Optometry Practice Brokerage Break-Even: About $101K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $26.0K/mo Launch burn

Contribution margin 82% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $31.7K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 1 Opening month

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs against break-even for an optometry practice brokerage.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool available to cover fixed overhead after direct costs. $ Lower run-rate Higher run-rate Variable expenses Use direct deal costs that rise with activity, like partner commissions and transaction fees. $ Lower direct cost Higher direct cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $3,178,583 $3,804,917 revenue - $626,333 variable expenses

Margin ratio

84%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

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

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed, semi-fixed, semi-variable, or variable for an optometry practice brokerage break-even model?

Cost classification

Break-even is reliable only if recurring overhead, staffing steps, acquisition spend, and revenue-linked fees are separated. In the first operating year, fixed overhead is small next to payroll and deal-linked fees, so misclassification can overstate margin fast.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Cloud Hosting and Security	Fixed	Model as $2,500 per month from Month 1 through Month 60.	Treating security as optional until transaction volume rises.
CRM and Workflow Software	Fixed	Model as $1,200 per month for the current operating setup.	Ignoring workflow load as listings, buyers, and closings grow.
Professional Liability Insurance	Fixed	Model as $1,500 per month before any deal-level margin.	Underbudgeting brokerage risk in the break-even floor.
CEO and Principal Broker compensation	Fixed	Include the $180,000 annual salary, or $15,000 per month, in operating break-even.	Excluding owner labor and showing a false early break-even.
Senior M&A Broker payroll	Semi-fixed	Add capacity in steps at $120,000 per full-time equivalent, rising from 1.0 in Year 1 to 5.0 in Year 5.	Hiring ahead of proven seller and buyer deal flow.
Seller and buyer marketing budgets	Semi-variable	Use the combined Year 1 budget of $250,000, tied to seller CAC of $1,500 and buyer CAC of $250.	Assuming acquisition cost stays flat as the market gets broader.
Data Licensing and Valuation API Fees	Variable	Apply 5.0% of revenue in Year 1, declining to 3.0% by Year 5.	Missing the gross margin drag from valuation data usage.
External Partner Sales Commissions	Variable	Apply 8.0% of revenue in Year 1, declining to 6.0% by Year 5.	Treating referral and channel sales as free revenue.

How does break-even shift from a lean launch to a full optometry brokerage scale-up?

Scenario table

Break-even gets easier as revenue outpaces payroll and marketing, but the fixed load still climbs as the team scales. The lean case is close to the line, while the base and full cases build a larger cushion.

Planning case only; capex and working capital are cash items, not monthly break-even costs.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Launch floor	$101k	$18k	$91k	82%	-$8k	Near break-even; one weak month can turn it negative.
Year 1 funded ramp-up	$1.51M	$272k	$91k	82%	$1.15M	Healthy cushion; break-even is no longer the main constraint.
Year 5 scale case	$7.41M	$904k	$185k	87.8%	$6.32M	Scale adds room, but close flow must keep pace with headcount.

What pushes this brokerage past break-even, and where does the cushion disappear?

Stress test

The plan clears break-even now, but the cushion shrinks fast if closings slow, seller CAC rises above $1,500, or the mix shifts to lower-value deals. Fixed-cost growth and margin compression are the main break points.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	Annual fixed costs hold at about $827k and margin stays at 82%.	$1.0M	$503k cushion	Keep seller CAC at $1,500 and buyer CAC at $250.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 10% below Year 1 average monthly revenue.	$1.0M	$352k cushion	Delayed closings can eat this cushion quickly.
Fixed-cost pressure	Annual fixed costs rise 15% to about $951k.	$1.2M	$351k cushion	Broker hiring before listings arrive pushes break-even up.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 18% to 23%, cutting margin to 77%.	$1.1M	$437k cushion	A lower-value mix needs more revenue to clear fixed costs.
Combined pressure	Annual fixed costs rise 15% and margin falls to 77%.	$1.2M	$276k cushion	CAC drift plus slow closings makes the model fragile.

What should the founder verify before signing Year 1 marketing, hiring, and platform build for an optometry practice brokerage?

Founder checklist

Don’t lock in the Year 1 seller and buyer budgets until you can show real demand, sane CAC, and deal values that cover the launch load. The model starts with about $61.8K a month of fixed costs, plus $310K of build spend and a $1.013M launch-month cash cushion.

1Seller Demand$150K

Confirm the seller funnel can support the Year 1 mix of 60% solo retirees, 30% relocating owners, and 10% multi-unit groups before you spend the $150K budget.

2Buyer Demand$100K

Confirm the buyer funnel can support the Year 1 mix of 70% first-time ODs, 20% expansion buyers, and 10% institutional buyers before you spend the $100K budget.

3CAC Check$1.5K / $250

Track seller CAC near $1,500 and buyer CAC near $250, or paid acquisition will outrun the launch margin.

4Deal Value$35.8K

Year 1 weighted commission is about $35.8K per close, and the 18% direct cost stack still leaves about 82% contribution before fixed overhead.

5Team Load$61.8K/mo

Treat the base team as about $61.8K a month, so you know whether one CEO, one senior broker, one CTO, one CSM, and one BD lead can carry the pipeline.

6Cash Buffer$1.013M

Hold the $1.013M launch-month cash cushion and keep the $310K build separate from operating burn, because capex won't pay fixed costs.