Masonry Supply Store Break-Even Analysis: $57K Monthly Sales

Fixed costs $50.5K/mo Year 1 overhead

Contribution margin 81% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $62.3K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 3 Launch ramp

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs against break-even for a masonry supply store.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue drives the margin left to cover fixed costs. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses Direct materials, fuel, and delivery costs rise with sales. $ Light costs Heavy costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $792,667 $966,667 revenue - $174,000 variable expenses

Margin ratio

82%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs Rent, wages, and overhead the margin has to cover. $ Lean overhead High overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which masonry supply store expenses are fixed, variable, semi-variable, or semi-fixed?

Cost classification

Break-even gets unreliable when fixed overhead is treated like sales-linked spend. Use stable monthly costs as overhead, and tie only materials and delivery logistics directly to revenue.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Yard and Showroom Lease	Fixed	Include $12,000 per month in fixed overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Don’t tie rent to monthly sales.
General Manager payroll	Fixed	Include about $7,917 per month in first year overhead based on a $95,000 annual salary and 1.0 FTE.	Don’t treat salaried launch labor as optional after opening.
Yard Operations Staff payroll	Semi-fixed	Model in staffing steps: first year is 2.0 FTE at $45,000 each, or $7,500 per month.	Don’t add yard staff before volume needs it.
Direct Material Purchase Costs	Variable	Use 12.0% of sales in the first year, declining to 10.0% by Year 5.	Don’t confuse inventory buys with margin earned.
Fuel and Delivery Logistics	Variable	Use 7.0% of sales in the first year, declining to 5.0% by Year 5.	Don’t hide delivery loss inside revenue.
Facility Utilities	Semi-variable	Start with the $1,200 monthly base plan, then watch yard and warehouse usage as order volume grows.	Don’t assume utilities stay flat at higher throughput.
Equipment Maintenance	Semi-fixed	Include the $2,500 monthly base plan, with step-ups likely when truck and forklift use rises.	Don’t ignore truck and forklift uptime.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full masonry supply store setups?

Scenario table

Lean cases cut lease and payroll, so break-even drops. Full builds add payroll and yard cost, but they only work if higher volume keeps the product margin intact.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even shifts with contractor density, storage space, freight mix, and margin control.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean yard launch	$264.7k	$50.3k	$38.2k	81.0%	$176.1k	Lower overhead gives a wider cushion.
Base case	$264.7k	$50.3k	$46.5k	81.0%	$167.8k	Gross profit covers fixed overhead with room to spare.
Full build	$14.7m	$2.2m	$64.0k	85.0%	$12.4m	Scale lifts the break-even bar, but the cushion stays strong.

What breaks first if masonry sales slow or costs rise?

Stress test

Year 1 clears break-even by a wide margin, but the cushion depends on weekday traffic and product mix. The biggest risks are a sales miss, higher monthly overhead, and delivery-heavy orders that push freight and supplier costs up at the same time.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$689k	$2.49M cushion	Break-even clears by Month 3, but cash is tight early.
Revenue shortfall	Year 1 revenue falls 10%.	$689k	$2.17M cushion	Slow weekday traffic is the first warning sign.
Fixed-cost pressure	Monthly overhead rises by $5k.	$763k	$2.41M cushion	Lease, labor, and utilities are the main drag.
Margin pressure	Variable expense rate rises 1 point.	$698k	$2.48M cushion	Freight and supplier cost creep eats cushion fast.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 10%, overhead rises $5k, and variable expense rises 1 point.	$773k	$2.09M cushion	Low traffic plus higher costs can turn cushion into a risk.

Can this masonry supply store clear break-even before you sign the lease and buy the first load of stock?

Founder checklist

Test the lease, inventory, and hiring plan against the model first. Year 1 revenue averages about $264.7K a month, while break-even sales need about $574K a month, so the gap is real and the cash trough hits in Month 2.

1Break-even sales$574K/mo

Confirm local contractor and retail demand can reach this level, because Year 1 revenue averages only about $264.7K a month.

2Fixed load$46.5K/mo

Check that lease, utilities, insurance, marketing, software, and payroll fit under this load before you lock the site.

3Contribution margin81%

Verify Year 1 material and delivery costs stay near 19% of revenue, or every sales dollar works less hard at break-even.

4Stock mix40/30/20/10

Match opening inventory to 40% face bricks, 30% concrete blocks, 20% natural stone, and 10% mortar mix so cash sits in fast movers.

5Opening team5 FTE

Confirm the first-year crew can cover 1 general manager, 1 sales and estimation specialist, 2 yard operations staff, and 1 CDL driver, and that the $300K truck, forklift, racking, showroom, and POS package is in place before launch.

6Cash cushion$681K

Hold this minimum cash level through Month 2, because the model's low point arrives before break-even in Month 3.