Sports Medicine Clinic Break-Even Analysis: $147K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $24.6K Monthly overhead

Contribution margin 86.5% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $28.4K Revenue target

Break-even timing Month 26 Model breakeven

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs against break-even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Monthly sales set the pool that pays variable costs and fixed overhead. $ Low sales Peak sales Variable expenses These rise with each treatment and test, and cut contribution margin. $ Tight spend Heavy spend

Money available to cover fixed costs $363,258 $409,535 revenue - $46,277 variable expenses

Margin ratio

89%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base break-even has to cover. $ Small base Large base

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which clinic expenses are fixed, and which move with patient volume?

Cost classification

Break-even gets unreliable when fixed overhead, volume-linked fees, and staffing steps are blended together. Separate them so the Month 26 break-even target reflects real clinic behavior, not a flat average.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Facility Lease	Fixed	Include $15,000 per month in recurring overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Reducing rent when visits are light, even though the lease still has to be paid.
Medical Malpractice Insurance	Fixed	Include $3,000 per month in overhead before testing visit-level margin.	Treating required coverage as optional until provider schedules fill.
EHR Software Licensing	Fixed	Include $1,500 per month as recurring overhead; keep setup spending outside monthly break-even.	Mixing one-time system implementation with the monthly software license.
Medical Supplies Consumed	Variable	Apply as a revenue percentage, starting at 3.0% in the first year.	Budgeting supplies as a flat monthly line while treatment volume rises.
Diagnostic Test Kits	Variable	Apply as a revenue percentage, starting at 1.5% in the first year.	Forgetting that more diagnostic sessions consume more kits.
Referral Fees Commissions	Variable	Apply as a revenue percentage, starting at 5.0% in the first year.	Counting referred revenue at gross price without the commission drag.
Utilities and Office Supplies	Semi-variable	Start with $2,500 for utilities and $500 for office supplies, then watch usage pressure as patient flow grows.	Assuming these lines stay perfectly flat as rooms, equipment, and front desk activity increase.
Provider and Administrative Payroll	Semi-fixed	Add payroll in staffing steps as physical therapists, sports physicians, rehab aides, and administrative staff are hired.	Treating payroll as fully flexible when first-year staffing adds about $102.5k per month before the schedule is full.

How does break-even shift from a lean clinic to a base build and a full-service clinic?

Scenario table

More staff lifts revenue, but it also pushes fixed costs up, so break-even rises with each scale step. The full-service plan still shows Month 26 break-even because ramp, hiring, and cash timing slow payback.

Planning assumptions only; actual results can move with staffing fill rates and visit volume.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean clinic	$1.08M	$146k	$1.27M	86.5%	-$333k	Below break-even; overhead is too heavy at this scale.
Base clinic	$4.10M	$463k	$2.58M	88.7%	$1.05M	Profitable on steady-state math; this is the first clear cushion.
Full-service clinic	$9.87M	$889k	$4.08M	91.0%	$4.90M	Strong cushion on paper, but ramp timing still pushes break-even to Month 26.

What breaks this clinic's break-even plan first?

Stress test

Year 1 revenue of about $1.08M a month still sits below a roughly $1.47M break-even point. The plan is most exposed to slow credentialing, weaker visit volume, and adding staff before rooms stay full.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$1.47M	$386k gap	Planned revenue still sits below break-even.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue drops 10% to about $975k.	$1.47M	$494k gap	A 10% volume miss deepens the cash burn.
Fixed-cost pressure	Fixed overhead rises 10% to about $1.40M.	$1.62M	$533k gap	More overhead before utilization rises stretches the runway.
Margin pressure	Variable expense rate widens by 3 points to 16.5%.	$1.52M	$439k gap	Higher referral or lab costs cut the buffer fast.
Combined pressure	Revenue drops 10%, fixed overhead rises 10%, and variable rate widens to 16.5%.	$1.67M	$590k gap	This is the fastest path to the modeled cash trough.

Can you sign the lease and hire the first team before the clinic reaches break-even?

Founder checklist

Don’t sign the lease or lock in Year 1 hiring until referrals, payer collections, and cash can carry the plan. This model needs about $147k in monthly collections to break even, and cash falls to -$499k by Month 25.

1Referral Flow98.6K/mo

Confirm booked referrals can support about $98.6k in monthly collections before you commit to the lease, because that sits well below break-even.

2Fixed Load$127.1K/mo

Add the $15k lease to Year 1 wages and overhead, then verify the clinic can still carry about $127.1k in recurring monthly cost before launch.

3Contribution Margin86.5% CM

Check payer mix and collection rates hold contribution near 86.5%, or the clinic will need more than $147k a month to cover fixed cost.

4Hire Ramp4 PTs + 1 MD

Do not assume full patient flow until credentialing, scheduling, and room use can absorb the Year 1 plan for 4 physical therapists and 1 sports physician.

5Cash CushionMonth 25

Test whether cash survives the Month 25 trough, when minimum cash hits -$499k, because payback does not arrive until Month 46.

6Startup Stack$505K

Separate the $505k launch spend from monthly break-even math, and push the $70k diagnostic tools and $80k rehab gym equipment later if visits lag.