Divorce Valuation Firm Break-Even: About $59K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $36.6K/mo Launch base

Contribution margin 71.2% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $51.4K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 4 Cash turns positive

Break-even calculator

Use this to test how monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs line up against break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool that pays variable costs and overhead. $ Lower volume High volume Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise as more cases come in. $ Tighter costs Higher costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $245,168 $300,083 revenue - $54,915 variable expenses

Margin ratio

82%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base break-even must cover. $ Lean overhead Heavier overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales in a divorce valuation firm?

Cost classification

Break-even is reliable only when each expense follows the right behavior. Treat fixed capacity as monthly overhead, and keep revenue-linked items out of overhead so the contribution margin stays clean.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Use $4,500 per month in fixed overhead for the relevant planning range.	Spreading rent across reports and making margin look too low.
Professional Liability Insurance	Fixed	Use $1,200 per month as recurring fixed overhead.	Leaving it out because it is not tied to a case.
Valuation Software Maintenance	Fixed	Use $800 per month as fixed platform capacity.	Treating maintenance like a per-report software fee.
Utilities and High Speed Internet	Semi-variable	Start with the $600 monthly base, then review usage if staff or secure data activity rises.	Assuming the whole bill scales directly with revenue.
Legal and Accounting Retainer	Semi-fixed	Use $1,500 per month until complexity or case volume requires a higher retainer tier.	Modeling it as fully variable with each engagement.
Data Subscription Fees	Variable	Apply 8% of first-year revenue as a direct revenue-linked expense.	Putting database fees in fixed overhead and overstating contribution margin.
Report Production and Secure Data Hosting	Variable	Apply 3% of revenue because production and secure hosting rise with client work.	Ignoring secure hosting load as report volume grows.
Travel for Testimony and Client Meetings	Variable	Apply 4% of revenue and keep it tied to testimony and client activity.	Burying testimony travel inside overhead instead of case economics.

How does break-even change from a lean founder-led practice to a fully staffed trial-support model?

Scenario table

Break-even gets easier as the practice moves from lean solo work to a staffed base and then a fuller trial-support model. The lean case is barely above water, while the base and full cases build more cushion.

Planning figures, not guarantees; referral flow, case mix, and staffing can shift the result.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Founder-led lean case	$70,900	$14,200	$47,000	80%	$9,700	Positive, but the cushion is thin if referrals slow.
Staffed base case	$147,583	$29,517	$49,567	80%	$68,500	Break-even lands in Month 4, so the practice starts to hold real cushion.
Full-capacity trial-support case	$300,083	$54,915	$59,085	81.7%	$186,083	Strong cushion, but the bigger team keeps the fixed base higher.

What breaks this break-even plan if sales slow or costs climb?

Stress test

The plan clears break-even in the base case, but it is sensitive to a sales dip, higher staffing, and travel-heavy testimony work. A 25% revenue drop or 15% higher overhead still leaves a cushion, yet that gap narrows fast.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change from the base plan.	$58,750	$88,850 cushion	Comfortable cushion if collections stay on time.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue falls 25% from the base plan.	$58,750	$51,950 cushion	A sales dip still clears break-even, but the room shrinks fast.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed overhead rises 15% to about $54,100.	$67,625	$79,975 cushion	More payroll or rent pressure cuts into the safety margin.
Margin pressure	Direct costs rise from 20% to 25% of revenue.	$62,667	$84,933 cushion	Higher travel and data costs push break-even up.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 25%, fixed overhead rises 15%, and direct costs rise to 25%.	$72,067	$38,633 cushion	Slower sales, higher overhead, and travel pressure stack fast.

What should you verify before signing the lease and adding staff for this valuation practice?

Founder checklist

Don’t commit to the lease or extra hiring until referral flow, pricing, and billing all clear the bar. This is a people-capacity and case-flow business, not inventory, and Year 1 needs 4+ monthly engagements, $350/$500 hourly pricing, and tight cash control to reach break-even by Month 4.

1Referral Flow4+ cases/mo

Verify referral sources can deliver at least four monthly engagements before you lock in fixed space, because slow pipeline makes the lease heavy fast.

2Rate Card$350/$500 hr

Test Year 1 pricing at $350 per hour for full reports and $500 per hour for expert testimony so gross profit can support break-even.

3Service Hours40/12/15/10 hrs

Confirm the team can cover 40 report hours, 12 testimony hours, 15 review hours, and 10 consulting hours without delay, and hold hiring if volume stays thin.

4Fixed Load$44.9K/mo

Make sure the year-1 salary base plus $9.1K of office and operating overhead stays near $44.9K a month so fixed cost does not outrun early case flow.

5Cash Cushion$806K

Hold enough cash to cover the $806K minimum drawdown in Month 2, because break-even lands in Month 4 and payback takes 6 months.

6Intake Controls$25K / $1.5K CAC

Keep Year 1 marketing near $25,000, hold CAC near $1,500, use retainers or staged billing, and document secure file handling before the first case comes in.