Socially Responsible Investment Advisory Break-Even: $49K/Month

Fixed costs $9.1K/mo Core overhead

Contribution margin 78% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $54.3K/mo Full cost cover

Break-even timing Month 27 Profit turns

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test whether monthly revenue covers variable expenses and fixed costs, and how far you are from break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool available to cover variable and fixed costs. $ Low revenue High revenue Variable expenses Use costs that rise with each new client or account. $ Low costs High costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $69,000 $86,250 revenue - $17,250 variable expenses

Margin ratio

80%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base break-even must cover. $ Lean setup Heavy setup

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which advisory launch expenses are fixed, variable, semi-variable, or semi-fixed for break-even?

Cost classification

Break-even lands in Month 27 only if each expense behaves the way the model says it does. Treat payroll, compliance, and technology as fully flexible, and the break-even point will look cleaner than the cash reality.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Include $4,500 per month as fixed overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Scaling rent with revenue and understating early losses.
Portfolio Management Software	Fixed	Include $1,200 per month before calculating contribution margin.	Treating core software as optional when it supports every client account.
ESG Data Provider Subscriptions	Variable	Subtract 8.0% of revenue in the first year, declining to 6.0% by the fifth year.	Modeling data access like a flat software bill.
Custodial and Platform Fees	Variable	Subtract 5.0% of revenue in the first year, declining to 3.0% by the fifth year.	Forgetting that account activity and assets drive fee load.
External Compliance Monitoring	Variable	Subtract 4.0% of revenue in the first year, declining to 2.0% by the fifth year.	Assuming compliance spend disappears when sales slow.
Referral Partner Commissions	Variable	Subtract 5.0% of revenue each year before fixed overhead coverage.	Counting referred revenue at full margin.
Online Marketing and CAC	Semi-variable	Model the $45,000 first-year budget as planned spend, then tie incremental acquisition to $1,500 CAC.	Calling all marketing fixed or all marketing variable.
Client Service Associate Payroll	Semi-fixed	Add payroll in staffing steps: 0.5 FTE in the first year and 1.0 FTE in the second year.	Treating payroll as fully flexible month to month.

How does break-even change from a lean launch to a base boutique and a full advisory model?

Scenario table

Break-even gets easier as recurring fees grow and variable costs take a smaller share of revenue. The solo launch case stays under water, the boutique case sits near the line, and the full model brings the clearest cushion.

Planning figures only; actual break-even will move with client mix, fee yield, and hiring pace.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Solo-launch advisory	$287K	$63K	$383K	78%	-$240K	Still below break-even; overhead is too heavy.
Maturing boutique advisory	$863K	$164K	$519K	81%	$116K	Near break-even; fee volume starts covering fixed load.
Scaled recurring-fee advisory	$1,653K	$264K	$734K	84%	$587K	Clear cushion; scale gives room above breakeven.

What breaks the break-even cushion for this advisory?

Stress test

Year 3 has room, but the cushion shrinks fast if revenue slips, fees rise, or overhead grows. A 15% revenue miss, a 5-point margin hit, and 10% higher fixed costs can turn a healthy buffer into a small monthly loss.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change; Year 3 revenue stays about $863K/month with 81% contribution margin and $519K fixed costs.	$642K	$180K cushion	Healthy buffer, but slower client wins still matter.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 15% to about $733K/month.	$642K	$75K cushion	Lower client growth cuts the buffer fast.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed monthly overhead rises 10% to about $571K.	$705K	$128K cushion	Higher support and marketing overhead crowd out profit.
Margin pressure	Contribution margin falls 5 points to 76%.	$683K	$137K cushion	Compliance and referral fees shrink the margin.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 15%, margin drops to 76%, and fixed costs rise 10%.	$751K	$14K gap	Slower client acquisition can push the month into loss.

Can this advisory prove demand and cover its fixed base before it commits to office, hires, and platform spend?

Founder checklist

Verify the pipeline, cost load, and service stack before you lock in the office and hires. With a Month 27 breakeven and a $471K minimum cash need, the model only works if Year 1 pricing, CAC, and recurring revenue can carry the fixed base.

1Client pipeline$1,500 CAC

Verify you can book enough Year 1 clients at $250/hour portfolio management, $200/hour financial plan development, and $300/hour specialized advisory while keeping CAC near $1,500, or the break-even date slips.

2Fixed load$34.6K/mo

Check that office rent, software, insurance, IT, utilities, legal, and Year 1 payroll fit the monthly run rate; at about $34.6K, the $4,500 rent only works if the office helps close clients.

3Margin mix78% contribution margin

Confirm the Year 1 mix leaves about 78% after 8% ESG data subscriptions, 5% custodial and platform fees, 4% compliance monitoring, and 5% referral commissions, because that is the cash that pays fixed overhead.

4Hiring gate$492K/mo

Hold the marketing coordinator until recurring revenue clears the model's $492K/month threshold, because Year 2 hiring should follow service load, not lead it.

5Cash cushion$471K

Keep at least the model's $471K minimum cash cushion, since the cash trough lands in Month 28 even with breakeven in Month 27 and payroll can outrun collections before then.

6Launch stackMonth 12

Do not onboard clients until the CRM, client portal, cybersecurity, professional liability insurance at $800/month, and external compliance monitoring are live, because that stack protects service quality and early retention.