Remittance Break-Even Analysis: Month 26 Profitability Threshold

Fixed costs $100.8K/mo Payroll and overhead

Contribution margin 41% Before fixed costs

Break-even revenue $244K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 26 Cash turns positive

Break-even calculator

Use this to test how monthly revenue, direct costs, and fixed overhead set break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the margin pool that must cover fixed overhead. $ Lower volume Higher volume Variable expenses Use direct costs like banking, KYC, cloud, and support. $ Light costs Heavy costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $527,870 $628,417 revenue - $100,547 variable expenses

Margin ratio

84%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead your margin must cover. $ Lean overhead High overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which remittance service expenses stay fixed, and which rise with transfer volume?

Cost classification

Break-even is only reliable if fixed overhead is separated from transfer-volume charges. In the first year, recurring fixed overhead is $29,500/month, while settlement, verification, cloud, and support charges scale with revenue.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Corporate Office Rent	Fixed	Include $12,000 per month before contribution margin.	Tying rent to transfer count.
Security and Fraud Detection Software	Fixed	Include $4,500 per month as baseline operating overhead.	Assuming fraud tools fall with low volume.
Legal and Regulatory Licensing Maintenance	Fixed	Include $6,000 per month across the planning period.	Leaving licensing outside break-even overhead.
Banking and Settlement Fees	Variable	Apply 8.5% of first-year revenue as transfer volume scales.	Treating payment rail fees as fixed.
Know Your Customer (KYC) and Compliance Verification	Variable	Apply 3.0% of first-year revenue as users and transfers grow.	Ignoring compliance verification per transfer.
Cloud Infrastructure and API Usage	Semi-variable	Model usage at 5.0% of first-year revenue, then improve with scale.	Forgetting API usage rises with transaction traffic.
Customer Support Outsourcing	Semi-variable	Model support at 3.5% of first-year revenue and reduce with scale.	Undercounting support when failed transfers rise.
Compliance Lead Staffing	Semi-fixed	Step up from 1 FTE to 3 FTE as operating scale grows.	Keeping compliance headcount flat through growth.

How does break-even shift from a lean launch to a scaled remittance rollout?

Scenario table

Break-even gets easier as monthly revenue rises, but the lean and base cases still carry heavy fixed overhead. Month 26 is the model break-even point, so a staged launch is the safer path.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will move with corridor mix, fraud loss, and partner fees.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$83.9k	$27.8k	$163.3k	66.8%	-$107.2k	Too small to absorb fixed overhead.
Base launch case	$229.3k	$59.3k	$229.1k	74.1%	-$59.2k	Near break-even, but still a monthly loss.
Scaled rollout case	$628.4k	$128.4k	$341.4k	79.6%	$158.6k	Above break-even with a clear cushion.

What breaks the remittance break-even plan first?

Stress test

The plan is most exposed to weaker transfer volume, higher payout and compliance fees, and a fixed-cost base that already includes $29.5k a month in non-payroll overhead plus Year 2 payroll growth. If those three move together, break-even slips and cash burn deepens.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$3,461,000	$710,000 gap	Month 26 is reachable, but there is no cushion.
Revenue shortfall	Year 2 revenue slips 10% below the $2,751,000 plan to $2,475,900.	$3,461,000	$985,100 gap	Fewer repeat transfers and tighter FX spreads widen the gap fast.
Fixed-cost increase	Monthly non-payroll overhead rises 10% to $32,450.	$3,496,400	$745,400 gap	A small overhead lift pushes break-even later than Month 26.
Margin pressure	The Year 2 fee stack rises from 18.0% to 20.0% of revenue.	$3,516,020	$765,020 gap	Higher partner fees or manual review can erase the spread.
Combined pressure	Year 2 revenue falls 10%, overhead rises 10%, and the fee stack moves to 20.0%.	$3,551,420	$1,075,520 gap	This is the case that can push the cash low point beyond Month 25.

Is the remittance service ready to launch before you lock in hiring and marketing?

Founder checklist

Don’t lock in spend yet unless the launch gate clears Month 26 break-even. Year 1 already carries $750K of marketing, $855K of wages, and a separate $500K licensing reserve, so the model has to survive cash burn before it can scale.

1Launch gateMonth 26

Do not launch corridors until banking and settlement partners are signed, know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks work, and failed-transfer, reconciliation, and refund steps are documented.

2Demand proof$750K

Confirm the Year 1 acquisition plan can hold the listed CACs of $150 and $15, because paid acquisition only helps if it creates repeatable transfer volume.

3Fixed load$100.8K/mo

Verify fixed burn stays near $100.8K a month from $29.5K of overhead plus the $855K Year 1 wage base, with $4.5K fraud software and $6K licensing maintenance included.

4Unit spread80%

Keep variable costs near 20% of revenue, so each transfer leaves about 80% contribution before fixed costs; banking, KYC, cloud, and support are the main leak points.

5Staffing ramp6.0 FTE

Hold Year 1 staffing at 6.0 FTE and stage support growth, because the Customer Success Manager starts in Month 13 and the salary stack rises fast if you pull hires forward.

6Cash cushion-$2.058M

Ring-fence the $500K licensing capital reserve, because minimum cash still hits negative $2.058M in Month 25 and break-even in Month 26 does not protect you from launch burn.