Judgment Search Service Break-Even Analysis: About $72K/Month

Fixed costs $48.6K/mo Year 1 base

Contribution margin 72.5% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $67.1K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 20 First cover point

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test how monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs affect break-even for a judgment search service.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool that covers direct costs and fixed overhead. $ Lower volume Higher volume Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise as work and sales go up. $ Lower costs Higher costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $78,411 $105,250 revenue - $26,839 variable expenses

Margin ratio

74%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs These are the monthly costs break-even must cover. $ Lean overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed, and which move with judgment search volume?

Cost classification

Break-even only works if fixed overhead stays fixed and volume-linked items reduce contribution margin. For this service, court access, researcher commissions, lead generation, and card fees move with revenue, while rent, core software, and base cloud stay monthly.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent & Utilities	Fixed	Use $4,500 per month in base overhead.	Spreading rent per report and hiding low-volume risk.
Secure IT Infrastructure & Cloud	Fixed	Use $1,800 per month for the planning range.	Treating base security hosting as per-search usage.
Software SaaS Subscriptions	Fixed	Use $1,500 per month before contribution margin.	Modeling recurring subscriptions as report-level charges.
Database Access & PACER Fees	Variable	Deduct 12.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 9.0% in the mature year.	Treating court access as one flat subscription.
Contract Researcher Commissions	Variable	Deduct 8.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 6.0% in the mature year.	Classing researcher time as fixed overhead.
Direct Marketing & Lead Gen	Variable	Deduct 5.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 3.0% in the mature year.	Ignoring acquisition spend when volume scales.
Payment Processing Fees	Variable	Deduct 2.5% of revenue in every forecast year.	Leaving card fees below the contribution line.
Salaried Legal Analysts and Research Specialists	Semi-fixed	Add salary capacity in hiring steps as report volume rises.	Treating full-time staff as fully variable per report.

How does break-even shift from a lean launch to a full judgment search service?

Scenario table

Lean launch stays under water because fixed staff and compliance costs land before volume does. By Year 5, the higher mix of executive and corporate work lifts the margin, so break-even pressure drops fast.

Planning cases only. These are model-based assumptions, not guarantees.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch	$49.6k	$13.6k	$48.6k	72.5%	-$268k	Still below break-even; the launch month cannot carry the fixed load.
Base case	$105.3k	$26.8k	$64.9k	74.5%	-$27k	Month 20 is the crossover, so the early ramp still pulls the year down.
Full scale	$306k	$62.7k	$129.3k	79.5%	$800k	At scale, profit turns solid and break-even risk stays low.

What pushes this judgment search service below break-even?

Stress test

This model breaks fast if revenue slips, court fees rise, or hiring gets ahead of demand before Month 20. The base case already needs a strong margin, so a small cost bump or slower research flow pushes break-even up hard.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	Fixed costs stay at $524k and margin stays at 72.5%.	$722k/month	$0 cushion	Base case is already tight.
Revenue shortfall	Year 1 revenue averages $496k/month.	$722k/month	$164k gap	Lower volume leaves a coverage hole.
Fixed cost rise	Fixed costs rise by $5k/month.	$791k/month	$69k gap	Extra overhead lifts the hurdle fast.
Margin pressure	Contribution margin falls from 72.5% to 67.5%.	$776k/month	$54k gap	Higher fees or slower work cut cushion.
Combined pressure	Fixed costs rise by $5k/month and margin falls to 67.5%.	$850k/month	$128k gap	Two hits together push break-even out hard.

What should you verify before you commit to recurring overhead for this judgment search service?

Founder checklist

Before you lock in the Year 1 build and marketing spend, prove the service can sell enough paid work at the Year 1 rate mix to clear the $722K break-even target. If demand, access, or staffing slips, fixed overhead will outrun cash.

1Volume test73/mo

Test whether about 73 reports a month will actually land, and keep CAC near the $450 assumption before you spend the $45K marketing budget, because that volume supports the $722K break-even target.

2Price ladder$525-$3,000

Confirm the standard, executive, and corporate prices still track 3.5, 8.0, and 15.0 billable hours at $150, $175, and $200 per hour, or the mix stops funding the work.

3Fixed load$48.6K/mo

Hold fixed overhead near $48.6K a month across rent, IT, insurance, compliance, admin, SaaS, and salaries, because that is the load the model must carry to reach breakeven in Month 20.

4Margin mix72.5% CM

Year 1 variable costs are 27.5% total, so contribution margin is 72.5%; if court-data fees, researcher commissions, lead gen, or payment fees rise, the break-even date slips.

5Access & QAMonth 1

Secure database and court-record access in Month 1 and hold QA tight before you hire past the Year 1 team, which already totals 5.5 FTE, because turnaround and accuracy both affect repeat work.

6Cash cushion$314K

Protect at least $314K of cash, because the model's minimum cash point falls in Month 31 and any slower ramp in demand or hiring can create a funding gap before payback.