Cell Phone Repair Break-Even Point: About $267K Monthly Revenue

Break-Even Metric Cards

Fixed costs $21.6K/mo Committed base

Contribution margin 81% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $26.7K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 6 Launch ramp

Break-Even Calculator

Break-even calculator

Test monthly repair revenue, variable costs, and fixed overhead against break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue This is the money coming in before direct costs and fixed overhead. $ Slow start Busy shop Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise with repair volume, like parts, consumables, ads, and card fees. $ Low direct cost High direct cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $110,361 $132,644 revenue - $22,283 variable expenses

Margin ratio

83%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base that margin has to cover. $ Tight overhead Higher overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which cell phone repair expenses are fixed and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even is only useful if each expense is classified by how it behaves. In this model, Month 6 break-even depends on separating committed overhead from parts, fees, and staffing step-ups.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Store Rent	Fixed	Include the $3,000 monthly rent in fixed overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Treating rent as lower when daily visits start at 10.
Business Insurance	Fixed	Include the $180 monthly premium in fixed overhead because it does not change with repair count.	Leaving small recurring bills out of overhead.
Replacement Parts	Variable	Treat parts as a percentage of revenue, starting at 10.0% in the first year.	Using one flat dollar amount per month.
Specialized Consumables	Variable	Model consumables as revenue-linked usage, starting at 1.5% in the first year.	Hiding repair supplies inside general overhead.
Payment Processing Fees	Variable	Apply 2.5% of revenue across all five years.	Counting card fees as fixed bank charges.
Utilities	Semi-variable	Keep the $450 monthly base in overhead, then review usage as store activity rises.	Assuming power and shop usage stay flat forever.
Lead Technician	Semi-fixed	Include committed payroll in overhead and step it up as staffing rises from 1.0 to 1.5 to 2.0 FTE.	Ignoring payroll step-ups when visits rise from 10 to 18 to 26.
Marketing & Advertising	Semi-fixed	Plan it as a committed growth budget, starting at 5.0% of revenue and declining with scale.	Cutting marketing to force break-even on paper.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full-capacity cell phone repair cases?

Scenario table

Break-even shifts fast when ticket size, variable cost rate, and payroll move together. Lean tests lease risk, base tests staffing, and full capacity tests technician throughput, so the cushion improves as visits and average revenue per visit rise.

Planning cases only; real break-even will move with mix, labor, rent, and repair time.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean lease test	$42.9k	$8.2k	$18.0k	81.0%	$16.7k	Thin cushion; one weak month can pressure rent.
Base staffing plan	$84.5k	$15.1k	$21.5k	82.1%	$47.9k	Healthy cushion; staffing stays the main cost watch.
Full-capacity growth case	$132.5k	$22.3k	$26.2k	83.2%	$84.1k	Strong cushion; technician throughput must keep pace.

What breaks the break-even plan for a cell phone repair shop?

Stress test

Year 1 clears break-even by about $162k, so the plan has room. But a 20% sales drop, a 10% fixed-cost jump, or a move to 24% variable costs can shrink that buffer fast.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$267k	$162k cushion	Healthy buffer, but it still depends on steady walk-ins.
Revenue shortfall	Year 1 revenue falls 20% to about $343k.	$267k	$76k cushion	Still above break-even, but profit drops fast.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed costs rise 10% to about $238k.	$294k	$135k cushion	Rent, payroll, or overhead creep cuts the room to absorb a bad month.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise to 24% of revenue.	$313k	$116k cushion	Parts and payment fees take more of each repair sale.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls to $343k, variable expenses rise to 24%, and fixed costs rise to $238k.	$313k	$30k cushion	Profit falls to about $23k, so one weak quarter can erase the buffer.

Can this cell phone repair shop clear break-even before you sign the lease and hire the team?

Founder checklist

Test demand, margin, and cash before you sign the lease. At $165 revenue per visit, the model needs about 162 monthly visits to break even, so the Year 1 pace of 260 visits a month only works if that volume is already real.

1Demand proof162/mo

Confirm local traffic can clear about 162 monthly visits, because that is the break-even floor before the lease and first hires make sense.

2Fixed load$4.53K/mo

Make sure rent and the other listed fixed costs stay manageable, since the non-wage base is $4,530 a month before staffing.

3Margin check81% CM

Here’s the quick math: Year 1 variable costs run about 19% of sales, so each $165 visit leaves about $133.65 before fixed costs and wages.

4Team ramp4 FTE

Verify the Month 1 team of owner, lead technician, junior technician, and customer service rep can handle 10 visits a day before you push toward 18.

5Startup spend$74K

Check that you can fund the $74,000 opening spend for build-out, tools, inventory, hardware, fixtures, signage, and software before revenue starts.

6Cash cushion$815K

The model bottoms at $815,000 of minimum cash in Month 2, so lock in that runway before opening or you may miss the Month 6 break-even point.