Fixed and variable costs
Fixed costs are the same whether you sell one item or a hundred: shop subscriptions, storage, software, insurance. Variable costs come with each sale: the item, fees, postage and packaging.
Free · no sign-up
Break-even calculator for online sellers
Subscriptions, storage, software and shop fees add up before you sell a thing. See how many sales a month cover them, and how many reach the profit you want.
- Free, no sign-up
- Updates as you type
- Share or bookmark the result
Sales to break even
10
a month, £240.00 in sales
Each sale contributes
£9.00
37.5% of the price
A week
2.3
A day
0.3
Guide
How break-even works
What each sale contributes
Take the variable costs off the average selling price. What is left is what each sale contributes towards your fixed costs, and once they are covered, towards profit.
The break-even point
Divide your monthly fixed costs by what each sale contributes. With £85 of fixed costs and £9 from each sale, you need 10 sales a month before you make a penny.
Ways to break even sooner
- Raise prices, or sell more of what earns the most per sale.
- Cut postage and packaging costs.
- Drop subscriptions you do not use.
- Source cheaper without hurting the selling price.
How ProfitClerk works this out for you
- Your profit and loss statement, line by lineRead ProfitClerk's profit and loss for eBay sellers: net sales, every cost line, cash or accrual basis, tax year periods and a CSV export for your return.
- Record your business expenses and receiptsTrack eBay seller expenses in ProfitClerk: categories, receipt photos, business-use share, VAT or GST you reclaim, search, missing receipts and a CSV export.
- Repeating expenses: add, pause, resume or stopSet rent, software and phone bills to repeat weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly in ProfitClerk, then pause, resume, change or stop them at any time.
Questions
How do I calculate my break-even point?
Break-even sales = fixed costs ÷ (average selling price − average variable cost per sale). Round up: you cannot make part of a sale.
What counts as a fixed cost for a reseller?
Anything you pay each month whatever you sell: shop or store subscriptions, storage or a lock-up, software, phone and broadband share, insurance, accountancy.
Should I include my own time?
If you want the business to pay you a wage, add it to the fixed costs or to the profit goal. Otherwise break-even only tells you when the business stops costing you money.
What if each sale earns nothing?
If the variable costs are as high as the price, no number of sales can cover your fixed costs. Raise the price or cut the costs per sale first.
See every month's real profit
ProfitClerk brings in every order and fee, adds your expenses, and shows your profit and loss for any month, quarter or tax year.
Try ProfitClerk