Materials Planning Consulting Break-Even: $864K Monthly Revenue

Break-Even Metric Cards

Fixed costs $48.8K/mo Base overhead

Contribution margin 68% After direct costs

Break-even revenue $71.7K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 4 Modeled break-even

Break-Even Calculator

Break-even calculator

Test whether monthly revenue covers variable and fixed costs for a materials planning consulting service.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the top line that funds contribution margin after variable costs. $ Slow start Peak year Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise as project volume and delivery work increase. $ Light load Heavy load

Money available to cover fixed costs $693,383 $993,750 revenue - $300,367 variable expenses

Margin ratio

70%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

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

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which materials planning consulting expenses are fixed, variable, semi-variable, or semi-fixed?

Cost classification

Break-even gets unreliable when steady overhead, revenue-linked fees, and step-up hires are blended together. In the first operating year, the model breaks even in Month 4, so each cost needs the right behavior tag.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Use $8,500 per month in overhead across the planning range.	Treating rent as a percent of billings.
CEO / Lead Consultant salary	Fixed	Use the $165,000 annual salary as recurring monthly overhead.	Leaving founder salary out and overstating profit.
Software Subscriptions	Fixed	Use $3,800 per month unless user-seat tiers change.	Scaling the full amount with each client.
Travel and Client Site Visits	Variable	Apply 12.5% of first-year revenue, then use the forecast rate by year.	Budgeting one flat travel amount despite more projects.
Sales Commissions and Referral Fees	Variable	Apply 6.8% of first-year revenue, then reduce with the forecast rate.	Putting commissions in fixed overhead.
Third-Party Data and Analytics Tools	Variable	Apply 8.5% of first-year revenue as delivery volume rises.	Treating data usage like a fixed subscription.
Administrative Assistant salary	Semi-fixed	Add the $45,000 annual role when it starts in Month 25.	Spreading the later hire across Month 1 to Month 24.

How does break-even shift across lean, base, and full-service staffing?

Scenario table

CM ratio means the share of revenue left after variable costs. Lean staffing cuts fixed cost and lowers break-even, while the full-service plan adds delivery and selling capacity but needs more revenue to cover it.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will move with close rates, billable mix, and travel load.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean Year 1 support plan	$234.3k	$75.0k	$37.3k	68.0%	$122.0k	Lowest overhead, so break-even is easiest to hold.
Base Year 1 plan	$234.3k	$75.0k	$49.0k	68.0%	$110.3k	This matches Month 4 break-even and leaves room above it.
Full-service Year 2 plan	$569.6k	$168.7k	$73.1k	70.4%	$327.8k	Higher capacity, but it needs a bigger pipeline to stay safe.

What pressures the break-even plan most for this consulting business?

Stress test

The base plan clears break-even, but the cushion narrows fast if client wins slow, retainers start late, or travel and support costs rise. Watch CAC above $24k and weak renewal conversion.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$864,000	$1,947,000 cushion	Strong cushion, but fixed costs are already heavy.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 15% from slower closes and fewer wins.	$864,000	$1,525,350 cushion	Top-line softness trims cushion, but break-even still holds.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed costs rise 10% before any new hiring.	$951,000	$1,860,000 cushion	Overhead pushes the break-even line up quickly.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise 5 points to 37% of revenue.	$933,000	$1,878,000 cushion	Travel overruns and support inflation eat into margin.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 15%, fixed costs rise 10%, and variable expenses rise 5 points.	$1,027,000	$1,362,000 cushion	Still clears break-even, but the cushion gets much thinner.

Can this materials planning consulting practice cover its fixed load before you sign the lease and hire up?

Founder checklist

The model turns positive in Month 4, but the opening cash trough still hits $672K in Month 2. Before you commit, make sure pipeline, pricing, and staffing can carry that gap without forcing a bad lease or rushed hires.

1Pipeline demand$994K/mo

Verify booked work can reach the Year 3 run-rate and keep customer acquisition cost near $2,400 so sales spend does not outrun revenue.

2Package pricing$8.3K / $2.0K / $4.4K / $5.4K

Check that Year 1 quotes match the hourly math for redesign, retainer, diagnostic, and implementation work before you discount anything.

3Fixed load$48.8K/mo

Add Year 1 payroll to the $21.1K monthly overhead and only keep office space if it clearly helps delivery or sales.

4Contribution margin68.0% CM

Confirm tools, integration, travel, and referral fees still leave about 68% to cover payroll and overhead, or breakeven will slip.

5Staff rampMonth 13

Hire the project manager, data analyst, and marketing specialist only when billed hours can carry the added salary load.

6Cash cushion$672K / Month 2

Protect the opening cash need through Month 2 and avoid annual contracts until onboarding is repeatable and payback holds near 8 months.