Hospital Privacy Curtain Break-Even Needs About $92K Monthly

Fixed costs $71.0K/mo Lease + payroll

Contribution margin 78% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $90.5K/mo Revenue target

Break-even timing Month 1 Launch month

Break-even calculator

Test how monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs interact to set break-even for a hospital privacy curtain supplier.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the margin pool that covers fixed costs. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses Direct production, selling, and freight costs rise with sales. $ Lean cost Heavy cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $1,127,358 $1,442,500 revenue - $315,142 variable expenses

Margin ratio

78%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs Monthly overhead stays on even when orders slow. $ Slim overhead Big overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales in a hospital privacy curtain model?

Cost classification

Break-even gets cleaner when lease, salaries, and software stay in fixed overhead while unit materials, direct labor, and channel fees move with volume. Here’s the quick math: first-year base salaries are $505,000, or about $42,083 per month.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Manufacturing Facility Lease	Fixed	Carry $12,500 per month in fixed overhead before contribution margin.	Spreading rent across units too early and hiding idle capacity.
R&D Lab Maintenance	Fixed	Model $3,200 per month as required operating overhead during the planning range.	Treating lab upkeep as optional when it runs every month.
Professional Liability Insurance	Fixed	Use $1,800 per month below gross margin as a recurring fixed burden.	Allocating insurance to product lines by unit volume.
Marketing and Trade Show Budget	Semi-fixed	Start with $6,500 per month, then step it up only when sales coverage expands.	Letting it rise as a percent of every sale without a campaign plan.
ERP Software Subscription	Fixed	Keep $2,100 per month in fixed overhead unless user tiers change.	Putting the subscription into variable fulfillment expense.
General Utilities and Internet	Semi-variable	Use $2,800 per month as the base, and split out usage if production power rises with volume.	Ignoring minimum charges, or treating all utilities as unit-driven.
Base Salaries	Semi-fixed	Use $505,000 in first-year salaries, about $42,083 per month, then step up with added headcount.	Calling payroll variable just because sales roles support revenue.
Unit Materials, Direct Labor, and Channel Fees	Variable	Apply per-unit inputs and first-year selling fees of 4.5% commissions, 3.0% GPO fees, and 2.5% freight.	Entering 45%, 30%, and 25% instead of the stated percentages.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full launch plans for hospital privacy curtains?

Scenario table

Lean sits right on the edge, base covers fixed overhead with a solid buffer, and full scale adds a wide cushion. The break-even line moves most with mix and payroll, so sales pace has to match plant capacity.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will move with mix, pricing, and sales pace.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$92K	$21K	$71K	77.3%	$0	Very thin cushion; one weak month can flip to loss.
Base launch plan	$575K	$131K	$71K	77.3%	$374K	Comfortable cushion; launch economics cover overhead.
Full capacity plan	$2.591M	$531K	$131K	79.5%	$1.928M	Wide cushion; break-even revenue is only about $165K.

What pressure points can push this hospital privacy curtain plan toward break-even?

Stress test

The base plan clears break-even by a wide margin, even after a 25% sales drop or a 5-point margin hit. The combined case is the one to watch, because EBITDA falls to about $228K and the cushion tightens fast.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change from the base case.	$92K	$483K cushion	The base plan clears break-even by a wide margin.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly sales fall 25% to about $432K.	$92K	$340K cushion	Lower volume cuts EBITDA, but break-even stays well below sales.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed overhead rises 20% to about $85K a month.	$110K	$465K cushion	Higher overhead lifts the break-even line, but sales still cover it.
Margin pressure	Variable expense rate rises 5 points to 27.7%.	$98K	$477K cushion	A 5-point cost squeeze trims EBITDA by about $39K.
Combined pressure	Sales fall 25%, variable expenses rise to 27.7%, and fixed costs rise to about $85K.	$118K	$314K cushion	This is the tightest case; EBITDA falls to about $228K.

What should you verify before you commit to the facility, staff, and first inventory build?

Founder checklist

Do not lock the facility and team until signed or late-stage intent clears the $92K monthly break-even floor and the Year 1 run rate supports about $575K a month. Also make sure you can fund the $835K capex build and still hold the $1.154M cash floor in Month 1.

1Demand cover$92K floor

Get signed or late-stage hospital intent that clears the $92K monthly floor, because the Year 1 model assumes about $575K a month and you should not add headcount until that pipeline is real.

2Fixed burn$71K/mo

Check that lease, admin, insurance, marketing, software, utilities, and core salaries stay near $71K a month in Year 1, because a higher fixed load raises the sales level you need before the business is safe.

3Margin mix≈65% EBITDA

Verify pricing after 4.5% commissions, 3.0% GPO fees, and freight still leaves about a 65% EBITDA margin in Year 1, because hospital accounts get thin fast if the mix slips.

4Capacity ramp8,208/mo

Confirm the plant, labor, and suppliers can handle about 8,208 units a month, or 98,500 units in Year 1, because orders above that level fail fast if sewing, hardware, or packaging fall behind.

5Cash floor$1.154M

Hold the $1.154M cash floor in Month 1 and fund the $835K capex build for cutters, sewing, tooling, cleanroom setup, racking, IT, lab gear, and the delivery fleet before you add more spend.

6Supply lockPre-launch

Lock fabric, hardware, resin, and packaging before large orders, and test QC, sterilization monitoring, and lab validation now, because launch delays turn into idle labor and missed hospital schedules.