Mobile Mammography Break-Even Analysis: $77K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $11.3K/mo Overhead base

Contribution margin 63% Launch mix

Break-even revenue $105.6K/mo Cover-all target

Break-even timing Month 1 Launch month

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs to see if the service clears break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the pool that covers direct costs and fixed overhead. $ Low volume High volume Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise with each screening month. $ Tighter costs Higher costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $172,860 $201,000 revenue - $28,140 variable expenses

Margin ratio

86%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base contribution margin must cover. $ Light overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which mobile mammography expenses are fixed, semi-fixed, or variable for break-even?

Cost classification

Break-even is only useful if fixed overhead, stepped payroll, and revenue-linked costs are separated. Here, Year 1 payroll is $55,250 per month, fixed overhead is $11,300 per month, and variable fees move with screening revenue.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Clinical and driver payroll	Semi-fixed	Treat Year 1 payroll as $55,250 per month until FTE counts step up in later years.	Modeling payroll as a percentage of revenue instead of staffing blocks.
Office rent, insurance, licensing, software, utilities, and professional services	Fixed	Use $11,300 per month as recurring fixed overhead in monthly break-even.	Spreading these items across each screening as if they rise with volume.
Radiologist reading fees	Variable	Apply as 50% of revenue in the break-even contribution margin.	Putting reading fees in overhead and overstating margin per screening.
Medical supplies and consumables	Variable	Apply as 20% of revenue because usage follows completed screenings.	Using one flat monthly supply budget even when screening volume changes.
Vehicle fuel and maintenance	Variable	Apply as 40% of revenue since route activity rises with service volume.	Treating the vehicle expense like rent and hiding route density problems.
Sales commissions and referral fees	Variable	Apply as 30% of revenue for referred or commissioned screening revenue.	Counting gross revenue but leaving acquisition fees out of contribution margin.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full mobile mammography scenarios?

Scenario table

Break-even improves as monthly scans spread fixed staff and vehicle costs over more revenue. The lean case clears the threshold, and the base and full cases build a much wider cushion if route density, staffing coverage, payer mix, and vehicle uptime hold.

Planning assumptions only; actual results can move with route fill, staffing, payer mix, and vehicle uptime.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch mix	$124,300	$17,402	$66,550	86.0%	$40,348	Above break-even, but the cushion is still thin.
Base Year 3 scaled mix	$363,750	$47,288	$125,133	87.0%	$191,329	Break-even risk drops as the route fills and fixed costs spread out.
Full Year 5 mature mix	$848,810	$104,404	$220,633	87.7%	$523,773	Strong cushion if uptime and referral flow stay steady.

What breaks first if screenings slow or costs rise?

Stress test

The base plan has room, but it tightens fast if screening revenue slips, overhead grows, or reimbursement weakens. The biggest watchouts are route fill, no-shows, vehicle downtime, credentialing delays, and payer softness.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$77,400	$46,900 cushion	Base year revenue stays well above break-even.
Revenue shortfall	Year 1 revenue falls to $77,400.	$77,400	$0 cushion	Any further drop turns the month negative.
Fixed-cost pressure	Monthly overhead rises by $10,000.	$89,000	$35,300 cushion	Added overhead pushes the break-even line up fast.
Margin pressure	Radiology read fees, supplies, fuel, maintenance, and referral fees lift variable load by 2 points.	$79,200	$45,100 cushion	Lower contribution margin trims the safety buffer.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls to $77,400, overhead rises by $10,000, and variable load rises by 2 points.	$91,100	$13,700 gap	This is the worst mix because lower sales and higher costs hit at once.

What should you verify before buying the first mobile mammography unit?

Founder checklist

Don’t buy the first unit until signed host sites, payer mix, staffing, and cash all clear the break-even bar. Here’s the quick math: at about $232 per screening and 86% contribution margin, you need roughly 333 screenings a month to cover fixed load.

1Host Demand333 screens/mo

Confirm signed host-site demand that can fill at least 333 screenings a month before you commit the vehicle, or the route will miss break-even.

2Payer Mix$232 avg

Check that the reimbursement mix stays near a $232 weighted average per screening, because weaker payer mix pushes the break-even volume up.

3Route Margin86% CM

Make sure radiology reads, supplies, fuel, and referral fees stay near 14% of revenue, so each screening keeps enough margin to cover fixed payroll.

4Staff Plan9 FTEs

Staff to the Year 1 plan of 9 FTEs so screening, outreach, driving, operations, and sales can run at the same time.

5Launch GateMonth 1 ready

Verify licensing, accreditation, fleet insurance, and malpractice coverage before launch month, because any gap can delay billing and route use.

6Cash Trough-$876K

Hold enough reserve for the Month 6 cash low of about negative $876k after the roughly $1.98M startup build.