steady project flow is enough to stay above break-even.
Full-capacity commissioning team	$451.6K	$90.3K	$162.5K	80%	$142.8K	Wide cushion; higher utilization can absorb the larger team.

What breaks the break-even plan for this commissioning service?

Stress test

At $728K a month and a 73% contribution margin, the plan only carries about $14K of cushion against $517K of fixed costs. Watch for delayed project starts, more travel, extra testing support, slow billing, and fixed hires before backlog is firm.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$708K	$14K cushion	Little room for delay.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue falls 10% to about $655K.	$708K	$38K gap	A small sales miss turns the month negative.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed costs rise 10% to about $569K.	$779K	$36K gap	New hires and overhead eat the cushion.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 27% to 32%.	$760K	$21K gap	Travel and testing support cut the margin fast.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 10%, fixed costs rise 10%, and variable expenses rise to 32%.	$836K	$123K gap	Backlog slips and cost creep can create a deep hole.

What should you verify before you lock in staff, rent, and launch spending for this building commissioning service?

Founder checklist

Don’t add rent, staff, or equipment until the signed and late-stage pipeline can carry the model’s Year 1 load. The key checks are roughly $708K in break-even revenue, 27% variable expenses, and a $639K minimum cash need through Month 8.

1Pipeline cover$146K/engagement

Confirm the Year 1 mix supports about $146K per weighted engagement; if deal size slips, the break-even pipeline will not close.

2Lease load$7.5K/mo

Delay any lease expansion until utilization is visible, because office rent and utilities already run $7.5K a month before payroll.

3Variable mix73% CM

Hold variable costs near 27% of revenue, with 10% travel and 5% commissions, or the contribution margin slips and break-even moves out.

4Billable ramp6.0 FTE

Hire to booked billable hours, not forecast hopes; the model ramps technician capacity to 6.0 FTE by Year 5, so early hires need real load.

5Cash floor$639K

Keep at least $639K on hand through Month 8 while the $186K launch kit rolls out, because that is the model’s low point before break-even.

6Marketing test$4.5K CAC

Keep Year 1 marketing near the $45K budget and the $4,500 CAC, or paid growth will outrun closed work.