Services needed to cover costs.

Break-even for a salon is the number of services it helps to sell each month before you earn a penny. It equals fixed costs divided by contribution per service (price minus variable costs like products, card fees, and stylist commission). Hit this number and you cover rent; go above it and you start making real money.

With 8,000 monthly fixed costs and 60 contribution per service (75 price minus 15 product + commission), break-even is 134 services per month, about 5 per day over 26 working days. A solo stylist at capacity (8 services per day, 22 days) tops out around 176 services; a 3-chair salon scales to 528. Break-even at 134 means a 3-chair salon only needs 25% capacity to stay afloat.

Watch the contribution number. Hair colour uses 10-20 of product, cuts use almost none, and commission structures vary by service. A 100 service with 45% stylist commission and 10 product has only 35 contribution, so the same fixed costs take more services to cover.

Quick example

With fixed costs monthly of 8,000 and avg service price of 75 (plus variable cost per service of 15), the result is 134 services/mo. Change any figure and watch the output shift — it's often more useful to see the pattern than to memorise the formula.

Which inputs matter most

You enter Fixed Costs Monthly, Avg Service Price, and Variable Cost per Service. Not every input has equal weight. Flip one at a time toward extreme values to feel which ones move the needle most for your situation.

What's happening under the hood

Contribution per service = price - variable cost. Break-even services = fixed costs ÷ contribution, rounded up. Daily volume = break-even ÷ 26 working days. The formula is listed in full below. If the number looks off, you can retrace the calculation by hand — that's the point of showing the working.

What the score tells you

Headline financial numbers — income, savings, debt — each tell part of the story. This calculation stitches several together into a single read you can track over time. The value is in the direction, not the absolute number.

What this doesn't capture

The score is a composite of the inputs you provide. Life context — job security, family obligations, health, housing — doesn't appear in the math but shapes the real picture. Use the number as a prompt, not a verdict.