A break-even point calculator helps you determine the sales volume (units sold or revenue earned) needed to cover all your business costs (fixed and variable). In simpler terms, it tells you when your business will stop losing money and start making a profit.
There are two main formulas for calculating the break-even point, depending on whether you want to understand:
BEP = Fixed Costs / (Sell price per unit – variable costs per unit)
This formula will calculate the number of units you need to sell to reach the break-even point.
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BEP = (Fixed Costs + Variable Costs) / Number of units
By calculating this break-even point you can understand the break-even selling price for your units.
Watch our video with step by step guide to calculate BEP 👇
Fixed costs are expenses that stay the same regardless of how much your business produces or sells. They’re like rent you pay for your building; you have to pay it every month whether you have a single customer or a hundred.
Variable costs are expenses that change in proportion to your business’s production or sales volume. In other words, the more you produce or sell, the higher your variable costs will be, and vice versa. Imagine the cost of flour for a bakery – the more cookies they bake, the more flour they’ll need to buy.
6 benefits of calculating break-even analysis, infographic by author
Break-even analysis, which helps you determine your break-even point, is a valuable tool for businesses for several reasons:
This metric can help you understand how much you need to sell to turn a profit. This KPI can show you the minimum sales or price required to cover costs.
If your sales are below the break-even point means your revenue isn’t enough to cover all your business expenses.
You can reduce costs by lowering fixed costs (rent, salaries) or variable costs (materials, production). The other option is to increase sales price or sell more units to boost revenue per unit sold.