Electronics Repair Shop Break-Even Analysis: $274K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $20.4K/mo Launch overhead

Contribution margin 74.5% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $27.4K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 25 Model payback point

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed overhead against break-even for an electronics repair shop.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue More revenue gives you more room to cover fixed costs. $ Slow month Busy month Variable expenses These are parts, fees, and other costs that rise with each repair or sale. $ Low costs High costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $26,075 $35,000 revenue - $8,925 variable expenses

Margin ratio

74%

Covers fixed costs

$408 short

Fixed monthly costs This is your monthly overhead before any profit shows up. $ Lean overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses stay fixed and which move with sales in an electronics repair shop?

Cost classification

Break-even is only reliable if parts, fees, and usage-driven work reduce margin instead of hiding in overhead. Fixed rent and base staffing set the monthly hurdle; variable items decide how much each repair actually contributes.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Retail location rent	Fixed	Include $3,500 per month in base overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Allocating rent per repair and making break-even look better at low volume.
Utilities	Fixed	Include $600 per month in fixed overhead within the normal shop planning range.	Treating the full utility bill as sales-linked when the model lists it as monthly overhead.
Business insurance	Fixed	Include $450 per month as recurring overhead before calculating required contribution.	Leaving insurance below the line and understating the monthly break-even hurdle.
Software subscriptions	Fixed	Include $300 per month for operating systems used to run repairs and administration.	Moving subscriptions into variable expense even though they do not rise per repair ticket.
Parts & refurbishment costs	Variable	Reduce contribution margin by 20.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 16.0% by the fifth year.	Treating parts, rework, and refurbishment spend as overhead instead of margin reducers.
Payment processing fees	Variable	Reduce contribution margin by 2.5% of revenue in each forecast year.	Ignoring card fees and overstating cash earned from each repair or device sale.
Fleet operating costs	Semi-variable	Model as usage-linked delivery and on-site repair expense at 3.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 2.2% by the fifth year.	Putting all vehicle activity in fixed overhead and missing the cost of mobile jobs.
Repair Technician payroll	Semi-fixed	Add capacity in steps: $45,000 annual salary starts in Month 13, then rises with FTE growth through the fifth year.	Smoothing technician pay across every repair as if it moved perfectly with each ticket.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full repair-shop setups?

Scenario table

Lean stays below break-even, base closes part of the gap, and full finally turns positive. The model still reaches break-even only in Month 25, so launch cash has to carry the early months.

Planning assumptions only; actual results will move with repair mix, staffing, and demand.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean repair shop: owner and lead technician	$11.4k	$2.9k	$20.4k	74.5%	-$11.9k	Still below break-even; needs about $16.0k more monthly sales.
Base repair shop: adds technician and marketing	$32.3k	$7.9k	$28.6k	75.7%	-$4.1k	Still below break-even, but the gap is only about $5.4k/month.
Full repair shop: larger team and broader mix	$60.7k	$14.0k	$31.3k	76.9%	$15.4k	Above break-even with about $20.1k/month of cushion.

What breaks first if walk-ins slow or costs rise?

Stress test

Slower walk-ins, higher parts and card fees, and a small rent or payroll bump are the main pressure points. If those stack, the shop can move from break-even to about a $61K monthly gap.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$274K/month	$0 cushion	At break-even, any slip turns into losses.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue slips $41K below plan.	$274K/month	$41K gap	Slow walk-ins leave a monthly hole before tax and financing.
Fixed-cost pressure	Rent or payroll rises by $1K per month.	$288K/month	$14K gap	Small fixed-cost jumps raise the break-even bar fast.
Margin pressure	Parts, fleet, and card fees rise from 25.5% to 30.5% of revenue.	$294K/month	$20K gap	Higher variable cost cuts the cash left from each repair.
Combined pressure	Monthly revenue slips $41K, fixed overhead rises to $214K, and margin drops to 69.5%.	$308K/month	$61K gap	Stacked pressure leaves little room for redo work or weak technician use.

Is the shop ready to sign the lease, hire, and stock parts before break-even starts?

Founder checklist

Test the lease, staffing, parts supply, and launch spend against the model before you commit. If the shop cannot fund the Month 26 cash trough, the break-even plan is too thin.

1Launch demand$15K / $50 CAC

Verify that the first-year marketing budget can buy repair customers near the modeled $50 CAC, or the shop will not fill the book fast enough to cover fixed costs.

2Fixed load$5.65K/mo

Check the full monthly overhead, not just rent, because $3.5K of rent sits inside a $5.65K fixed-cost stack that break-even must carry.

3Margin mix74.5% pre-wage

Keep parts, fleet, and payment fees near 25.5% of sales so the shop keeps about 74.5% before payroll and rent.

4Capacity ramp$45K hire

Set the workflow for repair fees, refurbished sales, protection plans, and business contracts first, then add the $45K repair technician only when volume can pay for the step-up.

5Supplier stock20% parts

Test supplier accounts against Year 1 parts and refurbishment costs at 20% of revenue, and make sure the $10K refurbished display stock can turn quickly.

6Cash cushion$598K, Month 26

Hold enough cash to reach the Month 26 low point of $598K, because break-even lands in Month 25 and payback takes 45 months.