How many customers do
you need to survive?
Enter your rent, staff setup, and average ticket. Get your exact daily break-even number — with a risk rating — in seconds. Free, no account needed.
Free tool · Based on real cost benchmarks · Not financial advice
How it works
The maths behind your survival number
The calculator uses real Australian cost benchmarks for staffing and overheads, then works backwards from your fixed costs to find the minimum daily customers you need to cover them.
Enter your fixed costs
Monthly rent is entered directly. Staff costs come from real payroll benchmarks for your setup. Overheads cover utilities, insurance, and miscellaneous — calibrated per business type.
Calculate contribution margin
Every sale contributes a slice toward your fixed costs. Contribution margin is your average ticket minus the COGS percentage — the actual dollars each customer puts toward survival.
Find your break-even
Divide total monthly fixed costs by contribution margin per customer. Divide again by 26 trading days. That's the exact daily number you need through the door.
Risk-rate the result
We compare your break-even against real foot traffic benchmarks. Under 30/day is achievable anywhere. Over 100/day requires a high-traffic inner-city location or a fundamentally different model.
Why this matters
Most operators sign leases without knowing their number
Rent looks affordable until you run the numbers. A $5,000/month lease can require 90+ customers per day once staff and overheads are added. This tool shows you that number before you sign.
Rent is just the start
Staff costs often exceed rent. Two full-time staff at a café cost $9,500/month — nearly doubling your fixed burden before a single coffee is sold.
Low tickets are dangerous
A $5 average ticket leaves only ~$3 of margin at 40% COGS. You need three times as many customers as a business running a $15 average ticket.
Know your target first
Once you have your daily break-even number, every location decision becomes a clear question: can this street actually deliver that customer volume?
Buffer matters as much as break-even
Breaking even at 95% of typical volume leaves no room for slow weeks or seasonality. A good location gives you headroom above break-even.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
What does "break-even" actually mean here?
Break-even is the point where your revenue exactly covers all fixed costs — rent, staff, and overheads. Below this number you lose money every day. Above it, you build profit. This tool gives you the minimum daily customer count to reach that line.
Why 26 trading days instead of 30?
Most small businesses in Australia trade 6 days a week, giving approximately 26 trading days per month. If you trade 7 days, your real break-even per day is slightly lower — so the tool is conservative by design.
Are the staff cost estimates accurate?
The estimates are based on real Australian payroll benchmarks including superannuation and typical casual loadings. A solo operator working their own floor costs less than an employee, so the 1 staff option reflects a lower solo-operator rate. Treat these as estimates, not a substitute for your actual payroll quote.
What is COGS and how do I estimate mine?
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) is the direct cost of producing each item you sell. For a café, that is coffee beans, milk, and food — typically 30–35%. For a gym or salon it is much lower (10–20%) because the product is a service. Use the dropdown suggestions as a starting point.
My break-even looks very high. What should I do?
A high break-even usually points to three levers: reduce rent (negotiate or find a different site), reduce staff costs (smaller team or solo model), or increase your average ticket (premium offering, bundled services, memberships). The Locatalyze full report shows whether your target address can actually deliver the foot traffic you need.
How is this different from the Business Viability Checker?
The Viability Checker evaluates a suburb — demand signals, competition density, market fit — and returns a GO / CAUTION / NO signal. This tool is about your own cost structure. Use both: first check if your numbers stack up, then check if your suburb can support them.
Know your number.
Now check if your suburb can hit it.
The Locatalyze report gives you estimated daily foot traffic for your exact address, competitor density sharing that pool, and whether the location can realistically deliver your survival number — before you commit to a lease.