{
  "slug": "shop-breakeven-ro-count",
  "title": "Shop Breakeven RO Count Calculator",
  "heading": "Shop Breakeven Repair Order Count Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/shop-breakeven-ro-count",
  "summary": "How many repair orders per month you need just to cover fixed overhead.",
  "description": "Owners often track revenue targets without translating them into the operational number that matters day-to-day: how many repair orders does it take to simply break even before a dollar of profit shows up. This calculator divides total monthly fixed overhead (rent, insurance, base payroll, utilities, software) by your gross profit per average repair order to compute the breakeven RO count, then shows how many additional ROs above that number are pure profit contribution at your current margin structure. It's a fast reality check when evaluating a rent increase, a new hire's base salary, or whether last month's slow car count actually put the shop underwater.",
  "formula": "Breakeven RO Count = Monthly Fixed Overhead ÷ Gross Profit per RO. Profit ROs = Actual RO Count − Breakeven RO Count. Monthly Profit = Profit ROs × GP per RO.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=shop-breakeven-ro-count",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "fixedOverhead",
      "label": "Monthly fixed overhead",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 42000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "avgGPPerRO",
      "label": "Average gross profit per RO",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 175,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "actualROs",
      "label": "Actual repair orders this month",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 350,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "breakevenROs",
      "label": "Breakeven RO count per month",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "profitROs",
      "label": "ROs above breakeven",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "monthlyProfit",
      "label": "Projected monthly profit",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "marginOfSafety",
      "label": "Margin of safety",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Monthly fixed overhead: 42000 $",
      "Average gross profit per RO: 175 $",
      "Actual repair orders this month: 350"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Breakeven RO count per month: 240",
      "ROs above breakeven: 110",
      "Projected monthly profit: $19,250",
      "Margin of safety: 31.4%"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter monthly fixed overhead ($).",
      "Enter average gross profit per ro ($).",
      "Enter actual repair orders this month.",
      "Read your breakeven ro count per month on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "fixedOverhead": 25000,
        "avgGPPerRO": 105,
        "actualROs": 210
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "fixedOverhead": 42000,
        "avgGPPerRO": 175,
        "actualROs": 350
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "fixedOverhead": 67000,
        "avgGPPerRO": 280,
        "actualROs": 560
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What counts as fixed overhead here?",
      "a": "Rent, property insurance, liability insurance, base salaries not tied to production (service advisor salary, owner draw if fixed, office staff), software subscriptions, utilities, and loan payments on the building or major equipment — anything that doesn't flex with how many cars come through the door."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should technician pay be in fixed overhead?",
      "a": "Only the guaranteed floor portion. Flat-rate flag pay above the guarantee is a variable cost that should already be netted out of your gross profit per RO figure, not double-counted in fixed overhead."
    },
    {
      "q": "What margin of safety is healthy?",
      "a": "20%+ margin of safety gives real cushion against a slow month or seasonal dip. Under 10% means a single bad month — an unexpected repair bill, a slow week from weather, a key tech out sick — can push the shop into a loss."
    },
    {
      "q": "How often should breakeven be recalculated?",
      "a": "Whenever fixed overhead changes materially — a rent renewal, a new salaried hire, a software contract — and at minimum quarterly, since GP per RO drifts with pricing and product mix changes throughout the year."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-count-aro",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/effective-labor-rate"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Shop Breakeven RO Count Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/shop-breakeven-ro-count)"
}