The break-even point is the revenue or unit volume where your total income equals total costs, no profit, no loss. Calculate it by dividing your total fixed costs by your gross profit margin (for revenue break-even) or by your contribution margin per unit (for unit break-even). Every small business owner should know this number before making any pricing, hiring, or expansion decision.
Break-Even Calculator for Roofing
Pre-filled with real roofing industry benchmarks
Roofing is a high-ticket, project-based business where your break-even hinges on how many jobs you close per month and what margin you hold on each one. The average residential roof replacement runs $8,000 to $15,000, with materials (shingles, underlayment, flashing, fasteners) accounting for 35 to 45% of job cost and labor (crew wages for a 2 to 5 day job) taking another 25 to 35%. That leaves a narrow window for overhead and profit if you are not pricing carefully. Fixed costs include vehicle payments for trucks and trailers, commercial general liability insurance (roofing insurance is among the highest in the trades, often $5,000 to $15,000/year), workers comp, equipment maintenance, and office overhead. Most roofing companies need to close 4 to 8 residential jobs per month per crew to break even, depending on average job size and market. This calculator uses roofing-specific benchmarks to show you that number for your operation.
Break-Even Calculator
Pre-filled with roofing industry defaults. Edit any field to use your real numbers.
Break-Even Units
58
Break-Even Revenue
$43,500
Contribution Margin
54.9%
Roofing industry average margin: 55.0% gross margin with 45.0% COGS.