Shower Door Installation Break-Even: About $41K/Month

Fixed costs $27.6K/mo Monthly overhead base

Contribution margin 71% After variable spend

Break-even revenue $38.9K/mo Revenue needed monthly

Break-even timing Month 10 Model break-even point

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue against direct costs and fixed costs for a shower door installation service.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the pool that covers direct costs and fixed overhead. $ Low run-rate High run-rate Variable expenses Use direct costs that rise as each installation goes out the door. $ Low direct cost High direct cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $55,000 $75,000 revenue - $20,000 variable expenses

Margin ratio

73%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs These are the monthly costs your margin has to cover before profit starts. $ Low overhead High overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which shower door installation expenses are fixed, and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even gets shaky when job-level spend is buried in overhead. In the first year, glass, consumables, vehicle use, and payment fees equal 29.0% of revenue, so they must reduce contribution before fixed costs are tested.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Workshop and Storage Rent	Fixed	Enter the $3,800 monthly amount in fixed overhead for Month 1 through Month 60.	Spreading rent across jobs and making margin look worse.
General Liability Insurance	Fixed	Enter the $1,200 monthly premium in fixed overhead before calculating Month 10 break-even.	Dropping insurance from the model because it doesn’t attach to one job.
CRM and Design Software	Fixed	Enter the $450 monthly subscription in fixed overhead for the active planning period.	Treating software as variable even though it doesn’t rise with each install.
Payroll	Semi-fixed	Enter salaries as monthly overhead, then step them up as FTE counts rise by year.	Modeling technicians and office staff as fully variable per job.
Glass and Hardware Sourcing	Variable	Deduct 18.0% of first-year revenue as job-level spend before fixed overhead.	Treating glass sourcing as overhead instead of a direct job expense.
Installation Consumables	Variable	Deduct 3.0% of first-year revenue for sealants, fasteners, and related install supplies.	Leaving small supplies out because each item feels immaterial.
Vehicle Fuel and Maintenance	Variable	Deduct 5.0% of first-year revenue because travel and vehicle wear rise with jobs.	Counting service vans as monthly operating expense instead of one-time capex.
Marketing	Semi-variable	Use the annual budget as planned spend and track first-year CAC at $250 per new customer.	Ignoring the $250 CAC and overstating how fast installs become profitable.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full shower door operating plans?

Scenario table

Break-even moves with job mix, staffing depth, and acquisition cost. The lean plan runs close to a monthly gap, the base plan reaches Month 10 break-even, and the full plan adds cushion if volume and CAC improve.

Planning assumptions only; these figures show modeled break-even risk, not a guarantee.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean service mix	$34,167	$9,908	$28,867	71%	-$4,609	Still below break-even, so small volume slips matter.
Base break-even plan	$40,657	$11,791	$28,867	71%	$0	Month 10 is the line to hit, with little room for delay.
Full operating plan	$73,167	$20,197	$40,283	72.4%	$12,687	Above the $55,640 break-even mark, so the model has a real cushion.

What breaks the break-even plan for a shower door installation service?

Stress test

The base plan clears break-even only if monthly revenue holds near $40,657. A slip to the Year 1 average of $34,167 leaves a $6,490 gap, and higher payroll or material overruns widen that fast.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$40,657	$6,490 gap	Base case is still tight, so booking flow has to stay steady.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue stays at the Year 1 average of $34,167.	$40,657	$6,490 gap	That gap shows how quickly slow quotes hit cash.
Fixed-cost pressure	Add the office coordinator and Year 2 marketing budget.	$56,736	$22,569 gap	More payroll and marketing push the monthly break-even bar much higher.
Margin pressure	Variable costs rise from 29% of revenue to 33%.	$43,085	$8,918 gap	Rework, supplier delays, and longer installs can eat the margin cushion.
Combined pressure	Revenue stays at $34,167 while fixed costs rise and margin falls to 67%.	$60,125	$25,958 gap	Slow sales plus cost creep can push break-even beyond a workable monthly run rate.

What should you verify before you buy vans, tools, and ads for a shower door installation service?

Founder checklist

Don’t commit to the vans, tools, and ad spend until pricing, measurement, supplier timing, and crew capacity all line up. The model reaches break-even in Month 10, but the cash trough hits $683K in Month 18, so a weak launch gets expensive fast.

1Pricing Split$135-$155/hr

Verify framed doors, frameless enclosures, and glass upgrades are priced separately so the mix does not hide weak margin.

2Fixed Floor$7.2K/mo

Confirm the monthly overhead floor for rent, insurance, software, utilities, professional services, and tool replacement before you add labor.

3Measurement FlowBefore order

Lock the measure-to-order workflow and supplier lead times for glass and hardware, because bad measurements or late parts turn into scrap and idle crews.

4Launch Kit$128.7K

Budget the first van, the Month 6 second van, the laser kit, suction lifts, power tools, and initial inventory before you scale heavy field work.

5Capacity Ramp36 installs/mo

Prove the installer team can complete 36 installs a month, or the labor plan will cap revenue before break-even arrives.

6Cash and CACMonth 18 / $250

Keep enough cash for the $683K trough and test customer acquisition cost at about $250 before you scale marketing.