I run a coffee cart: how many cups a day must I sell to cover the monthly rent and wages?

Step one: the monthly number

The calculator works on a single period, and rent and wages are paid monthly, so start with the month. In the Break-even calculator enter:

1. Fixed costs: 18,000, covering the pitch rent, the barista's wage, electricity and the municipal permit spread over its months.
2. Price per cup: 14.
3. Variable cost per cup: 5, meaning beans, milk, cup, lid and stirrer, plus card payment fees if you pay them.

Result: a contribution of 9 per cup, a contribution margin ratio of 64.29%, a break-even of exactly 2,000 cups and 28,000 of revenue for the month.

Step two: turning it into a daily target

The tool does not divide by days; that part is yours. If the cart trades 26 days a month, 2,000 ÷ 26 = 76.92, which you round up to 77 cups a day. Rounding up is deliberate: rounding down leaves you under break-even by the end of the month.

Use the days you really open, not thirty. A day closed for maintenance or a holiday does not cancel the rent, so its share lands on the remaining days.

What if a cup costs 2 more?

At a price of 16 with the same cost of 5, the contribution becomes 11, and the exact break-even of 1,636.36 rounds up to 1,637 cups a month, with revenue of 26,192 and a profit of 7 at that volume. Per day: 1,637 ÷ 26 = 62.96, so 63 cups. Two more per cup takes 14 cups off every day's target, which you will feel during the morning rush.

A cart with several sizes and drinks

• The calculator assumes one item at one price and cannot combine different items in one run.
• If you sell small, large and iced drinks, use the average price and average cost per cup from a past week or month of sales.
• When the mix shifts, say a summer where pricier iced drinks dominate, rerun it with the new averages.

Check each drink's margin separately with the Profit margin calculator, and gather the month's spending in one place with the Expense summary generator before you enter the fixed costs figure.