How many sales make this offer worth running?

Find how many sales cover all costs and how many reach a profit goal. See whether expected sales and delivery limits can get there.

Sales to cover modeled costs

240

$50 from each sale remains to cover fixed costs and then profit.

Money left from each sale: $50.00
Profit at expected sales: $3,000 profit
Sales for profit target: 440 sales

See the full calculationFollow each number from the inputs to the answer.

Calculation 1

Find the number of sales that covers all costs

What are we finding?

We are finding how many whole sales are needed before modeled profit reaches zero.

What do these numbers mean?

Fixed costs: $12,000: Costs that stay the same during the chosen period, even if nothing is sold.
Price for one sale: $80.00: Money received from one sale.
Changing cost for one sale: $30.00: The cost added each time one more unit, hour, seat, or project is sold.
Money left from one sale: $50.00: Price minus the changing cost. This money can cover fixed costs and then profit.

How do we calculate it?

Subtract the changing cost from the price. Divide fixed costs by the money left from one sale. Round up because part of a sale cannot cover the remaining cost.

sales to cover costs = fixed costs ÷ (price − changing cost)

$12,000 ÷ $50.00

$80.00 minus $30.00 leaves $50.00 from each sale.
$12,000 divided by $50.00 equals 240 sales before rounding.
Round up to 240 whole sales.

Final answer

240 sales

What does the answer mean?

At 240 modeled sales, revenue covers fixed and changing costs. The next dollars left over become profit.

Your numbers

Pick one planning period and use it everywhere. A sale can mean one item, project, hour, subscription, seat, or other unit that has one price and one variable cost.

Fixed costs for the period

Price per sale

Cost added by each sale

Number of sales you expect

sales

Profit target for the period

Most sales you can complete

sales

Use zero when no delivery limit is known

Checking which numbers are included in this page address…

“Copy result summary” includes the main answer and three important results. An answer can still reveal something about a number you removed from the link.

Opening a link sends its full page address to the company that hosts StepShown. Never put private information in a shared StepShown link.

Where revenue covers cost

Price and unit cost stay constant across the displayed volume.

RevenueCosts that stay fixed plus costs added by each saleCosts covered

Main takeaway: revenue first covers all entered costs at 240 whole sales.

What this means

Calculated from price, costs, expected sales, and the most sales the business can complete.

Helpful result

240 sales cover the entered costs

Each sale leaves $50 after paying the cost added by that sale. That money first covers $12,000 in costs that stay the same. Money after that is profit.

Check this carefully

Expected sales produce $3,000 profit

300 expected sales create $24,000 of revenue. After modeled variable and fixed costs, $3,000 profit remains.

How to read this

440 sales reach the entered profit target

The model needs 140 more sales than expected to reach $10,000 of profit at the entered price and costs.

Helpful result

The business can complete enough sales to reach the goal

The business can complete 450 sales. If all of them happen at the same price and cost, they produce $10,500 profit.

How to read this

62.5% of each sales dollar is left after the cost of that sale

Each $80 sale leaves $50 after its $30 added cost. For example, 25% means 25 out of every 100 dollars, or about 1 out of 4 dollars. The tool keeps the price and cost per sale unchanged.

Compare the main levers

Each row changes one input while expected sales stay the same.

What you are looking at: Sales needed, profit goal, and expected profit after one change. Each row changes one choice while the other entered numbers stay the same.

Sales needed, profit goal, and expected profit after one change
Choice	Sales to cover costs	Sales for target	Profit at expected sales
Your inputsYour planAs entered	240 sales	440 sales	$3,000 profit
Price 5% higherDemand held constant	223 sales	408 sales	$4,200 profit
Unit cost 5% lowerVolume held constant	234 sales	428 sales	$3,450 profit
Fixed costs 10% lowerVolume held constant	216 sales	416 sales	$4,200 profit

Main takeaway: the shaded row is your plan now. Read across another row to see what one change would do.

Reverse solve the target

These are arithmetic thresholds, not pricing recommendations.

Price needed at expected sales: $103.33; 300 expected sales
Maximum unit cost at expected sales: $6.67; $10,000 profit target
Sales above the amount needed: 20%; 60 sales above cost coverage
Profit at the most sales you can complete: $10,500 profit; 450 sales can be completed

Take it with you

Your inputs are already saved in this page's URL.

Checking which numbers are included in this page address…

“Copy result summary” includes the main answer and three important results. An answer can still reveal something about a number you removed from the link.

Opening a link sends its full page address to the company that hosts StepShown. Never put private information in a shared StepShown link.

How this tool was checked

Sources and review

Code and tests checked

StepShown checked the calculation code and its tests. The answer is still an estimate, not professional advice. Rules can also be different where you live.

Calculation version: Version 1.0
Last updated: Jul 29, 2026
Person responsible: StepShown engineering

Calculating the sales point that covers business costs
Published by U.S. Small Business Administration. Area covered: United States. StepShown owner: StepShown editorial. Checked Jul 29, 2026. Check again by Jan 25, 2027. The fixed cost divided by price less variable cost formula, monthly period consistency, whole sales units, and the distinction between fixed, variable, and mixed costs. Reference guidance; no date specific value is ingested.
Calculating startup costs
Published by U.S. Small Business Administration. Area covered: United States. StepShown owner: StepShown editorial. Checked Jul 29, 2026. Check again by Jan 25, 2027. Separating one time and monthly business expenses, estimating profit, and using cost calculations in a business plan. Reference guidance; no date specific value is ingested.

Read before deciding

What do break even sales really tell you?

Read the StepShown calculation and writing rules, or report a problem.

Learn more

How the calculation works

First, subtract the cost added by one sale from its price. This is the money left from one sale. It pays costs that stay the same. After those costs are covered, the money left becomes profit.

Money left from one sale: price minus the cost added by one sale
Sales to cover costs: costs that stay the same divided by money left from one sale
Sales for target: costs that stay the same plus the profit goal, divided by money left from one sale
Expected profit: expected sales times money left from one sale, minus costs that stay the same

Required sales are rounded up because part of a sale usually cannot cover a goal. StepShown also keeps the number of sales fixed and shows which price or cost per sale would reach the profit goal.

The tool assumes one offer, one price, one cost added by each sale, and costs that stay the same. It does not predict customers. It also leaves out staffing jumps, different price levels, multiple products, taxes, loans, stock limits, discounts, refunds, marketing costs, and when cash arrives.

Keep every input in the same period. Monthly fixed costs require monthly expected sales, most possible sales, and profit. Yearly costs require yearly numbers. If a bill covers more than the chosen time, include only the part that belongs to it.

Common questions

What counts as a fixed cost?

Use costs for the selected period that do not change directly with the number of sales, such as rent, base salaries, insurance, software, and an allocated share of periodic costs. Keep every input in the same period.

What counts as a variable cost?

Use the cost that changes with one additional sale, such as materials, packaging, payment fees, delivery, sales commission, or direct labor that scales with volume. A cost can contain both fixed and variable parts, so split it when practical.

Why are required sales rounded up?

A business cannot usually deliver a fraction of an item, project, subscription, or service unit. StepShown keeps the exact result internally and rounds the displayed requirement up so the whole sales count fully covers the selected goal.

What does contribution margin mean?

Money left from one sale equals price minus the cost added by that sale. Contribution margin is that money divided by the price. It shows how much of each sales dollar can pay fixed costs and then profit.

Does a higher price always improve the real result?

It improves this arithmetic only if sales volume stays unchanged. StepShown does not estimate price elasticity, competition, discounts, refunds, customer acquisition cost, churn, or whether buyers accept a different price.

What is not modeled?

Taxes, financing, working capital timing, inventory constraints, stepped costs, tiered pricing, discounts, refunds, bad debt, product mix, customer acquisition, demand changes, and any cost not included in the visible inputs.

Move from unit economics into cash timing, financing, and the cost of money.

Or browse everything in Business.

How many sales make this offer worth running?

Find the number of sales that covers all costs

What are we finding?

What do these numbers mean?

How do we calculate it?

What does the answer mean?

240 sales cover the entered costs

Expected sales produce $3,000 profit

440 sales reach the entered profit target

The business can complete enough sales to reach the goal

62.5% of each sales dollar is left after the cost of that sale

Sources and review

How the calculation works

Common questions

Where to go next

Find the number of sales that covers all costs

What are we finding?

What do these numbers mean?

How do we calculate it?

What does the answer mean?

240 sales cover the entered costs

Expected sales produce $3,000 profit

440 sales reach the entered profit target

The business can complete enough sales to reach the goal

62.5% of each sales dollar is left after the cost of that sale