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Booth renter break-even

How many cuts a day before you're earning for yourself?

Renting a chair means the rent ticks over whether you're busy or not. This tells you the cut count that covers it — and what every cut after that is worth to you.

The numbers you enter

$
Ex GST. Booth rent is often quoted GST-inclusive — strip the GST first if so.
$
Ex GST. Insurance, software, marketing, bank fees — anything you pay whether you cut or not.
$
Ex GST. Your real average across all services, not your top price.
$
Ex GST. Blades, product, capes, laundry — the bits used up on each client.
How many days you actually open the chair.
A realistic daily average, not your busiest day.

What the numbers mean

Weekly profit above your rent and costs
$1,570
At 10 cuts a day you clear $1,570 a week — about $81,640 a year. You start earning for yourself after 1.7 cuts a day.
Break-even cuts per day
1.7
Cover rent and costs before this — everything after is yours.
Break-even cuts per week
8.7
The weekly number the chair has to clear.
Profit on each extra cut
$38
What every cut past break-even puts in your pocket.
Days a week to cover the rent
1
At your current pace, this many trading days pay the fixed costs.
Where it goes
Cuts you do per week50
Cuts needed to break even8.7

How this is worked out

All figures ex GST — keep them consistent (booth rent is often quoted GST-inclusive, so divide by 1.10 first if yours is). Contribution per cut = price − product cost. Break-even cuts = weekly fixed costs ÷ contribution per cut. Weekly profit = (your cuts × contribution) − fixed costs; annual = ×52. If product cost is ever as high as your price, contribution is zero and break-even can't be worked out. This is a contractor / booth-renter model: no super, no Award penalty rates and no payroll tax are included, because as a chair renter you're running your own books. It's a planning guide, not tax or business advice — check your own numbers and, if you're unsure where you stand, have a chat to your accountant.

A working tool, not financial advice. It uses the figures and assumptions you enter — check them against your own numbers and your accountant before any pricing, wage or financial decision. Award and tax figures change (often each 1 July); verify current rates at fairwork.gov.au and ato.gov.au. Shear Profit gives no tax or financial advice.

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