Portable DNA Testing Break-Even Analysis: Month 26 Plan

Fixed costs $42.5K/mo Monthly base cost

Contribution margin 80% After variable cost

Break-even revenue $53.1K/mo Monthly target sales

Break-even timing Month 26 First break-even

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test monthly revenue against variable lab costs and fixed operating costs, and see where break-even lands.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the margin that pays fixed overhead. $ Slow start Busy month Variable expenses These are direct lab and selling costs that rise with sales. $ Light cost Heavy cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $79,000 $100,000 revenue - $21,000 variable expenses

Margin ratio

79%

Covers fixed costs

$33,000 short

Fixed monthly costs These are the monthly costs break-even must cover. $ Lean base Heavier base

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses stay fixed and which move with test volume?

Cost classification

Treat $10,200 of listed monthly overhead as fixed and Year 1 revenue-linked spend as 20% before payroll. If mobile practitioner payroll is coded as fully variable, break-even looks too low because hiring rises in steps from 12 FTEs to 123 FTEs.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Include $3,500 in monthly overhead.	Tying rent to test count.
Software Licenses (Platform, CRM)	Fixed	Include $1,200 in monthly overhead.	Treating it as one-time setup.
Cloud Data Storage & Security	Fixed	Include $700 in monthly overhead.	Ignoring future data growth risk.
Vehicle Fleet Lease & Maintenance	Fixed	Include $2,500 in monthly overhead.	Adding duplicate mileage without a separate model.
DNA Reagents & Consumables	Variable	Reduce Year 1 contribution margin by 10% of revenue.	Leaving consumables out of per-test economics.
Device Calibration & Maintenance	Variable	Reduce Year 1 contribution margin by 3% of revenue.	Counting it again as equipment spend.
Sales Commissions & Bonuses	Variable	Reduce Year 1 contribution margin by 4% of revenue.	Modeling commissions as fixed payroll.
Mobile Practitioner payroll	Semi-fixed	Add payroll in staffing steps as capacity expands.	Assuming each added test has matching labor.

How does break-even shift from lean to base to full portable DNA testing?

Scenario table

Higher appointment density lifts revenue faster than variable costs, so contribution margin (revenue left after variable costs) improves as the model scales. Still, added staff and fleet capacity push fixed overhead up, which keeps break-even revenue high.

Planning figures use model assumptions and show direction, not a guarantee.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean mobile pilot	$872k	$174k	$1.125M	80.0%	-$427k	Still below break-even; fixed overhead is the main drag.
Base operating mix	$5.381M	$888k	$3.390M	83.5%	$1.103M	Clears break-even and leaves a real cushion.
Full fleet buildout	$1.912M	$249k	$8.360M	87.0%	-$6.697M	Volume helps, but the larger fixed base still keeps break-even far above revenue.

What breaks the break-even plan for portable DNA testing?

Stress test

Year 3 still clears break-even, but the cushion gets thin fast if bookings slip, sample-handling costs rise, or fleet and staffing costs run hot. The combined case pushes the model into loss, so route density and device uptime are the key watchouts.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change to Year 3 revenue, variable expense, or fixed cost.	$4,059k	$1,322k cushion	Base case clears break-even with room to spare.
Revenue shortfall	Year 3 revenue falls 20% to $4,305k.	$4,059k	$246k cushion	A booking miss almost wipes out the safety margin.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed costs rise 15% from $3,390k.	$4,668k	$713k cushion	Rent, fleet, or staffing growth cuts the cushion fast.
Margin pressure	Variable expense rises 5 points to 21.5% of revenue.	$4,318k	$1,063k cushion	Retests, sample waste, or device downtime hit margin first.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 20%, fixed costs rise 15%, and variable expense rises 5 points.	$4,966k	$661k gap	Low route density and slow corporate bookings push the model below break-even.

What should you verify before buying the first portable DNA device fleet?

Founder checklist

Use this as a go/no-go filter before you commit to devices, vehicles, software, and hiring. The model only works if booked demand, route density, and cash all clear the break-even line before Month 26.

1Booked demand493 tests/mo

Do not buy the $250K device fleet until booked demand can clear 493 billed tests a month in the first operating year, because that is the minimum volume that makes break-even believable.

2Base overhead$10.2K/mo

Keep office, utilities, insurance, software, cloud, legal, and fleet lease near $10.2K a month before payroll, because any creep here pushes the break-even line out.

3Variable margin80% CM

Lock reagent and consumable terms near 10% of revenue, keep calibration at 3% or less, and hold total variable spend near 20% so contribution margin stays around 80%.

4Coverage ramp12 FTEs

Verify sample handoff, route coverage, and staffing can support the Year 1 load before you go past 12 mobile-practitioner FTEs, because labor scales fast once you cross that point.

5Cash cushion-$1.16M

Keep enough cash to survive the $1.16M minimum cash point in Month 25, because if you cannot fund that dip the fleet and hiring plan is too early.

6Workflow gateMonth 26

Do not scale launch marketing until the sample chain-of-custody, calibration, and uptime process works end to end and the Month 26 break-even path is credible.