Whole House Water Filtration Break-Even Analysis: ~$51K/Month

Fixed costs $9.2K/mo Fixed overhead

Contribution margin 80.5% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $50.8K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 2 Launch month

Break-even calculator

Test how monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs shape break-even for a whole-house water filtration installer.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool of gross profit that can cover fixed costs. $ Slower month Peak month Variable expenses These rise with each system sold or installed. $ Lower cost Higher cost

Money available to cover fixed costs $48,233 $59,917 revenue - $11,684 variable expenses

Margin ratio

80%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

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

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales in a whole-house water filtration installer?

Cost classification

At first-year revenue of $719k and EBITDA of $29k, small classification errors can distort break-even. Treat stable monthly overhead as fixed, sales-linked percentages as variable, route costs as semi-variable, and technician staffing as semi-fixed.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Warehouse and Office Rent	Fixed	Include $4,200 per month before calculating contribution margin.	Tying rent to each installation instead of monthly capacity.
Business Insurance and Liability	Fixed	Include $1,100 per month as recurring overhead.	Dropping insurance from break-even because it is not job-specific.
CRM and Operational Software	Fixed	Include $650 per month as a stable operating expense.	Spreading software across units and understating slow-month overhead.
Filtration Hardware and Inventory	Variable	Apply the first-year 8.5% rate to revenue when units are sold.	Modeling hardware as fixed inventory instead of sales-linked margin drag.
Installation Materials and Fittings	Variable	Apply the first-year 1.5% rate to revenue for each installation mix.	Ignoring fittings because the percentage looks small.
Sales Commissions and Incentives	Variable	Apply 5.0% of revenue as sales volume rises.	Treating commissions like payroll and overstating contribution margin.
Fleet Maintenance and Fuel	Semi-variable	Start with $1,800 per month, then review usage as route density changes.	Assuming truck expense is purely variable with each job.
Installation Technician Staffing	Semi-fixed	Add capacity in steps, rising from 2.0 FTE in the first year to 6.0 FTE in Year 5.	Treating payroll and warranty support as fully variable.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full operating cases?

Scenario table

As crews and territory expand, revenue grows, but fixed costs rise too, so break-even moves up. The lean case gets there first; the full build has the biggest cushion, but it also needs the most monthly sales.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will shift with install mix, labor use, and lead costs.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$59.9k	$11.7k	$40.9k	80.5%	$7.3k	Break-even sits near $50.8k a month.
Base growth case	$192.2k	$35.1k	$58.6k	81.6%	$98.5k	Break-even rises to about $71.8k a month.
Full buildout case	$386.3k	$66.9k	$77.0k	82.7%	$242.4k	Strong cushion, but break-even reaches about $93.1k a month.

What breaks the break-even plan if installs slow, costs rise, or both hit at once?

Stress test

Year 1 revenue is about $719k, so the plan clears a roughly $610k break-even point by about $109k. That cushion gets thin fast if installs slip below about 12 a month or if supplier, labor, or lead costs creep up.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$610k	$109k cushion	Small cushion, so missed installs matter.
Revenue shortfall	Whole-home system installs run 20% below plan.	$610k	$26k gap	That puts volume near 10 installs a month, below the warning line.
Fixed-cost increase	All fixed payroll and overhead costs rise 10%.	$670k	$49k cushion	The cushion shrinks fast because payroll is the largest fixed load.
Margin pressure	Variable costs rise from 19.5% to 22.5% of revenue.	$633k	$86k cushion	Higher supplier pricing or weak lead conversion pushes break-even up.
Combined pressure	Installs run 20% below plan while fixed costs rise 10% and variable costs rise to 22.5%.	$728k	$144k gap	This is the danger zone because lower volume and weaker margin hit together.

Can you prove this water filtration business will hit break-even before you sign the lease and buy the vans?

Founder checklist

Confirm the first-year install volume, margin, staffing, and cash all hold together before you commit. The model reaches break-even in Month 2, but only if revenue and launch spend land where planned.

1Demand Proof$675K

Verify you can sell 150 whole-home systems at $4,500 each in the first operating year, because that install volume underpins the Year 1 revenue plan.

2Contribution Margin80.5% CM

Keep hardware at 8.5%, installation materials at 1.5%, sales commissions at 5.0%, and digital lead spend at 4.5%, or the margin will slide fast.

3Fixed Load$40.9K/mo

Budget the $9.2k of rent, fleet, software, insurance, utilities, and accounting plus about $31.7k a month of Year 1 wages, because that is the burn you must cover before scale helps.

4Crew Capacity6 FTE

Check that the Year 1 team of 6.0 FTE, with 2 installation technicians, can handle installs, service calls, and maintenance work without pushing jobs into later months.

5Cash Cushion$759K

Protect the Month 2 cash trough of $759k and the $220k launch capex, or you risk running short before the first operating cycle stabilizes.

6Recurring Pull100 / 60

Set a process to convert installs into 100 maintenance contracts and 60 replacement-filter sales in Year 1, because recurring work keeps revenue from resetting after each install.