MEP Coordination Break-Even Analysis: $63K Monthly Revenue Target

Fixed costs $14.8K/mo Base overhead

Contribution margin 75.5% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $19.6K/mo Monthly threshold

Break-even timing Month 4 Launch ramp point

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue against variable expenses and fixed costs to see where break-even lands.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the monthly cash base that has to cover variable and fixed costs. $ Lower revenue Higher revenue Variable expenses Use costs that rise with revenue, like marketing, travel, software, and subcontract support. $ Lower direct cost Higher direct cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $577,095 $730,500 revenue - $153,405 variable expenses

Margin ratio

79%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs Use payroll and overhead that stay close to the same each month. $ Lower fixed cost Higher fixed cost

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which mechanical, electrical, and plumbing expenses are fixed, and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even is only reliable if each expense follows the right driver. Treat monthly overhead as fixed, revenue-linked fees as variable, and staffing as semi-fixed because hiring changes capacity in steps.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Use $6,500 per month from Month 1 through Month 60 when calculating the monthly break-even load.	Scaling rent with project count and overstating the break-even hurdle.
Professional Liability Insurance	Fixed	Use $2,800 per month as recurring overhead unless the policy terms change.	Treating insurance as a per-project fee and understating fixed overhead.
IT Infrastructure & Cloud Services	Fixed	Use $1,500 per month as baseline operating overhead for the relevant planning range.	Mixing this monthly service line with one-time hardware purchases.
CEO / Principal Engineer payroll	Semi-fixed	Use $175,000 annually as capacity overhead; it does not rise with each billable hour.	Modeling principal time as fully variable labor and hiding real capacity limits.
Senior MEP Engineer payroll	Semi-fixed	Use $125,000 per full-time equivalent annually, increasing only when headcount steps up.	Spreading salary as a smooth percentage of revenue instead of adding hires in steps.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) Modeler / Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) Coordinator payroll	Semi-fixed	Use $95,000 per full-time equivalent annually, tied to modeling capacity and staffing levels.	Assuming modeler payroll flexes down instantly when project volume dips.
Software Licensing & Subscriptions	Variable	Use 8.0% of revenue in the first year, falling to 6.0% by Year 5.	Burying initial software purchases in monthly break-even even though startup capital spending totals $380,000.
Travel & Client Meetings	Variable	Use 3.5% of revenue in the first year, falling to 2.5% by Year 5 as delivery gets more efficient.	Treating client travel as fixed overhead when it should rise with sales activity.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full scenarios for an MEP coordination service?

Scenario table

As revenue ramps, payroll and overhead rise with it. So break-even moves from launch control to hiring timing to capacity planning, while the margin cushion improves as variable costs fall from 24.5% to 17.5%.

Planning figures only; actual break-even will move with project mix, scope changes, and billing timing.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$171.3k	$42.0k	$47.7k	75.5%	$81.6k	Launch covers fixed cost, with a modest cushion.
Base staffing case	$730.5k	$153.4k	$126.9k	79.0%	$450.2k	Hiring is absorbable here, and break-even stays well below revenue.
Full capacity case	$1.76m	$307.5k	$216.5k	82.5%	$1.23m	Capacity planning has the widest cushion and the lowest risk.

What pushes the MEP coordination break-even plan off track?

Stress test

The base plan has a strong cushion, but it tightens fast if revenue slips, fixed staff and software costs rise, or rework cuts margin. The combined stress still clears break-even, but the buffer shrinks hard.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change; revenue stays at $1,713K with a 75.5% contribution margin and $477K fixed monthly costs.	$632K	$1,081K cushion	Strong launch cushion, if collections stay current.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 20% to $1,371K.	$632K	$739K cushion	A top-line drop cuts the cushion by $342K.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed monthly costs rise 10% to about $525K.	$695K	$1,018K cushion	More salaried overhead raises the break-even bar.
Margin pressure	Contribution margin falls 5 points to 70.5%.	$677K	$1,036K cushion	Rework or low billable mix needs more revenue.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 20%, margin drops to 70.5%, and fixed costs rise 10%.	$745K	$626K cushion	Still profitable, but the buffer tightens fast.

Can this MEP coordination service clear break-even before you lock in office space and hire the first team?

Founder checklist

Don’t lock in rent or hires until signed or highly probable work can absorb the launch load. The model hits break-even in Month 4, but it still needs $667K minimum cash and about $380K of startup capex first.

1Pipeline CAC$48K budget

Verify the Year 1 marketing budget can buy enough qualified projects at a $2.4K CAC, because that only supports about 20 wins.

2Fixed load$47.7K/mo

If the office is not needed to deliver coordination work, delay the $6.5K rent line, because the monthly fixed load is already about $47.7K.

3Contribution75.5% CM

Keep proposals anchored to the Year 1 rates of $125, $150, $175, $200, and $165 per hour and the planned 45, 25, 35, 55, and 40 billable hours, because that mix drives the 75.5% contribution margin.

4Hiring gate1.0 FTE

Hold the project manager and business development manager until the first team shows visible utilization, because the model already runs the CEO, senior engineer, and modeler at 1.0 FTE in Year 1.

5Cash reserve$667K

Fund the $380K startup capex and the $667K minimum cash need before launch, or Month 2 cash pressure can force rushed cuts.

6Go-live gateMonth 4

Do not launch until insurance, turnaround workflow, scope-change rules, and rework billing are set, because the model only reaches break-even in Month 4.