Chartered Financial Analyst with 15+ years experience in small business finance and home services management.
Find your electrician business’s breakeven point. Enter any three variables—Monthly Fixed Costs, Avg. Price per Service Call, Variable Cost per Call, or Breakeven Service Calls—to solve for the fourth.
Electrician Breakeven Calculator
Electrician Breakeven Formula
The breakeven formula for an electrician business finds the total number of service calls (Q) you must complete each month for your total revenue to cover all fixed and variable costs.
Q = F / (P – V)
Solve for Monthly Fixed Costs (F):
F = Q * (P – V)
Solve for Avg. Price per Call (P):
P = (F / Q) + V
Solve for Variable Cost per Call (V):
V = P – (F / Q)
Variables Explained
- Monthly Fixed Costs (F): Your total, recurring monthly overhead. This includes van payments, liability/auto insurance, license fees, shop rent, marketing, software, and office staff salaries.
- Avg. Price per Service Call (P): Your average revenue from a single customer job, including call-out fees and labor charges.
- Variable Cost per Call (V): The average cost directly tied to one job. This is primarily the cost of materials (wire, breakers, outlets, conduit), fuel, and any commissions.
- Breakeven Service Calls (Q): The total number of jobs you need to complete each month to reach $0 in profit.
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What is an Electrician’s Breakeven Point?
An **Electrician’s Breakeven Point** is the exact number of service calls (Q) your company must perform each month to cover all expenses. It’s the minimum sales volume required to pay for your fixed “overhead” costs (like your van, insurance, and licenses) and the variable “job” costs (like wire and parts) for each call.
**Fixed Costs (F)** are your consistent monthly overhead, whether you run 1 call or 100. This includes your van payment, commercial auto insurance, liability insurance, master electrician license fees, shop rent, marketing (like Angi or Google Ads), and any salaried office staff.
**Variable Costs (V)** are the costs incurred *only* when you run a service call. This is primarily the wholesale cost of parts and materials (wire, breakers, outlets, switches, etc.), fuel used for the trip, and any commissions or per-job bonuses paid to your electricians.
The **Contribution Margin** (P – V) is the profit from a single service call that goes toward paying your fixed costs. If you charge an average of $300 (P) for a service call and your parts/fuel (V) cost $80, your contribution margin is $220. This calculator finds how many $220 “profit chunks” you need to cover your total fixed costs.
How to Calculate Electrician Breakeven (Example)
Let’s calculate the breakeven point for an electrical business with one van.
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Identify Monthly Fixed Costs (F):
Your monthly van payment ($700), insurance ($1,500), shop rent ($1,000), marketing ($1,500), and license/software fees ($300) total $5,000.
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Identify Avg. Price per Call (P):
Between small outlet swaps and larger panel work, your average service call revenue is $300.
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Identify Variable Cost per Call (V):
You calculate that the average job costs $80 in wire, materials, and fuel.
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Apply the Formula: Q = F / (P – V)
First, calculate the contribution margin per call: $300 (P) – $80 (V) = $220.
Next, divide the fixed costs by this margin:
Q = $5,000 / $220 = 22.72 -
Conclusion:
You must complete 23 service calls (rounding up) each month to cover all costs. The 24th service call of the month will be your first profitable job.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Yes, absolutely. You must pay yourself a fixed monthly salary (an “owner’s draw”). Include this in your (F) to ensure your business can actually support you. If you don’t, you aren’t truly breaking even.
It’s better to calculate your breakeven for *service calls* separately from *large projects*. Big projects have much higher (P) and (V) values and can skew your data. Use this calculator for your daily service/repair work, and run a separate, project-specific calculation for big installations.
If you pay your apprentice a fixed salary regardless of work, it’s a **Fixed Cost (F)**. If you pay them an hourly wage *only* when they are on a job site, their wage for that job is a **Variable Cost (V)**.
Estimate your (F) (e.g., $5,000), your (V) per hour (e.g., $20 in materials/fuel), and a *target* number of billable hours (Q) you can work (e.g., 100). The calculator will solve for (P), telling you the *minimum hourly rate* (e.g., $70/hr) you must charge.