Waterproofing Company Break-Even: About $37K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $14.8K/mo Core monthly base

Contribution margin 73% After direct costs

Break-even revenue $20.2K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 3 Base-case point

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test how monthly revenue, direct costs, and overhead shape break-even for a waterproofing company.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue has to cover direct costs first, then fixed overhead. $ Lower sales Higher sales Variable expenses Direct costs rise with each job, like materials, fuel, and sales pay. $ Lower direct cost Higher direct cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $395,000 $530,000 revenue - $135,000 variable expenses

Margin ratio

75%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead contribution margin must cover. $ Lower overhead Higher overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses stay fixed, and which move with waterproofing sales?

Cost classification

Break-even gets unreliable when salary crews, materials, and fleet costs are lumped together. Classify each expense by how it behaves as jobs grow, so the model shows the real revenue needed to cover monthly overhead.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Use $3,500 per month in fixed overhead.	Tying rent to job count when it stays flat.
Utilities	Semi-fixed	Use $450 per month, then review when office or shop capacity changes.	Modeling utilities as purely variable with sales.
Technology Platform Licensing	Fixed	Use $800 per month in baseline overhead.	Leaving recurring software out of break-even overhead.
Waterproofing Materials & Supplies	Variable	Apply 15% of revenue in the first year.	Using a flat dollar budget instead of job-linked usage.
Smart Sensor Hardware	Variable	Apply 5% of revenue in the first year.	Treating installed hardware like office equipment.
Vehicle Fuel & Maintenance	Semi-variable	Apply 3% of revenue for usage-linked fleet expense.	Ignoring the base fleet burden between jobs.
Sales Commissions	Variable	Apply 4% of revenue in the first year.	Putting commissions in fixed payroll.
Lead Installation Technician	Semi-fixed	Use $6,250 per month while staffed, then step up when crew capacity expands.	Treating hired crew payroll like pure Variable after the crew is already on salary.

How does break-even change from a lean crew launch to a full waterproofing team?

Scenario table

Break-even climbs as payroll and marketing rise faster than margin gains. The lean setup clears the line near $37k a month, but the full build needs about $108k to cover the heavier fixed load.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will move with job mix, pricing, and collections.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean crew launch	$37,032	$10,000	$27,033	73%	$0	Best for an early crew launch, but it leaves little room for delays.
Steady service team	$72,755	$17,387	$55,367	76%	$0	Works if jobs stay steady, since the larger team needs more volume.
Scaled operation	$108,376	$23,843	$84,533	78%	$0	Break-even is higher here, so sales must stay ahead of overhead.

What breaks this waterproofing company’s break-even plan?

Stress test

Base case break-even is $37,032 a month on $27,033 fixed costs and a 73% contribution margin. A 10% revenue drop, a 10% fixed-cost bump, or margin pressure to 68% quickly creates a gap.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change to revenue, fixed costs, or margin.	$37,032	$0 gap	The model sits at break-even, so there is no cushion.
Revenue shortfall	Booked revenue falls 10%.	$37,032	$3,703 gap	A small sales miss turns into about a $2,703 monthly loss.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed costs rise 10%.	$40,735	$3,703 gap	More overhead lifts the monthly break-even bar fast.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 27% to 32%.	$39,755	$2,723 gap	Higher material, fuel, or commission costs eat the cushion.
Combined pressure	Booked revenue falls 10%, fixed costs rise 10%, and variable expenses rise to 32%.	$43,730	$10,401 gap	The same plan would lose about $7,073 a month.

Is the waterproofing company ready to sign the lease, hire, and buy equipment?

Founder checklist

Test the plan against break-even before you commit. The model reaches break-even in Month 3, but only if you can hold about $37,000 in monthly revenue and carry the Month 2 cash low of $799,000.

1Booked Work$37K/mo

Verify signed installation work can get close to $37,000 in monthly revenue before you lock in the lease and big buys.

2Margin Mix73% CM

Confirm the mix still leaves 73% contribution after 15% materials, 5% sensor hardware, 3% fleet costs, and 4% commissions.

3Cash Cushion$799K

Stress-test whether you can fund the Month 2 cash low of $799,000 before revenue catches up.

4Crew Ramp$18.8K/mo

Check whether the first-year payroll run rate can stay supported as the team ramps from Month 1 through Month 7.

5Core Overhead$6.2K/mo

Verify office, utilities, insurance, software, legal, supplies, and hosting stay near $6,200 a month before adding more fixed roles.

6Lead Flow$350 CAC

Confirm Year 1 marketing can carry a $350 customer acquisition cost and still feed enough demand to support break-even.