TSCM Service Break-Even Analysis: Month 6 Revenue Target

Fixed costs $17.4K/mo Base overhead

Contribution margin 72% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $24.2K/mo Cover overhead

Break-even timing Month 6 Cash break-even

Break-even calculator

See how monthly revenue, variable costs, and fixed costs shape the break-even point for a technical surveillance countermeasures service.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the cash base that covers direct costs and then fixed overhead. $ Low volume High volume Variable expenses These are direct costs that rise with each job, like field work, supplies, and referral fees. $ Lean costs Heavy costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $111,780 $155,250 revenue - $43,470 variable expenses

Margin ratio

72%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

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

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses stay fixed and which move with sales for this counter-surveillance service?

Cost classification

Break-even works only when fixed overhead stays out of job delivery costs. In the first year, $6,500 facility rent is overhead, while 8% travel and 10% referral commissions reduce contribution margin before testing Month 6 break-even.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Secure Facility Lease	Fixed	Include $6,500 per month in overhead.	Assigning rent to each sweep.
Professional Liability and Errors Omissions Insurance	Fixed	Include $2,200 per month in overhead.	Ignoring it because volume does not drive it.
Secure Communications and Data Hosting	Fixed	Include $1,200 per month in overhead.	Treating secure hosting as job-level delivery spend.
Field Deployment and Travel Costs	Variable	Subtract 8% of first-year revenue before contribution margin.	Burying travel inside payroll.
Equipment Calibration and Maintenance	Variable	Treat 7% of first-year revenue as delivery burden.	Modeling calibration as one-time only.
Partner Referral Commissions	Variable	Tie 10% directly to closed revenue.	Counting commissions as marketing overhead.
Senior and Junior Field Technician Payroll	Semi-fixed	Add payroll in headcount steps as capacity expands.	Spreading technician payroll evenly across every job.
Subcontracted Specialists	Semi-variable	Use only when job scope needs added capacity.	Loading specialist spend into every engagement.

How does break-even change from lean to full operations for a technical surveillance countermeasures service?

Scenario table

Break-even improves as recurring monitoring grows and the mix moves away from one-time sweeps. Higher contribution margin covers the fixed monthly load faster, so the full case has the widest cushion and the lean case has the tightest.

Planning cases only; demand, staffing, and pricing can move break-even.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean Year 1 mix	$155.3K	$43.5K	$83.2K	72%	$28.6K	Above the break-even line, but the cushion is thin.
Base Year 3 mix	$415.8K	$99.8K	$123.2K	76%	$192.8K	Break-even is covered well, with room to scale.
Full Year 5 mix	$761.4K	$144.7K	$172.0K	81%	$444.7K	The widest cushion sits here, so downside risk is lowest.

What breaks the break-even plan for this technical surveillance countermeasures service?

Stress test

Year 1 has only a thin cushion, so slower bookings, higher staffing, or travel-heavy delivery can push the service to break-even fast. That cushion gets smaller when referral commissions and field costs climb.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$115,600	$39,650 cushion	There is room, but not much.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly bookings fall from about 24 mixed jobs to about 18.	$115,600	$838 cushion	A small booking drop nearly wipes out the buffer.
Fixed-cost increase	Year 2 staffing and marketing lift fixed monthly costs to about $103,200.	$140,408	$14,842 cushion	Hiring and marketing need lead flow first.
Margin pressure	Year 3 fixed costs of $123,200 run at a 72% contribution margin instead of 76%.	$171,111	$15,861 gap	Travel and referral drag can tip profit negative.
Combined pressure	Year 2 fixed costs of $103,200 hit the Year 1 margin.	$143,333	$11,917 cushion	Cost growth and weaker margin leave a thin buffer.

What should a founder verify before committing to a technical surveillance countermeasures launch?

Founder checklist

Verify the model can fill the crew before you lock in the lease, hires, and equipment. The Year 1 math only works if lead flow, pricing, and recurring work support the $73.2K monthly fixed load and protect the $457K cash floor by Month 6.

1Lead pipeline48 wins

Check that $120K of Year 1 marketing can buy about 48 customers at a $2,500 CAC, or the launch will not feed the fixed team.

2Fixed load$73.2K/mo

Here’s the quick math: $17.4K in monthly facility, insurance, hosting, vehicle, legal, and certification costs plus $670K in Year 1 wages equals about $73.2K a month before variable spend.

3Rate card72% CM

Verify that 24-hour sweeps at $350/hour, 16-hour emergency work at $550/hour, 8-hour monitoring at $300/hour, and 5-hour consulting at $250/hour leave about 72% contribution margin after Year 1 variable costs.

4Recurring mix15% → 45%

Make sure monitoring contracts can rise from 15% of work in Year 1 to 45% in Year 5, because recurring work steadies utilization and reduces pressure on one-off jobs.

5Staff ramp2 senior + 1 junior

Confirm the Year 1 team can handle sweeps, emergency calls, and consulting without delay, since the plan grows to 6 senior FTEs and 5 junior FTEs by Year 5.

6Field controls8% travel

Lock in travel zones, insurance, certification, secure communications, legal retainer, and evidence-handling workflows before sensitive jobs, because field deployment costs run 8% of Year 1 revenue and cash must stay above the $457K floor in Month 6.