Chartered Financial Analyst with 15+ years experience in small business finance and retail operations.
Find your florist shop’s breakeven point. Enter any three variables—Monthly Fixed Costs, Avg. Price per Order, Variable Cost per Order, or Breakeven Orders—to solve for the fourth.
Florist Breakeven Calculator
Florist Breakeven Formula
The breakeven formula for a florist finds the total number of orders (Q) you must sell 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 Order (P):
P = (F / Q) + V
Solve for Variable Cost per Order (V):
V = P – (F / Q)
Variables Explained
- Monthly Fixed Costs (F): Your total, recurring monthly overhead (e.g., shop rent, utilities, cooler electricity, salaried staff, website/POS system fees).
- Avg. Price per Order (P): Your average revenue from a single customer order (e.g., a bouquet, an arrangement, a wedding centerpiece).
- Variable Cost per Order (V): The average cost directly tied to one order. This includes the wholesale cost of the flowers, the vase, floral foam, ribbon, and any labor paid *per-arrangement*.
- Breakeven Orders (Q): The total number of orders you need to sell each month to reach $0 in profit.
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What is a Florist’s Breakeven Point?
A **Florist’s Breakeven Point** is the exact number of arrangements or orders (Q) you must sell in a given period (usually a month) to cover all your shop’s expenses. It is the minimum sales volume required to pay for both your fixed overhead (like rent) and the variable costs (like flowers) for each order. Any order sold *after* this point is pure profit.
**Fixed Costs (F)** are your consistent monthly overhead, regardless of how many bouquets you sell. This includes your shop’s rent, utilities (especially electricity for the cooler), any salaried employees, website hosting, POS system fees, and marketing budgets.
**Variable Costs (V)** are the costs incurred *only* when you sell an arrangement. This is primarily the wholesale cost of the flowers and “hard goods” (vases, foam, ribbon). It can also include the wages of floral designers if they are paid per-piece, or credit card processing fees.
The **Contribution Margin** (P – V) is the profit from a single order that goes toward paying your fixed costs. If your average arrangement price is $75 (P) and your variable cost (flowers, vase) is $30 (V), your contribution margin is $45. This calculator finds how many $45 “profit chunks” you need to cover your total fixed costs.
How to Calculate Florist Breakeven (Example)
Let’s calculate the breakeven point for a local flower shop.
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Identify Monthly Fixed Costs (F):
Your monthly rent, cooler electricity, staff salaries, and POS system total $5,000.
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Identify Avg. Price per Order (P):
Between small bouquets and large arrangements, your average customer order comes to $75.
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Identify Variable Cost per Order (V):
You calculate that the average order uses $30 in wholesale flowers, a vase, and other supplies.
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Apply the Formula: Q = F / (P – V)
First, calculate the contribution margin per order: $75 (P) – $30 (V) = $45.
Next, divide the fixed costs by this margin:
Q = $5,000 / $45 = 111.11 -
Conclusion:
You must sell 112 orders (rounding up) each month to cover all costs. If you are open 25 days a month, that’s `112 / 25 = 4.48`, meaning you must average 4-5 orders per day just to break even.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Flower spoilage should be factored into your **Variable Cost (V)**. If you have to throw away 10% of your flowers, your effective wholesale cost is 10% higher. Increase (V) to account for this expected loss.
It’s best to calculate breakeven for your *daily retail business* separately from large events. A wedding is a large, single project. You would use this calculator for that single project: (F) = Total non-flower costs (labor, rentals, consultation time), (P) = Total contract price, (V) = Total wholesale flower/supply cost. (Q) would just be 1.
It depends. If your designers are paid a *salary*, their cost is **Fixed (F)**. If they are paid *per-arrangement* or *by the hour* (and only work when there are orders), their wage is a **Variable Cost (V)**.
Enter your (F) (e.g., $5000), your (V) (e.g., $30), and a realistic *target* number of orders (Q) you can sell in a month (e.g., 200). The calculator will solve for (P), telling you the *minimum average price* you must charge ($55) to hit your profit goal at that volume.