TOOLS / FOR SELLERS

How many clients until you break even

Before a month is profitable, it has to cover its costs. This tells you exactly how much work that takes.

$
Rent, software, insurance, subscriptions, your own draw — what you owe whether or not work comes in.
$
Typical revenue from one client or project.
%
Share of each project left after its direct costs (materials, subcontractors, tools bought for the job).
PROFIT PER PROJECT$—
PROJECTS TO BREAK EVEN—
REVENUE TO BREAK EVEN$—

How this is calculated

Each project contributes its value times your margin toward covering fixed costs:project value × margin%. Break-even is fixed costs divided by that contribution:fixed costs ÷ (project value × margin%), rounded up because you can't sell a fraction of a project. Everything past that point is profit; everything before it is you working to keep the lights on.

If the number of projects feels unrealistic, the fix is usually higher-value work or a leaner cost base, not more hours. Keeping an eye on these figures month to month is the habit intracking your numbers, and therate calculator helps set project values that make break-even reachable.