Mobile Accessories E-Commerce Break-Even: Month 26 Revenue Plan

Fixed costs $2.5K/mo Base overhead

Contribution margin 87% After variable

Break-even revenue $2.9K/mo Revenue needed

Break-even timing Month 26 Plan timing

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs against break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool left after direct costs to cover fixed overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise as sales grow, like product cost and fees. $ Light costs Heavy costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $7,375 $8,500 revenue - $1,125 variable expenses

Margin ratio

87%

Covers fixed costs

$9,125 short

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead contribution margin must cover. $ Lean overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales in a mobile accessories e-commerce break-even model?

Cost classification

Break-even is only useful if each dollar lands in the right bucket. Product, shipping, and card fees move with sales; platform, software, admin, legal, and utilities set the monthly hurdle.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
E-commerce Platform Fees	Fixed	Use $800 per month from Month 1 through Month 60 as recurring overhead.	Spreading it per order and overstating margin improvement at higher volume.
Software Subscriptions (CRM, Email)	Fixed	Use $400 per month as baseline operating overhead before contribution margin.	Treating subscriptions as optional spend when they run every month.
Product Cost - Cases & Protectors	Variable	Apply 7.5% of related sales in the first year, then use the lower annual rates in later years.	Using one blended product margin and missing category-level margin changes.
Product Cost - Chargers & Audio	Variable	Apply 5.5% of related sales in the first year, with rates declining by year in the model.	Classifying inventory purchases as one-time spend instead of sales-linked expense.
Fulfillment & Shipping Fees	Variable	Apply 3.5% of revenue in the first year and update the rate by forecast year.	Holding shipping flat while order volume and revenue scale.
Payment Processing Fees	Variable	Apply 3.0% of revenue in the first year and step down by forecast year.	Forgetting card fees when calculating contribution margin per order.
Paid Marketing	Semi-variable	Model the $50,000 first-year budget against $25 CAC, so spend links to new customer volume.	Treating all ad spend as overhead when CAC changes with order volume.
Support and Operations Hires	Semi-fixed	Add Customer Support and Operations staffing in steps starting Month 13 as the business scales.	Adding full payroll too early or ignoring hiring steps after launch.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full-scale plans for this mobile accessories store?

Scenario table

Lean launch breaks even at the lowest revenue because fixed spend is lighter. Base and full scale need more monthly sales, but the rising contribution margin helps offset the bigger marketing and staffing base.

Planning cases only; these figures are model assumptions, not guaranteed results.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch	$20,650	$2,733	$17,917	86.8%	$0	Best for proving demand, but a small margin miss turns this negative fast.
Base case	$46,125	$4,771	$41,354	89.7%	$0	This is the Month 26 planning case; it closes at break-even only if repeat demand stays on track.
Full-scale	$61,614	$4,947	$56,667	92.0%	$0	Only works after repeat orders and CAC improve enough to support the larger fixed base.

What pressures the break-even plan for this mobile accessories store?

Stress test

The plan is close to break-even at about $20.6k a month, so small misses matter. A 20% sales dip, a 10% fixed-cost bump, or a 5-point margin slide can each push the store back into monthly losses.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change in marketing, costs, or staffing.	$20,600	$0 cushion	Base case is only just covered.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 20% to about $16,500 a month.	$20,600	$3,600 gap	A sales miss this size pushes cash burn up fast.
Fixed-cost increase	Monthly fixed spend rises 10%.	$22,700	$2,100 gap	Overhead growth raises the sales bar fast.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise 5 points from shipping, payment fees, or returns.	$21,900	$1,000 gap	Higher fees, returns, or discounting squeeze margin.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 20%, fixed spend rises 10%, and variable expenses rise 5 points.	$26,800	$6,200 gap	Weak traffic plus margin slip can create a cash crunch.

What should you verify before you commit to inventory, ads, and hiring for this store?

Founder checklist

Before you place the first big order or scale paid media, make sure the unit economics and cash plan can carry you to Month 26 break-even. Year 1 is still loss-making, so the launch only works if basket size, CAC, repeat buys, and hiring all line up.

1Launch Basket$32.01 AOV

Confirm the blended first-order basket stays near $32.01 before you scale ads, because that is the base for payback math.

2Product Cost7.5% / 5.5%

Lock supplier quotes that keep Year 1 product cost at 7.5% for cases and protectors and 5.5% for chargers and audio.

3CAC Target$25 CAC

Test paid channels until new-customer CAC stays near $25, or the first-year marketing budget will not stretch.

4Repeat Demand25% / 0.2 mo

Verify that about 25% of new customers return and order 0.2 times a month, because repeat buys drive later-year growth.

5Fixed Load$2.5K/mo

Keep monthly overhead near $2.5K and delay support and operations hires until Month 13, when the model starts them.

6Cash Floor$535K

Hold at least $535K of cash, since the model does not break even until Month 26 and payback takes 41 months.