Outpatient Clinic Break-Even: About $63K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $25.3K Monthly overhead

Contribution margin 83% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $30.5K Cover fixed base

Break-even timing Month 2 Early ramp point

Break-even calculator

Test whether monthly revenue can cover variable expenses and the fixed clinic cost base.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the cash in before direct costs and fixed overhead. $ Soft launch Busy clinic Variable expenses These rise with patient volume and service mix. $ Lean costs High spend

Money available to cover fixed costs $71,214 $85,800 revenue - $14,586 variable expenses

Margin ratio

83%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead the clinic must cover. $ Slim overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which outpatient clinic expenses are fixed, and which move with patient volume?

Cost classification

Break-even gets reliable when rent, software, and insurance stay fixed while supplies, lab inputs, referrals, and marketing move with revenue. Misclassifying payroll or lab spend can make Month 2 break-even look safer than it is.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Clinic Lease Payment	Fixed	Use $15,000 per month across the relevant planning range.	Tying rent to visits instead of capacity.
EHR & Scheduling Software Licenses	Fixed	Use $1,200 per month unless license terms change.	Spreading it per patient as if fully variable.
Professional Liability Insurance	Fixed	Use $3,000 per month in monthly overhead.	Dropping it from break-even because it is not clinical labor.
Administrative Wages	Semi-fixed	Start with $27,083 per month in the first year, then step up as FTE hiring changes by year.	Treating all payroll as fixed forever.
Medical Supplies Consumed	Variable	Model as a revenue-linked percentage, from 6.0% in the first year to 5.0% in Year 5.	Using one flat dollar amount despite higher patient volume.
Laboratory & Diagnostic Reagents	Variable	Model as revenue-linked usage, from 4.0% in the first year to 3.5% in Year 5.	Treating all lab spend as fixed overhead.
External Lab Services & Referrals	Variable	Use the referral-linked rate, from 3.0% in the first year to 2.5% in Year 5.	Ignoring outside lab leakage in contribution margin.
Patient Acquisition Marketing	Variable	Model as revenue-linked spend, from 4.0% in the first year to 3.0% in Year 5.	Calling all marketing fixed when demand still needs paid acquisition.

How does break-even shift from lean launch to full clinic scale?

Scenario table

Lean launch is close to break-even because Year 1 revenue only slightly clears fixed overhead. By Year 3 and Year 5, higher capacity use and more clinical roles spread the lease and staff base across much more revenue, so the cushion grows fast.

Planning case only; results will move with volume, staffing, and payer mix.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$74,750	$12,708	$52,383	83.0%	$9,659	Near break-even; one weak month can erase profit.
Base growth case	$234,750	$36,396	$67,800	84.5%	$130,553	Healthy cushion; break-even risk stays low if staffing holds.
Full mature case	$425,160	$59,522	$69,883	86.0%	$295,755	Strong cushion; demand must keep pace with the larger team.

What breaks first if visits run light or costs run hot?

Stress test

Year 1 clears break-even by only $11,638 a month, so the cushion is thin. Stay above about 560 billable encounters, because a small demand miss, early payroll, or higher supply and lab costs can erase that margin fast.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$63,112	$11,638 cushion	The cushion is real, but not wide.
Revenue shortfall	Year 1 revenue lands 15% below plan.	$63,112	$426 cushion	A small demand miss nearly wipes out the cushion.
Fixed-cost increase	HR Coordinator starts at 1.0 FTE in Month 1.	$68,072	$6,678 cushion	Extra payroll raises the hurdle before demand fills.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 17% to 20% of revenue.	$65,479	$9,271 cushion	Supply waste and outside labs cut contribution margin.
Combined pressure	Year 1 revenue falls 15%, HR starts at 1.0 FTE, and variable expenses rise to 20%.	$70,688	$7,150 gap	The plan loses its cushion and moves into funding risk.

What should the founder verify before signing the lease and locking the clinic build-out?

Founder checklist

Do not lock the lease or build-out until Year 1 volume, staffing, and launch timing all fit the $63,112 monthly break-even revenue target. If any one slips, the fixed-cost load can outrun the opening clinic base fast.

1Capital Load$815K + $15K/mo

Verify the $815,000 build-out, equipment, furnishings, IT, EHR, security, and lab spend still leaves the $15,000 lease inside the break-even plan.

2Demand Proof660/mo

Check that Year 1 demand really supports 660 monthly treatments across the five service lines, because mature-year demand does not pay opening rent.

3Billing ReadyPre-acq

Finish payer credentialing and the billing workflow before paid acquisition starts, or the clinic can burn cash on visits that do not convert cleanly to revenue.

4Unit Margin83% CM

Verify each visit keeps about 83% after medical supplies, lab reagents, external lab referrals, and patient acquisition marketing, so volume can cover payroll and rent.

5Staffing Ramp65% cap

Confirm 2 primary care physicians, 1 diagnostic technician, 1 specialist physician, 1 minor procedure nurse, and 2 medical assistants can cover the 65% capacity plan before adding more FTEs.

6Cash Buffer$208K M12

Keep cash above the $208,000 minimum in Month 12 and delay extra FTEs if visits lag, because that is where the model’s cash trough lands.