Convenience Store Break-Even Analysis: $258K Monthly Sales

Fixed costs $13.8K/mo Core fixed base

Contribution margin 81% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $17.0K/mo Monthly sales target

Break-even timing Month 5 Model ramp point

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs to see when this convenience store covers overhead.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the cash that has to cover store wages, rent, and other overhead. $ Slow month Busy month Variable expenses Use direct costs that rise with sales, like inventory loss and card fees. $ Low costs High costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $40,500 $50,000 revenue - $9,500 variable expenses

Margin ratio

81%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs Use the monthly cost base the store must pay even in slow weeks. $ Light overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which convenience store expenses are fixed, and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even gets more reliable when each expense follows its real behavior. Rent and committed payroll belong in fixed overhead, while inventory, shrink, card fees, and promotions reduce contribution margin as sales rise.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Commercial Rent	Fixed	Use the $5,000 monthly rent in fixed overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Spreading rent across each sale and hiding the true monthly hurdle.
Business Insurance	Fixed	Include the $200 monthly premium in fixed overhead before calculating break-even sales.	Treating insurance as optional until sales volume improves.
Inventory Purchases	Variable	Apply 12.0% of sales in the first year as a direct reduction to contribution margin.	Budgeting inventory as a flat monthly spend instead of tying it to sales.
Spoilage and Shrinkage	Variable	Apply 2.0% of sales in the first year to capture waste, theft, and expired goods.	Leaving shrink out of gross margin and overstating break-even cushion.
Payment Processing Fees	Variable	Apply 3.0% of sales in the first year because card fees rise with transaction volume.	Lumping card fees into software and treating them like fixed overhead.
Utilities	Semi-fixed	Start with the $800 monthly base, then review step-ups when refrigeration load or long hours increase.	Assuming every utility dollar moves directly with each customer visit.
Store Manager and Assistant Manager Payroll	Fixed	Include scheduled management coverage in fixed overhead; first-year management payroll is $6,875 per month.	Treating all payroll as variable when core coverage is committed before sales arrive.
Sales Associate and Part-time Staff Payroll	Semi-variable	Keep base coverage in overhead, but flex added hours as weekday and weekend traffic rises.	Assuming labor falls to zero when sales dip, even though shifts are already scheduled.

How does break-even change from a lean convenience store to base and full-capacity cases?

Scenario table

Here’s the quick math: higher conversion and bigger baskets push revenue up faster than variable costs. But fixed labor also rises, so the break-even cushion still depends on traffic staying strong.

Planning case only. These figures use model assumptions and are not guarantees.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean convenience store	$28,356	$5,388	$20,858	81.0%	$2,110	Revenue is only slightly above the $25.8k break-even line, so the cushion is thin.
Base convenience store	$72,180	$12,481	$26,900	82.7%	$32,799	Revenue sits well above break-even, so the store has a strong cushion.
Full-capacity convenience store	$132,722	$19,908	$29,817	85.0%	$82,997	Revenue clears break-even by a wide margin, but volume still has to stay high.

What breaks the break-even plan if traffic falls or costs rise?

Stress test

This store is sensitive to small misses in traffic and margin. A 10% sales dip, higher rent or wages, or a five-point jump in variable costs can push it above break-even fast, so watch fees, shrink, and staffing before demand is proven.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$25,751	$0 gap	The store only clears break-even if traffic and basket hold.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly sales run 10% below plan.	$25,751	$2,085 gap	A modest traffic miss opens a monthly hole.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed costs rise 10% to $22,944 a month.	$28,326	$2,575 gap	Rent or staffing creep pushes break-even higher fast.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 19% to 24% of revenue.	$27,445	$1,694 gap	Card fees above 3% or shrink above 2% cuts the cushion.
Combined pressure	Sales are 10% lower, variable costs rise to 24%, and fixed costs rise 10%.	$30,189	$5,330 gap	Small misses across sales and costs stack into a real loss.

Should you sign the lease and lock the opening plan yet?

Founder checklist

Only move ahead if the site, basket, and cash plan can hold together under the model’s break-even load. The lease, staff plan, and startup spend all have to fit before long hours make sense.

1Foot Traffic250-350/day

Verify the block can hit Year 1 traffic of 250 Monday through Thursday, 300 Friday and Sunday, and 350 Saturday, or the store will miss the sales base it needs.

2Buyer Rate40%

Check that 40% of visitors will buy, because the model only works if enough walk-ins turn into paying customers.

3Basket Size$8.48 AOV

Make sure the product mix can hold a Year 1 average order value of about $8.48, since a weaker basket cuts revenue fast.

4Fixed Load$20.9K/mo

Confirm the $5,000 rent still fits inside the full $20,858 monthly fixed load, including $13,958 in Year 1 wages and $1,900 of other overhead.

5Unit Margin81% CM

Test that inventory purchases stay near 12%, shrink near 2%, and fees plus promotions near 5%, so contribution margin stays around 81% before fixed costs.

6Cash Buffer$825K min

Keep enough cash to clear the Month 2 minimum of $825,000 and the $123,000 startup build-out and equipment spend before you lock long opening hours.