Competitive Intelligence Service Break-Even Analysis: ~$91K/Month

Fixed costs $13.6K/mo Core overhead

Contribution margin 73% After variable work

Break-even revenue $78.8K/mo Revenue needed

Break-even timing Month 6 First break-even

Break-even calculator

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

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the top line that funds contribution margin and fixed costs. $ Early launch Scaled firm Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise with each research project and deliverable. $ Light direct cost Heavy direct cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $197,572 $262,833 revenue - $65,261 variable expenses

Margin ratio

75%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base that contribution margin has to cover. $ Lean overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales for this research firm?

Cost classification

Break-even is only useful if each expense behaves the way the model says it does. Here, payroll capacity and fixed overhead set the monthly floor, while database, expert, travel, and portal spend move with client revenue.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Managing Director salary, $185,000/year	Semi-fixed	Treat as recurring capacity overhead that must be covered before profit.	Spreading the full salary across projects as if it rises with each job.
Senior Strategy Analyst salary, $125,000/year	Semi-fixed	Add in hiring steps as delivery demand grows.	Modeling analyst labor as perfectly variable by billable hour.
Market Researcher salary, $85,000/year	Semi-fixed	Tie to delivery capacity, not one-for-one to revenue.	Assuming every new researcher is fully used from day one.
Secure Office Lease, $6,500/month	Fixed	Include as stable monthly overhead in the break-even floor.	Allocating rent only to signed projects and understating idle-month risk.
CRM & Project Management SaaS, $1,200/month	Semi-fixed	Hold flat within the current team size, then step up as users and projects grow.	Treating the subscription as fixed forever while headcount scales.
Premium Database Access Fees, 12% of first-year revenue	Variable	Deduct as a revenue-linked expense before contribution margin.	Treating database access as free margin once a client is won.
Expert Network Consultation Fees, 8% of revenue	Variable	Model as a direct percentage of client work.	Forgetting expert calls can rise with research depth and project volume.
Deliverable Production & Secure Portals, 3% of revenue	Variable	Deduct per client engagement as delivery volume increases.	Counting portal and deliverable costs as zero after labor is staffed.

How does break-even change from a lean launch to base scaling and full capacity for this competitive intelligence service?

Scenario table

Lean Year 1 still carries launch risk, but Year 3 reaches the model's Month 6 break-even point, and Year 5 builds a wider cushion as monthly monitoring grows from 30% to 70% of revenue.

Planning cases use model assumptions, so actual results can move with sales mix, staffing, and delivery load.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Year 1 launch case	$124.2k	$33.5k	$57.5k	73.0%	$33.1k	Still below the base break-even line; retainer sales matter most.
Year 3 scaling case	$400.4k	$90.1k	$101.9k	77.5%	$208.4k	Matches the Month 6 break-even signal; monitoring growth starts covering overhead.
Year 5 full-capacity case	$841.0k	$155.6k	$159.0k	81.5%	$526.4k	Comfortably past break-even; the retainer mix gives a wide cushion.

What breaks the break-even plan for this competitive intelligence service?

Stress test

Base case clears break-even with a 73% contribution margin, but the cushion narrows fast if sales slip or delivery gets contractor-heavy. The main risks are lost deep-dive projects, delayed retainers, and higher expert-network or software spend.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$907,000	$335,000 cushion	Base case works, but the buffer is not huge.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 10% to about $1,118,000.	$907,000	$211,000 cushion	Lost deep-dive work can eat the cushion.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed costs rise 10% to about $728,000.	$998,000	$244,000 cushion	Office and staffing creep push break-even up.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise 5 points, cutting contribution margin to 68%.	$974,000	$268,000 cushion	Database and expert-network overruns squeeze margin.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 25%, variable costs rise 5 points, and fixed costs rise 10%.	$1,071,000	$140,000 gap	A weaker pipeline plus cost creep turns the model loss-making.

Can this competitive intelligence firm reach break-even before it commits to new hires and tools?

Founder checklist

Treat this as a go/no-go test: the model needs about $124.2K in average monthly Year 1 revenue, a 73% contribution margin, and breakeven by Month 6, so don’t add fixed cost until pipeline, pricing, and cash all hold.

1Demand Proof$124.2K/mo

Verify the sales pipeline can support the Year 1 average revenue target, because break-even only works if demand closes at the model pace.

2Launch Pricing$18K / $4K / $4.2K

Confirm the three offers sell at 80 hours at $225, 20 hours at $200, and 12 hours at $350, or the launch mix will miss plan.

3Margin Check73% CM

Keep Year 1 direct costs at 27% total, since premium database fees and expert network fees must stay low for the model to clear break-even.

4Fixed Load$13.6K/mo

Make sure the office, cybersecurity, CRM, legal, telecom, and utilities base stays tight, because fixed overhead rises fast in a services firm.

5Staffing Ramp4.5 FTE

Check that the first-year team can stay utilized before you add the Month 13 ops hire, since the plan already assumes a managed ramp in analyst and sales coverage.

6Cash Cushion$765K

Hold enough cash to cover the Month 2 minimum cash need, because capex and payroll hit before the model reaches Month 6 breakeven.