Remote IT Support Break-Even: About $43K In Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $5.2K/mo Office overhead

Contribution margin 73% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $42.8K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 15 Ramp to break-even

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs against break-even for remote IT support.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool that covers variable costs and fixed overhead. $ Lower revenue Higher revenue Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise as support volume grows. $ Lower direct cost Higher direct cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $29,200 $40,000 revenue - $10,800 variable expenses

Margin ratio

73%

Covers fixed costs

$2,800 short

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base contribution margin must cover. $ Lower fixed costs Higher fixed costs

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which remote IT support expenses are fixed, and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Cost classification makes break-even more reliable because fixed overhead must be covered every month, while variable items reduce contribution margin. Here, separating $5,200/month fixed overhead from usage-driven costs keeps the Month 15 break-even target honest.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Include $2,500/month in overhead before calculating break-even volume.	Spreading rent per ticket and making scale look cheaper than it is.
Business Insurance	Fixed	Include $300/month in overhead across the full planning period.	Leaving small recurring items out of the fixed burn calculation.
Legal & Accounting Fees	Fixed	Include $800/month in fixed overhead, not contribution margin.	Treating monthly professional fees like one-time setup spend.
CRM Software Licensing	Fixed	Include $400/month in overhead based on the model’s fixed monthly license assumption.	Modeling it as usage-based when the assumption is monthly recurring.
Salaried Operating Team	Semi-fixed	Model in headcount steps; first-year salaried payroll is about $26,000/month from $312,500/year divided by 12.	Treating all payroll as per-ticket variable or ignoring planned FTE increases.
Technician Direct Labor	Variable	Deduct 12.0% of first-year revenue in contribution margin because delivery labor scales with ticket volume.	Treating all technician labor as fixed when direct labor scales with work volume.
Remote Access & Cloud Tools (Usage-based)	Variable	Deduct 4.0% of first-year revenue in contribution margin for usage-linked support tools.	Putting usage tools in overhead and overstating margin at higher volume.
Sales Commissions & Bonuses	Variable	Deduct 4.0% of first-year revenue in contribution margin because payouts move with sales.	Counting commissions as fixed payroll and understating break-even revenue.

How does break-even change as this remote IT support business moves from lean to full staffing?

Scenario table

As monthly subscriptions rise from 60% to 75%, recurring work helps margin, but added technicians and support staff push fixed costs higher. So break-even climbs from about $428k in the lean case to about $828k in the full case.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will move with pricing, staffing, and demand.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean remote helpdesk	$428k	$116k	$312k	73%	$0	Small revenue misses turn into losses fast.
Base remote helpdesk	$567k	$146k	$421k	74%	$0	This is the core case; break-even stays tight.
Full remote helpdesk	$828k	$174k	$654k	79%	$0	More recurring work helps, but payroll keeps the bar high.

What breaks the break-even plan for remote IT support?

Stress test

The base plan is tight. It clears break-even at about $428,000 in revenue, so a 10% sales miss, a 10% fixed-cost jump, or a margin slip to 32% can push the launch back into cash burn.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change; revenue stays at plan.	$428,000	$0 cushion	No cushion, so any miss turns into burn.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 10% below plan.	$428,000	$42,800 gap	A modest sales miss leaves a clear cash hole.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed costs rise 10% on the same revenue base.	$471,000	$43,000 gap	Overhead growth pushes break-even out fast.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 27% to 32% of revenue.	$459,000	$31,000 gap	Higher labor and tools cost eat the cushion.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 10% while fixed costs rise 10% and variable expenses hit 32%.	$505,000	$77,000 gap	Slow sales plus cost creep quickly create burn.

What should you verify before you lock in payroll, tools, and ad spend for remote IT support?

Founder checklist

Before you commit, test whether pricing, lead flow, and staffing can carry the model through Month 15, when break-even lands. If the math is thin, slow hiring and tighten software seats first.

1Pricing Stack$75/$120/$100

Verify that Year 1 subscriptions at $75/hour for 20 hours, one-time support at $120/hour, and project work at $100/hour for 50 hours still leave room after the 27% direct-and-selling load.

2Fixed Load$31.2K/mo

Add about $26.0K in Year 1 payroll to $5.2K of monthly overhead, and the business needs roughly $31.2K a month just to stand still before Month 15.

3Lead Flow333 customers

A $50K Year 1 marketing budget at $150 CAC buys about 333 customers, so confirm the pipeline can hit that volume without CAC drifting up.

4Capacity RampMonth 13

The junior technician starts in Month 13, so make sure the founder and Senior IT Technician can handle demand first; don’t hire ahead of ticket volume.

5Cash Buffer$660K

Keep at least the $660K minimum cash buffer through Month 15, because the model does not reach break-even until then and cash gets tight before revenue settles.

6Seat ControlActive-only

Tie CRM, AI, and remote-access seats to active clients only, and set response-time targets plus refund rules before launch so software spend stays aligned with ticket volume.