Construction Staffing Break-Even Analysis: $29K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $21.7K/mo Month 1 base

Contribution margin 78% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $27.8K/mo Revenue target

Break-even timing Month 6 Launch ramp

Break-even calculator

Test monthly staffing revenue, direct costs, and overhead against break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the pool that covers direct costs and overhead. $ Low volume High volume Variable expenses These are screening, recruiting, and ad costs that rise with revenue. $ Light costs Heavy costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $14,447 $18,058 revenue - $3,612 variable expenses

Margin ratio

80%

Covers fixed costs

$31,803 short

Fixed monthly costs These are the monthly costs that stay on the books even when sales slow. $ Lean overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which staffing agency expenses are fixed, and which move with placements and billable hours?

Cost classification

Break-even is only reliable when each expense follows the right driver. Treat fixed payroll as fixed, and treat screening, training, commissions, and job boards as volume-linked because they move with fills, hours, and placements.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Use $3,500 per month in the fixed overhead base.	Spreading rent across placements and making break-even look easier at low volume.
ATS & CRM Software Subscriptions	Semi-fixed	Use $800 per month until branch headcount or user seats force a step-up.	Ignoring setup and seat expansion when recruiters and account managers are added.
Recruiter Payroll	Fixed	Use the FTE plan: $55,000 per full-time recruiter, rising from 1.0 FTE in the first year to 5.0 FTE in Year 5.	Treating recruiter payroll as variable just because recruiters support fills.
Sales/Account Manager Payroll	Semi-fixed	Model salary in hiring steps: $60,000 per FTE, starting at 0.5 FTE in the first year and rising with the plan.	Forgetting that account coverage jumps in chunks, not one placement at a time.
Worker Screening & Compliance Costs	Variable	Apply 5.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 3.0% by Year 5.	Leaving compliance out of gross margin even though each worker added needs screening.
Specialized Worker Training & Certifications	Variable	Apply 3.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 1.0% by Year 5.	Counting billable labor but missing the certification spend needed to staff jobs.
Sales Commissions (Internal Staff)	Variable	Apply 8.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 6.0% by Year 5.	Putting commissions below EBITDA and overstating contribution margin.
Recruitment Advertising & Job Board Fees	Semi-variable	Use 6.0% of revenue in the first year, but watch for spikes when urgent fills require more paid postings.	Treating ads as a flat budget when open roles and fill volume drive spend.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full construction staffing setups?

Scenario table

Break-even climbs from about $294k a month in the lean launch to $620k in the base branch and $911k in full operation because the fixed payroll load rises faster than the margin improves. So each step up needs a lot more revenue just to stand still.

Planning estimates only. Field-worker pay rate and workers’ comp burden are not supplied, so actual break-even will change once those costs are added.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch	$294k	$65k	$229k	78%	$0	No cushion; a small miss puts it below break-even.
Base branch	$620k	$112k	$508k	82%	$0	This is the planning midpoint; revenue must stay near target.
Full operation	$911k	$128k	$783k	86%	$0	Better margin helps, but the bigger team keeps break-even high.

What breaks first in a construction staffing break-even plan?

Stress test

Year 1 still needs about $294k of revenue to break even, versus roughly $187k planned. With only a 78% contribution margin, a 10% revenue miss, $1k more monthly overhead, or a 5-point margin drop can widen the gap fast.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change. Year 1 holds fixed costs near $229k and variable expenses at 22%.	$294k	$107k gap	Current plan still sits below break-even.
Revenue shortfall	First-year revenue runs 10% below plan.	$294k	$125k gap	Fill delays and pushed-out starts widen the gap.
Fixed-cost pressure	Monthly overhead rises by $1k.	$309k	$122k gap	Extra payroll, rent, or insurance raises the bar fast.
Margin pressure	Contribution margin falls from 78% to 73%.	$314k	$126k gap	Rate cuts or higher recruiting ads make each dollar work less.
Combined pressure	Revenue is 10% below plan, overhead adds $1k monthly, and margin slips to 73%.	$330k	$162k gap	Slow starts and higher costs can erase the cushion quickly.

What should you verify before you sign the lease and hire recruiters?

Founder checklist

Do not sign the lease or add recruiters until you have signed client demand, enough cash for the Month 2 low point, and the core staffing systems live. The model reaches breakeven in Month 6, so the first job is to protect runway and prove repeat demand.

1Signed Demand10 wins

With a $15,000 Year 1 marketing budget and $1,500 CAC, you can fund only about 10 client wins, so verify signed demand before you commit to $3,500 rent.

2Fixed Load$6.25K/mo

Rent, utilities, insurance, ATS and CRM, payroll, accounting, and supplies add up to $6,250 a month before wages, so check that early gross profit can carry that base.

3Cash Cushion$856K

The model’s minimum cash need is $856,000 in Month 2, so confirm payroll and working capital funding can cover the low point without cutting hires too early.

4Margin Mix78% CM

Here’s the quick math: 5% screening plus 3% training plus 8% sales commissions plus 6% recruitment ads equals 22% of revenue, so contribution margin is 78% before fixed payroll, and the 90% temporary, 10% temp-to-perm, and 5% direct-hire mix needs to hold.

5Billable Hours180/480 hrs

Year 1 assumes 180 temporary billable hours and 480 temp-to-perm hours, with direct-hire at zero, so do not hire ahead of booked hours unless the pipeline is already real.

6Workflow Stack7 workflows

Set up ATS, CRM, payroll, accounting, insurance, screening, training, and compliance workflows before launch, because weak onboarding and bad records will eat margin fast.