How many do you have to sell before you’re not losing money?
Fixed costs (rent, software, insurance) sit there whether you sell one unit or a hundred. This finds the unit count where contribution — price minus variable cost — finally covers those bills.
It’s shop / product break-even, not mortgage points or Social Security. Multi-product shops should use a blended contribution or run the calc per SKU.
Rent, software, etc.
What you charge
Cost per unit sold
Estimates only — not tax or accounting advice. Double-check before you print price tags.
How it's calculated
Contribution is what’s left after variable cost on each sale. Divide fixed costs by that contribution and you get units to break even. Multiply by price for the revenue dollars that go with it.
If price ≤ variable cost, contribution is zero or negative — volume makes the hole bigger. Raise price or cut variable cost first.
units = fixed ÷ (price − variable cost)