Medical Cannabis Delivery Break-Even: About $80K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $52.1K/mo Run-rate base

Contribution margin 81% After variable spend

Break-even revenue $64.3K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 23 Model crossover

Break-even calculator

Test whether monthly revenue clears variable expenses and the fixed cost base.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the top line that must cover fixed costs after direct expenses. $ Lower volume Higher volume Variable expenses Direct costs like support and ad spend rise as revenue grows. $ Light spend Heavy spend

Money available to cover fixed costs $94,000 $110,000 revenue - $16,000 variable expenses

Margin ratio

85%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base that contribution margin has to cover. $ Small team Larger team

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which medical cannabis delivery expenses are fixed, variable, semi-variable, or semi-fixed?

Cost classification

Break-even only works when recurring overhead stays separate from order-driven fees. In the first year, fixed overhead is $10,000/month before payroll, while processing starts at 2.8% of revenue and should move with sales volume.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Recurring fixed overhead	Fixed	Use $10,000/month for rent, legal and compliance, software, insurance, accounting, utilities, security, and supplies from Month 1 to Month 60.	Spreading these costs across each order and making break-even look safer than it is.
Year 1 salaried team	Fixed	Use about $42,100/month in the first year: $505,000 annual salary load divided by 12 months.	Treating core salaries as variable, or reading the annual payroll math as $421,000/month.
Payment processing fees	Variable	Apply 2.8% of revenue in the first year, stepping down to 2.0% by the fifth year.	Offsetting this expense with seller payment processing fee revenue, which is $0.00 in the assumptions.
Platform hosting & infrastructure	Variable	Model as 1.2% of revenue in the first year, falling to 0.8% by the fifth year as scale improves.	Locking hosting into one flat server bill when the model ties it to usage.
Customer & partner support	Variable	Use 6.0% of revenue in the first year, declining to 4.0% by the fifth year.	Double-counting support by adding both this percentage and full staff costs without a capacity plan.
Digital advertising spend	Variable	Use 9.0% of revenue in the first year, dropping to 7.0% by the fifth year.	Mixing this revenue-based spend with buyer and seller CAC budgets without reconciling total marketing dollars.
Driver pay, mileage, and dispatch labor	Semi-variable	Separate any base route coverage from per-order, per-mile, or dispatch work that rises with deliveries.	Calling the full delivery labor line fixed when low order density can push cost per drop higher.
Added support or operations staff	Semi-fixed	Add staff in steps when order volume exceeds current team capacity, not on every single order.	Hiring too early and moving the Month 23 break-even target farther out.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full medical cannabis delivery setups?

Scenario table

More staff and more acquisition spend push fixed costs up faster than margin improves, so the break-even line moves higher. Lean gets you closest to test the license path; full only works if route density and partner coverage are there.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will move with licensing, compliance, demand, and operating discipline.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean license-path setup	$643k	$122k	$521k	81.0%	$0	Lowest fixed load, but the cushion is thin.
Base launch setup	$797k	$151k	$646k	81.0%	$0	Best launch case, but acquisition spend keeps break-even high.
Full route-density setup	$1.25m	$221k	$1.03m	82.3%	$0	Only works with denser routes and stronger partner coverage.

What breaks the break-even plan for this medical cannabis delivery model?

Stress test

The break-even cushion is small, so weak repeat orders or a wider delivery radius can erase it fast. If fuel, driver, or compliance costs rise faster than revenue, the model slips below breakeven.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change in revenue, margin, or overhead.	$79.8k	$20.2k cushion	The plan works, but the buffer is thin.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue falls to $80k.	$79.8k	$200 cushion	Demand is almost at the line, so one slow week can flip profit.
Fixed-cost pressure	Monthly overhead rises by $10k to $74.6k.	$92.1k	$7.9k cushion	Compliance or staffing creep eats most of the buffer.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise to 24.0% of revenue.	$85.0k	$15.0k cushion	Higher fuel, driver, or support cost pushes breakeven up.
Combined pressure	Revenue slips to $80k, margin drops to 76.0%, and overhead rises to $74.6k.	$98.2k	$18.2k gap	This case turns the month into about a $13.8k loss.

What should you verify before you commit to payroll and delivery coverage for medical cannabis delivery?

Founder checklist

Verify the license path, patient checks, and partner coverage before you commit to payroll or delivery coverage. The model reaches break-even in Month 23, but it still needs a $265k cash buffer to survive Month 26, so weak setup timing will break the plan.

1Launch spend$340k

Fund the full setup package before launch, because platform, licensing, infrastructure, branding, security, and hardware hit before revenue.

2License pathPre-build

Confirm the authorization route and patient verification workflow before you buy traffic, because slow eligibility checks will block conversion.

3Demand proof$50 CAC

Track buyer CAC near $50 so you know patient acquisition is real before you scale spend.

4Partner mix70/20/10

Secure dispensary, cultivator, and processor coverage in the planned mix so the supply side can keep up.

5Unit margin$1.06/order

Make sure commission revenue clears the 19.0% variable load, because the estimated order contribution is only about $1.06.

6Cash cushion-$265k

Carry enough cash to cover the $265k trough in Month 26 and the $646k fixed load, keep payroll near the $421k monthly Year 1 capacity, and delay extra hiring until monthly revenue clears $797k.