Construction Management Break-Even Revenue: About $60K Per Month

Fixed costs $13.9K/mo Base overhead

Contribution margin 80% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $17.4K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 4 Model timing

Break-even calculator

Use this to test whether monthly project revenue covers direct project costs and the fixed cost base. It shows how fast construction management can move from thin margin to break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the pool that pays direct project costs and then helps cover overhead. $ Thin pipeline Busy pipeline Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise with project volume, like travel, site visits, and subcontracted work. $ Tight costs Heavy costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $105,600 $132,000 revenue - $26,400 variable expenses

Margin ratio

80%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base that contribution margin must cover before profit starts. $ Lean overhead Higher overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales in a construction management break-even model?

Cost classification

Break-even is only useful if overhead stays separate from project-linked spending. Keep client construction budgets out of break-even revenue, and model travel, launch spend, and software usage as they move with sales.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Include in the $13,900 monthly fixed overhead base.	Treating rent as project-level spend.
CEO / Founder Salary	Fixed	Include $15,000 per month in first-year payroll.	Excluding owner pay from break-even.
Senior Project Manager Payroll	Semi-fixed	Model as capacity added in steps, from 1.0 FTE in the first year to 5.0 FTE in Year 5.	Hiring before the signed project pipeline supports it.
Project-Related Travel & Site Visits	Variable	Apply as 4% of revenue in the first year.	Budgeting site visits as flat overhead.
Client Entertainment & Project Launch Costs	Variable	Apply as 3% of revenue in the first year.	Ignoring launch-driven spend on new projects.
Software Subscriptions (G&A)	Fixed	Include $1,000 per month in fixed overhead.	Mixing admin tools with delivery expenses.
Internal Software Licensing & Maintenance	Variable	Apply as 5% of revenue in the first year.	Treating usage-linked software spend as fixed.
Business Insurance	Fixed	Include $700 per month in fixed overhead.	Leaving insurance out of the overhead base.

How does break-even change from a lean team to a full construction management office?

Scenario table

As staffing scales, fixed payroll climbs faster than margin gains, so the break-even line moves up. The lean model clears the bar near $60.1k a month, while the full model needs about $161.7k.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will move with project mix, utilization, and subcontractor use.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean project control	$60.1k	$12.0k	$48.1k	80%	$0	Best for early ramp-up with tight project control.
Small-team growth	$95.1k	$16.6k	$78.5k	82.5%	$0	Fits small-team growth, but overhead climbs fast.
Multi-project office scale	$161.7k	$16.2k	$145.6k	90%	$0	Needs multi-project scale to avoid cash strain.

What breaks this break-even plan?

Stress test

The base plan breaks even at about $60,100 a month, but the cushion is thin. A 10% revenue dip, a 10% overhead jump, or a 5-point margin squeeze can push it back into loss, and the model still needs $795,000 minimum cash by Month 2.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$60,100	$0 cushion	Any delay in starts or collections hits cash fast.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue lands 10% below break-even.	$60,100	$6,000 gap	A modest miss turns profit into roughly a $4,800 loss.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed overhead rises 10% to about $52,900 a month.	$66,100	$6,000 gap	More rent, insurance, or staff push break-even up fast.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 20% to 25% of revenue.	$64,100	$4,000 gap	Fee cuts and higher job costs eat the margin cushion.
Combined pressure	Overhead rises 10% and contribution margin falls to 75%.	$70,500	$10,400 gap	Late starts plus cost pressure can break the plan.

What should you verify before you lock in office, hiring, and project setup spend?

Founder checklist

Make sure fee pipeline, staffing, and cash can carry the fixed load before you commit. In this model, break-even only looks real if you can cover about $60.1K in monthly fee revenue, keep fixed overhead near $48.1K with owner pay from day one, and hold $795K of cash through Month 2.

1Fee pipeline$60.1K/mo

Sign enough fee work to cover this monthly target, keep pass-through construction budgets out of the revenue goal, and spend marketing only while CAC stays near $2.5K in Year 1.

2Fixed load$48.1K/mo

Include office rent, software, and owner pay from day one, then avoid new overhead until this burn is covered.

3Margin mix80% CM

Year 1 leaves about 80% contribution margin after platform, specialist subcontractors, travel, and launch costs, so pricing must hold.

4PM capacity70% load

Do not add more project managers until full project management is running near the 70% allocation in Year 1 and site insurance is in place.

5Billing cadenceWeekly

Track retainers, progress billings, and collections weekly so cash does not slip while projects move from start to closeout.

6Cash runway$795K

Hold this reserve through Month 2, because that is the low-cash point and breakeven does not hit until Month 4.