Break-even template in Google Sheets

A Google Sheets break-even template uses net price, variable unit cost and monthly fixed costs to calculate the sales volume needed to break even. Keep the source costs on one sheet and the formulas on another, then show the exact threshold beside the whole-unit requirement. The distinction matters when a fractional result cannot be sold.

Set up the two sheets

This layout is for a US manufacturer's Core kit in September 2026. It assumes a constant price and variable unit cost within the planned operating range. The existing break-even analysis guide covers the definition, broader formulas and Excel instructions; this page focuses on the Sheets setup.

Create tabs named Costs and BreakEven. Use File > Settings to choose a United States locale so dates, dollar formats and the formulas below follow the same conventions. Covirage is not affiliated with Google.

Put these inputs in Costs!A1:C7. The amount column deliberately holds two different units: dollars per unit for variable costs, and dollars per month for fixed costs. Keep that distinction in the line labels and never sum the entire amount column.

These are planning assumptions supported by the product cost workbook and monthly expense schedule. For a mixed cost, enter its fixed component separately from its per-unit component. Include each cost once and identify the period before copying figures from an annual budget.

Enter the inputs and calculation rows

In BreakEven, place labels in column A and values or formulas in column B. Enter the month as a real date and format it as mmm yyyy. Price is the net selling price after discounts; planned volume is the quantity expected to be sold during that same month.

Google documents SUMIF as a conditional sum, which keeps the two cost types separate. Its ROUNDUP function rounds upward to the specified number of decimal places; zero places gives whole kits here.

Before relying on the output, replace B10 with an input guard and B11 with a guarded rounding formula:

=IF(OR(B4<=0,B8<=0,B7<0),"Check inputs",B7/B8)
=IF(ISNUMBER(B10),ROUNDUP(B10,0),"Check inputs")

Treat the remaining output rows as valid only when B10 is numeric. A zero or negative contribution needs investigation, rather than a negative sales target. The contribution margin glossary explains which costs belong in that measure.

Prove the threshold from revenue and cost

The exact requirement is 45,000 / 33 = 1,363.6364 units, shown to four decimals. Exact break-even revenue is 45,000 / 44% = $102,272.73, shown to cents. Keep full precision in the cells; formatting controls the display.

The whole-unit threshold is a different operational answer. Rebuild it immediately above and below the proposed volume:

For each row, revenue equals units times 75; variable cost equals units times 42. Total cost adds 45,000, and profit subtracts total cost from revenue. The loss at 1,363 and profit at 1,364 prove that the upward-rounded requirement is the first feasible whole-unit volume.

Add an independent revenue identity in an unused cell:

=B10*B4-B12

It should be zero, allowing a tiny floating-point residual. A practical pass check is =ABS(B10*B4-B12)<0.01. It compares the exact unit calculation with the exact revenue calculation; comparing B13 with B12 would incorrectly flag legitimate whole-unit rounding.

Reuse the layout without hiding changed assumptions

Copy the calculation tab for another price case while preserving the source costs. Change only B4, keeping the same formulas:

Only price changed, so the difference can be traced directly to that assumption.

Use the Google Sheets sales forecast template for the separate question of whether the business expects enough demand. Keep receipts and payment dates in a cash flow Google Sheets template. Accounting coverage of monthly costs does not establish when cash arrives; cash flow break-even addresses that distinct threshold.

Where it goes wrong

• Mixed periods. Monthly selling volume against annual fixed costs gives an unusable requirement. Label the period on both sheets.
• Shared costs counted repeatedly. This single-product layout needs fixed costs assigned to the product or operating unit being tested. A shared company cost needs a separate business calculation.
• List price used as realized price. Discounts and rebates reduce contribution. Use the expected net amount collected for each sale before tax.
• Rounding before division. Keep contribution and ratios at full precision. Round only the final sellable unit requirement upward.
• Capacity costs ignored. If the required volume needs another shift or facility, revise fixed and variable costs for that range and calculate again.

Check your product costs in Covirage

Bring your product cost workbook and the supporting expense file or Google Sheet to Covirage. Covirage maps the columns, and its tools compute and check the supplied cost and margin figures; the external AI model explains the results with every figure traced to its rows. Create a free Covirage account, which takes about a minute, and bring a sample of your own data.

See Covirage for customer profitability for the supporting business use.