Corporate Intranet Development Break-Even: $79K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $54.8K/mo Year 1 overhead

Contribution margin 60.7% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $90.3K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 8 Model break point

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs against break-even for a corporate intranet development service.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the cash left after direct costs to cover overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses Direct delivery and sales costs rise as work volume grows. $ Low direct cost High direct cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $124,438 $165,917 revenue - $41,479 variable expenses

Margin ratio

75%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead before profit starts. $ Low overhead High overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales in an intranet development service?

Cost classification

Break-even lands in Month 8, so the model needs clean cost behavior. Treat payroll and software as overhead, but contractor fees, hosting, commissions, and referral fees as revenue-linked items that shrink margin as sales grow.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
CEO and Strategy Lead payroll	Fixed	Include the $145,000 annual salary in monthly overhead from Month 1.	Treating owner or founder pay as optional.
Senior Software Engineer payroll	Fixed	Include salary based on the FTE plan: 1.0 in the first year, then rising with staffing.	Calling salaried delivery labor variable.
Contractor and Freelance Fees	Variable	Model at 10% of first-year revenue, then adjust by the forecast percentage.	Hiding delivery overflow inside payroll.
Cloud Hosting and Infrastructure	Variable	Model at 8% of first-year revenue because usage rises with active client work.	Treating client usage as flat.
Sales Commissions	Variable	Model at 5% of revenue in each forecast year.	Forgetting commissions in contribution margin.
Referral Partner Fees	Variable	Model at 3% of first-year revenue, increasing to 5% by the mature year.	Ignoring channel cost.
Software Subscriptions and CRM	Fixed	Include $1,200 per month in operating overhead.	Pushing core tools below the line.
Maintenance Support labor	Semi-variable	Scale with support coverage as maintenance adoption rises from 60% to 95% of customers.	Assuming all support is free capacity.

How does break-even change from lean launch to full delivery?

Scenario table

Break-even rises as the team adds support and delivery depth, but the margin stays strong because variable spend falls from 26% to 22%. The real test is whether monthly revenue stays ahead of the bigger fixed base.

Planning assumptions only; actual results will move with sales mix, hiring pace, and support load.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch intranet	$79.4k	$20.6k	$58.6k	74%	$206	Near break-even; best before heavy hiring.
Base operating intranet	$242.2k	$58.1k	$84.0k	76%	$100.1k	Healthy cushion; deeper support mix covers fixed load.
Full delivery intranet	$485.7k	$106.9k	$139.8k	78%	$239.0k	Strong cushion; works after repeatable delivery and retention.

What pushes a corporate intranet development service past break-even?

Stress test

Year 1 revenue is about $79.4k a month, and break-even is about $79.1k. That leaves almost no cushion, so a sales slip or higher delivery cost can turn profit into loss fast.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$79,100	$300 cushion	The plan barely clears break-even.
Revenue shortfall	Year 1 revenue falls 10% to about $71,500 a month.	$79,100	$7,600 gap	Slow proposals can wipe out the cushion.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed overhead rises 10% to about $64,400 a month.	$87,000	$7,600 gap	More overhead pushes break-even above plan.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 26% to 31% of revenue.	$84,900	$5,500 gap	Contractor overuse lifts the hurdle quickly.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 10% and fixed overhead rises 10%.	$87,000	$15,500 gap	Two bad moves at once create a wide monthly gap.

What should the founder verify before committing to hiring and buildout for intranet delivery?

Founder checklist

Don’t add FTEs until the Year 1 revenue path, CAC, and delivery hours are proven. The model needs about $79.4K in monthly revenue in Year 1, and cash bottoms at $697K in Month 8, so the next hire should wait for signed work.

1Demand Proof$79.4K/mo

Do not add FTEs until signed work can support about $79.4K a month in Year 1, because break-even lands in Month 8 and weak pipeline will push it out.

2CAC Control$4.5K CAC

Keep Year 1 customer acquisition cost at or below $4,500, and tie the $45,000 marketing budget to named accounts before you hire sales support.

3Service Rates$18K portal

Price portal work at 120 hours × $150, maintenance at 15 hours × $120, and strategy consulting at 10 hours × $200 so each line pays for its own delivery time.

4Margin Check74% CM

After 8% cloud hosting, 10% contractor fees, 5% sales commissions, and 3% referral fees, about 74% of revenue stays to cover staff and overhead.

5Delivery Flow45 h/customer

Define handoff, QA, security review, and support workflow before scale-up, or the 45 billable hours per active customer will turn into rework and overtime.

6Cash Cushion$697K by Month 8

Hold at least $697,000 in cash through Month 8 and keep fixed spend near $11,050 a month until utilization is steady, then add workstations, the testing lab, and office buildout.