Act on the result
Compare break-even billable hours, annual contribution and payback with the sales pipeline before approving the hire.
Educational only: Business decision support, not accounting, tax or legal advice.
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Update policy: Reviewed when formulas or official dependencies change.
Scope: Market-neutral small-business planning using your own assumptions.
What this planner helps you decide
Best for
Owners testing a revenue-producing hire before committing.
Outputs
First-year cost, break-even billed hours, annual contribution and payback.
Start here
Use loaded employment cost and realistic billable hours rather than total attendance.
Use a different tool when: Do not use this to compare outsourcing with the loaded cost and capacity of an internal hire; use Outsource vs Hire Comparison for that decision. Use this tool to test a hire against billable contribution.
Profit & break-even
Hiring Break-even: first-year cost
First-year cost, break-even billed hours, annual contribution and payback.
Amounts use the same currency as your inputs. No currency conversion is performed.
Hiring Break-even
Compare first-year loaded hiring cost with expected billable contribution.
Your numbers stay in this browser
Salary, employment on-costs and recurring role costs. Use one consistent ex-tax monetary basis.
Revenue less variable delivery cost per billed hour. Use one consistent ex-tax monetary basis.
Realistic billed hours per month.
Recruitment, setup and onboarding cost. Use one consistent ex-tax monetary basis.
Decision result
Each output is bound to its own registered engine formula step.
PDF and CSV exports stay on this device. Clean page links contain no inputs.
- Break-even billable hours
- 900 hours
- First Year Cost Ex Tax
- 108,000.00
- Expected Annual Contribution Ex Tax
- 144,000.00
- First Year Profit Impact Ex Tax
- 36,000.00
- Payback Months
- 2.2 months
Scenario comparison
Each row names the assumption axis changed from the baseline.
ScenarioResultDifference
Current scenario900 hoursBaseline
Lower Monthly billable hours900 hours0 hours
Higher Monthly billable hours900 hours0 hours
Save these results, change an input, then compare the updated figures with this baseline.
The baseline is temporary in this tab and is not added to shared scenario links or generated reports.
Calculation details
View calculation detailsView the formulas and inputs used for these results.
Break-even billable hours
Break Even Billable Hours
first-year cost / contribution per billable hour900 billable hoursResult900 hours
Reports hours for the entered planning period using the declared ex-tax revenue, cost and capacity basis. The engine retains full precision; only presentation is rounded.
Hiring Break-even Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Break Even Billable HoursAnnual Loaded Hire Cost Ex Tax
- 100,000
- Break Even Billable HoursContribution Per Billable Hour Ex Tax
- 120
- Break Even Billable HoursMonthly Billable Hours
- 100
- Break Even Billable HoursOne Off Hiring Cost Ex Tax
- 8,000
First Year Cost Ex Tax
First Year Cost Ex Tax
annual loaded cost + one-off hiring cost108,000.00Result108,000.00
Reports money for the entered planning period using the declared ex-tax revenue, cost and capacity basis. The engine retains full precision; only presentation is rounded.
Hiring Break-even Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- First Year Cost Ex TaxAnnual Loaded Hire Cost Ex Tax
- 100,000
- First Year Cost Ex TaxContribution Per Billable Hour Ex Tax
- 120
- First Year Cost Ex TaxMonthly Billable Hours
- 100
- First Year Cost Ex TaxOne Off Hiring Cost Ex Tax
- 8,000
Expected Annual Contribution Ex Tax
Expected Annual Contribution Ex Tax
contribution per hour × monthly hours × 12144,000.00Result144,000.00
Reports money for the entered planning period using the declared ex-tax revenue, cost and capacity basis. The engine retains full precision; only presentation is rounded.
Hiring Break-even Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Expected Annual Contribution Ex TaxAnnual Loaded Hire Cost Ex Tax
- 100,000
- Expected Annual Contribution Ex TaxContribution Per Billable Hour Ex Tax
- 120
- Expected Annual Contribution Ex TaxMonthly Billable Hours
- 100
- Expected Annual Contribution Ex TaxOne Off Hiring Cost Ex Tax
- 8,000
First Year Profit Impact Ex Tax
First Year Profit Impact Ex Tax
annual contribution − first-year cost36,000.00Result36,000.00
Reports money for the entered planning period using the declared ex-tax revenue, cost and capacity basis. The engine retains full precision; only presentation is rounded.
Hiring Break-even Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- First Year Profit Impact Ex TaxAnnual Loaded Hire Cost Ex Tax
- 100,000
- First Year Profit Impact Ex TaxContribution Per Billable Hour Ex Tax
- 120
- First Year Profit Impact Ex TaxMonthly Billable Hours
- 100
- First Year Profit Impact Ex TaxOne Off Hiring Cost Ex Tax
- 8,000
Payback Months
Payback Months
one-off hiring cost / monthly contribution after recurring hire cost2.18 monthsResult2.2 months
Reports months for the entered planning period using the declared ex-tax revenue, cost and capacity basis. The engine retains full precision; only presentation is rounded.
Hiring Break-even Planner formulas →Inputs used by these formula steps
- Payback MonthsAnnual Loaded Hire Cost Ex Tax
- 100,000
- Payback MonthsContribution Per Billable Hour Ex Tax
- 120
- Payback MonthsMonthly Billable Hours
- 100
- Payback MonthsOne Off Hiring Cost Ex Tax
- 8,000
Inputs used
- Annual loaded hire cost
- 100,000.00
- Contribution per billable hour
- 120.00
- Monthly billable hours
- 100
- One-off hiring cost
- 8,000.00
Open this calculator with preset values
This calculator supports documented, shareable scenario URLs. Compatible assistants and applications can construct links using the parameters below.
Scenario links contain only allowlisted numeric and closed-choice inputs shown in the URL; Margin101 excludes free text and identifying fields. Anyone you share the URL with can read those numbers, so do not include private or identifying data.
| Parameter | Meaning | Unit | Allowed values | Presence | Default |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| annualLoadedHireCostExTax | Salary, employment on-costs and recurring role costs. Use one consistent ex-tax monetary basis. | currency units/year, ex tax | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 100000 |
| contributionPerBillableHourExTax | Revenue less variable delivery cost per billed hour. Use one consistent ex-tax monetary basis. | currency units/hour, ex tax | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 120 |
| monthlyBillableHours | Realistic billed hours per month. | hours/month | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 100 |
| oneOffHiringCostExTax | Recruitment, setup and onboarding cost. Use one consistent ex-tax monetary basis. | currency units/planning period, ex tax | 0 to 100000000 | Required | 8000 |
Hiring Break-even: first-year cost
Break-even billable hours shows the billed delivery needed to recover first-year loaded and one-off hiring cost.
Formula summary
- Primary formula
- break-even hours = first-year hire cost / contribution per billable hour
Data used here
- The estimate uses your inputs and the general business formula documented in the methodology.
Decision checks
Stress-test the decision
Retest monthly billable hours in hours per month and contribution per billable hour in currency units per billed hour, ex tax.
When this estimate can be misleading
- Results depend on complete, consistently classified inputs.
- Demand, timing, quality and strategic fit remain separate decisions.
- This is educational business decision support, not accounting, tax, legal or financial advice.
- Break-even billable hours shows the billed delivery needed to recover first-year loaded and one-off hiring cost.
Educational estimate, not advice. See all assumptions & limitations →
Related reading
Guides to interpret the decision and its assumptions.
- Break-Even Analysis: Threshold, Not Forecast
Turn unit contribution and fixed costs into a sales threshold, then test whether the required volume and capacity are plausible.
Read guide
Frequently asked questions
How do I test a hire against billable contribution?
Compare break-even billable hours, annual contribution and payback with the sales pipeline before approving the hire.
Which planning assumptions should I stress-test?
Compare a plausible alternative scenario and verify the decision-critical assumption that changes the plan most.