The Breakeven Point
- The breakeven point is a useful metric to help a business understand how many units it needs to sell before it starts making a profit
- The breakeven point is the number of units that need to be sold for total costs to equal the sales revenue
- The breakeven point is the number of units that need to be sold for total costs to equal the sales revenue
- The breakeven point can be calculated using one of two formulas
Worked example
Bravo Burgers has the following financial information for the month of May.
£ May | |
Raw materials for each burger | £2.10 |
Packaging for each burger | £0.20 |
Fixed costs | £1 730 |
Selling price for each burger | £4.95 |
(a) Using the information in the table, calculate the level of output required to break even in May. You are advised to show your workings. (2)
Step 1 - Calculate the variable costs per burger
Variable cost per burger = raw materials + the packaging
Variable cost per burger = £2.10 + £0.20 = £2.30. (1 mark)
Step 2 - Substitute the values into the breakeven formula
(1 mark)
Step 3 - Round to the nearest unit
653 burgers need to be sold to break even in May (2 marks for a correct answer)
Exam Tip
Always round up the break even point to the nearest whole unit.