Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Breakeven RO count per month
240.0
ROs above breakeven
110.0
Projected monthly profit
$19,250
Margin of safety
31.4%
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How to use this
- 1Enter monthly fixed overhead ($).
- 2Enter average gross profit per ro ($).
- 3Enter actual repair orders this month.
- 4Read your breakeven ro count per month on the right — it updates as you type.
- 5Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
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.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Monthly fixed overhead: 42000 $
- Average gross profit per RO: 175 $
- Actual repair orders this month: 350
Results
- Breakeven RO count per month: 240
- ROs above breakeven: 110
- Projected monthly profit: $19,250
- Margin of safety: 31.4%
What each field means
Inputs
- Monthly fixed overhead ($)
- The monthly fixed overhead used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 42000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Average gross profit per RO ($)
- The average gross profit per ro used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 175 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Actual repair orders this month
- The actual repair orders this month used in the calculation. Starts at 350 so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Breakeven RO count per month
- Returned as a decimal number and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- ROs above breakeven
- Returned as a decimal number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Projected monthly profit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Margin of safety
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What counts as fixed overhead here?
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.
Should technician pay be in fixed overhead?
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.
What margin of safety is healthy?
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.
How often should breakeven be recalculated?
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.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Shop Breakeven RO Count Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/shop-breakeven-ro-count
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/shop-breakeven-ro-count" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shop Breakeven RO Count Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Shop Breakeven RO Count Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/shop-breakeven-ro-count) (2026).