Human Factors Engineering Consulting Break-Even: $516K/Month

Fixed costs $41.3K/mo staffing and overhead

Contribution margin 68% after variable spend

Break-even revenue $60.4K/mo monthly revenue target

Break-even timing Month 6 launch ramp point

Break-even calculator

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

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the pool that has to cover direct costs and overhead. $ Lower volume Higher volume Variable expenses These are direct costs that move with each consulting month. $ Tighter costs Higher costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $50,025 $73,167 revenue - $23,142 variable expenses

Margin ratio

68%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base that contribution margin must cover. $ Lean overhead Heavier overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed, variable, or capacity-driven at break-even for a human factors engineering consultancy?

Cost classification

Break-even in Month 6 is only useful if each expense follows the right behavior. Treat project-linked spend as variable and capacity hires as semi-fixed, or the model will overstate margin as revenue grows.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office lease at $4,500/month	Fixed	Include as monthly overhead in the break-even base.	Spreading it by project and hiding true monthly burn.
Professional liability insurance at $850/month	Fixed	Carry as a stable monthly operating expense.	Dropping it below break-even because it is not client-facing.
CRM and assessment software subscriptions at $1,200/month	Fixed	Use the subscription fee as fixed monthly overhead.	Treating all tools as variable project spend.
Travel for on-site assessments at 8% of revenue	Variable	Apply as project-linked spend that rises with billings.	Booking all travel as overhead instead of job-level delivery spend.
External lab and measurement fees at 4% of revenue	Variable	Deduct from revenue before contribution margin.	Forgetting that more assessment volume needs more outside testing.
Referral commissions at 5% of revenue	Variable	Model as sales-linked expense tied to acquired work.	Counting referrals as fixed marketing and overstating contribution.
Cloud data analytics usage at 3% of revenue	Semi-variable	Separate base software needs from usage that rises with project volume.	Treating all software as fixed when usage scales with client work.
Senior Consultant hiring at $110,000 per FTE	Semi-fixed	Add in steps when utilization fills and more delivery capacity is needed.	Adding headcount too early and raising break-even before demand is proven.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full-service consulting?

Scenario table

Break-even rises from about $51.6K a month in the lean case to $72.4K at base and $106.3K in full-service. That happens because variable costs ease as a share of sales, but payroll and support costs climb with scale.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even moves with utilization, travel, and hiring timing.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean Year 1 launch	$73.2K	$14.6K	$41.3K	80.0%	$17.3K	Thin cushion; one slow month can erase it.
Base Year 2 scale	$147.8K	$27.3K	$59.0K	81.5%	$61.4K	Best balance; this is the cleanest break-even profile.
Full Year 4 expansion	$279.5K	$43.3K	$89.8K	84.5%	$146.4K	Strong cushion, but hiring must follow signed work.

What breaks the break-even plan for this human factors engineering consultancy?

Stress test

Base case clears break-even with about $216K of monthly cushion. The biggest risks are a 10% revenue miss, a 10% rise in fixed load, or margin pressure from discounting, travel overruns, and delayed project starts.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$516K	$216K cushion	The plan clears break-even, but the cushion is not wide.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue falls 10% to about $659K.	$516K	$143K cushion	A small sales miss trims the room fast.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed load rises 10% to about $454K.	$568K	$164K cushion	Overhead creep takes a direct bite out of profit.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 20% to 25%.	$551K	$181K cushion	Discounting or travel overruns push break-even up.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 10%, fixed load rises 10%, and margin drops to 75%.	$606K	$53K cushion	Only about $40K operating profit remains.

What should this human factors engineering consultancy verify before signing the lease and hiring?

Founder checklist

Only commit once pipeline, utilization, and cash still work after the Month 6 break-even path. If the lease, hiring, and capex push cash below the Month 7 floor, slow the spend.

1Pipeline proof$516K/mo

Confirm the signed pipeline can clear the monthly revenue hurdle before you lock the lease, because that is the scale the model needs.

2Fixed load≈$41.3K/mo

Add the lease, software, insurance, marketing, and Year 1 payroll, then verify sales can cover that fixed burn without relying on wishful growth.

3Margin check80% CM

Travel, lab fees, referral commissions, and cloud use total 20% of revenue in Year 1, so contribution margin is about 80% before fixed costs.

4Utilization fit12.0 hrs

Test whether each active customer can really produce 12.0 billable hours a month while assessments take 15 hours and redesign projects take 40, or delay hiring.

5Launch CAC$1,500

With a $45K Year 1 marketing budget, verify that each new customer stays near $1,500 CAC, which only buys about 30 customers from that spend.

6Cash floorMonth 7 / $696K

Do not commit to the $215.5K capex set unless cash still clears the Month 7 low point, because the runway has to survive before break-even holds.