Workshop Capital & Break-Even Calculator

No single figure — it depends heavily on type (motorcycle or car), scale, and location. A small motorcycle shop differs entirely from a car workshop with a lift and diagnostics. This helps you itemise your own: tools and compressor, lift, fit-out, opening parts stock, permits, plus a reserve for the early months. That reserve is the most forgotten and most saving line.

Break-even jobs per month = monthly fixed costs / contribution margin per job, where contribution margin = average price − variable cost (parts used + mechanic commission). With Rp11m fixed, Rp120,000 average, Rp40,000 variable: margin Rp80,000, so break-even is Rp11m / Rp80,000 ≈ 138 jobs a month, about 5-6 a day.

Payback = capital / monthly profit, where monthly profit = (target − break-even) × contribution margin. To be clear: if your target sits below break-even, the capital never returns under those assumptions — it isn't 'slower payback'. The calculator warns instead of printing a negative month count. Since workshop equipment is capital-heavy, payback tends to be longer than for light-capital service businesses.

Costs that appear only with a job: parts used for that job, consumables like oil and grease, and mechanic commission if paid per job. Rent, fixed mechanic salaries, and baseline power aren't variable. A common error is folding a fixed salary into per-job cost, which makes contribution margin look thinner and break-even heavier than it is.

Several levers. Raising average job price is most direct, often via parts margin rather than the more sensitive labour rate. Raising job volume adds profit but needs more customers — where marketing and easy booking come in. Cutting fixed costs like rent directly lowers break-even. Avoid adding expensive equipment before the current kit is fully used, as that raises capital with no guaranteed extra customers.