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Use the online business cases.
- Opening cost allocations and scope ranges
- Annual forecasts and operating break-even
- Input evidence and assessment rationales
- Calculators to test your own assumptions
The numbers before the business
Know what it costs to open. Understand what it takes to earn.
Startup budgets, five-year forecasts and operating break-even for U.S. small businesses. Read the assumptions, then test the numbers against your own plan.
10 business ideas4 categoriesLatest idea update
What business are you planning?
Search by name, category or operating scope, then compare the assumptions.
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- Auto Repair Shop$195,000opening capital
- Bakery$260,000opening capital
- Car Wash$650,000opening capital
- Cleaning Company$148,000opening capital
- Coffee Shop$155,000opening capital
- Food Truck$92,000opening capital
- Landscaping$75,000opening capital
- Laundromat$420,000opening capital
- Pet Grooming$65,000opening capital
- Vending Machine Business$46,000opening capital
Inside a business idea
Read the plan behind the numbers
A live excerpt from Cleaning Company. Explore the opening budget and forecast before opening the full case.
Home services · U.S. · USDUpdated
Cleaning Company
A U.S. residential cleaning company with two mobile employee crews, two purchased used vehicles and a paid working owner. The case connects scoped visits and route capacity to startup funding and a five-year operating plan.
- Capital to open
- $148,000
- Year 3 revenue
- $389,700
- Year 3 EBITDA margin
- 9.6%
- Operating break-even
- Month 9
Modeled scenario. EBITDA is not owner income. Operating break-even is not recovery of opening capital.
Business Score · editorial assessment5.0 / 10
Comparison of operating conditions. It is not a probability of success or a customer rating. Read the assessment and evidence →
Where the opening capital goes
All three scopes fund two crews, four cleaner employees, a working owner and two purchased used vehicles. Vehicle condition, setup and recruiting effort, equipment specification and reserve depth explain the range. The reserve is an unvalidated cash allowance; dated collection and payment schedules are needed before treating it as sufficient.
- Two used vehicles, acquisition fees and inspection
- $50,000
- Cleaning equipment and reusable tools
- $3,600
- Registration, professional setup and procedures
- $3,000
- Preopening recruiting and paid training
- $12,000
- Website, service materials and launch promotion
- $4,500
- Opening consumables and protective supplies
- $2,400
- Storage deposit and secure setup
- $2,500
- Unvalidated operating cash reserve allowance
- $70,000
Opening scope range: $114,400 – $210,100. Review the case methodology for the low and high scenarios.
Five-year operating forecast
The full paid roster and fixed overhead run throughout the same monthly booking ramp used in the operating calculator. Service volume reaches maturity and stays flat in 2026 purchasing power; no extra crews or automatic growth are assumed. Year one includes operating losses. This is an operating statement, not a cash forecast.
| Income statement | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $300,394 | $389,700 | $389,700 | $389,700 | $389,700 |
| Supplies, consumables and laundry | −$12,016 | −$15,588 | −$15,588 | −$15,588 | −$15,588 |
| Paid crews, owner and employer costs | −$272,812 | −$273,241 | −$273,241 | −$273,241 | −$273,241 |
| Vehicles, overhead and processing | −$60,016 | −$63,588 | −$63,588 | −$63,588 | −$63,588 |
| EBITDA | −$44,450 | $37,283 | $37,283 | $37,283 | $37,283 |
| EBITDA margin | -14.8% | 9.6% | 9.6% | 9.6% | 9.6% |
Annual USD. The forecast and operating break-even sensitivity have separate assumptions.
Check the scope and evidence
- Service format
- 2 mobile residential crews
- Field staffing
- 4 cleaner employees; 2 per crew
- Owner role
- 40 paid hours/week for management and limited cover
- Trading schedule
- 5 days/week; route-wide completed visits
- Financial basis
- USD at 2026 purchasing power; independent startup
Selected starting points
Different operating scopes, with the same financial questions to investigate.
Home services
Cleaning Company
- Opening capital
- $148,000
- Year 3 EBITDA margin
- 9.6%
- Operating break-even
- Month 9
Vending Machine Business
- Opening capital
- $46,000
- Year 3 EBITDA margin
- 13.6%
- Operating break-even
- Month 1
Auto Repair Shop
- Opening capital
- $195,000
- Year 3 EBITDA margin
- 18.9%
- Operating break-even
- Month 5
Car Wash
- Opening capital
- $650,000
- Year 3 EBITDA margin
- 23.4%
- Operating break-even
- Month 5
Landscaping
- Opening capital
- $75,000
- Year 3 EBITDA margin
- 18.2%
- Operating break-even
- Month 10
Pet Grooming
- Opening capital
- $65,000
- Year 3 EBITDA margin
- 14.2%
- Operating break-even
- Month 8
Bakery
- Opening capital
- $260,000
- Year 3 EBITDA margin
- 16.3%
- Operating break-even
- Month 7
Coffee Shop
- Opening capital
- $155,000
- Year 3 EBITDA margin
- 16.8%
- Operating break-even
- Month 11
Test one assumption at a time
Free calculators with visible input definitions, formulas and limitations. No account required.
Loan payment
What monthly principal and interest payment follows from an entered fixed-rate loan?
Payroll cost
What does the entered paid roster cost, including the employer-cost allowance?
Cleaning job pricing
What visit price recovers the entered costs at your selected surplus share?
Crew hourly rate
What hourly crew rate covers the paid roster and allocated monthly costs?
Startup cost
How much opening funding does your entered budget and reserve assumption require?
Cash runway
How long would constant monthly receipts and payments preserve your cash floor?
Gross margin
How much of the entered revenue remains after the cost of goods or services sold?
Profit margin
What remains after the operating expenses, interest and income-tax amount you enter?
Food cost
What does the ingredient basket cost per saleable portion after the entered losses?
Customer payback
How many months of the entered contribution recover one customer's acquisition cost?
Valuation multiple
What enterprise value and equity residual follow from your selected annual metric and multiple?
Lease vs buy
What are the entered cash and present costs of leasing versus buying the same asset service?
Seasonal cash flow
Where do changing monthly receipts and payments create a cash shortfall?
Evidence before confidence
Understand what each number can tell you
A source link can explain an input without confirming its exact value. The evidence register separates source-based inputs from author-selected assumptions, and the calculations show what follows from that scenario.
Read the methodology →- Opening costs
- Equipment, setup and reserve allocations have a stated basis. Low and high amounts describe different project scopes; validate local quotes before spending.
- Revenue and profit
- Price, volume and operating costs are explicit assumptions. Forecasts describe a scenario; they are not measured national averages.
- Staffing and scope
- Read the labor allocation, employer burden and working-owner role. Check what is included before comparing margins across businesses.
- Evidence and review
- Check source dates, input bases and assessment rationales. A displayed update date does not mean every input was independently verified that day. Inspect the Cleaning Company evidence →
What is free and what costs money
Read the business pages and use the calculators free. The paid products are editable planning files; purchases are coming soon.
Business Plan
$49
The written plan behind your operating assumptions.
- Editable Word document
- Market and competition structure
- Operations and staffing plan
- Funding narrative and use of funds
Coming soon
Financial Model
$99
An editable forecast for testing your own numbers.
- Five-year monthly Excel forecast
- Startup cost and funding schedule
- Break-even and unit economics
- Three scenarios with visible formulas
Coming soon
Compare the operating requirements
Put capital, revenue, margin and operating break-even side by side. Each case keeps its own stated scope.
Explore modeled service-business benchmarks →Questions before you begin
Read the scope, understand the limits and choose the next step.
Contact information →Are these figures observed results or modeled scenarios?
The pages describe defined operating scenarios. Sources support some inputs and provide context for others. Author-selected budgets, demand and forecasts remain assumptions; the evidence register explains the basis of each input. They are not national averages or promises of revenue.
Does operating break-even tell me when I get my investment back?
No. Operating break-even is the point where the modeled contribution covers the fixed operating costs. Recovering opening capital requires a separate cash-flow analysis. EBITDA also excludes interest, tax, depreciation and amortization; it is not owner income or cash available to withdraw.
Can I buy the files now?
Sales are not open yet. Purchase controls show Coming soon until a checkout destination is available.
Which software do the files use?
The business plan is intended for Microsoft Word and the financial model for Microsoft Excel. Review the listed file formats for each tier.
Can I edit the assumptions?
The planned files use editable text and visible model formulas. Replace the sample assumptions with quotes, staffing plans and sales estimates for your business.
Does the purchase include advice or a loan approval?
No. The files are planning tools. They do not include professional advice, financing approval, or a guarantee of business performance.
Are these recurring charges?
The displayed amounts are the planned one-time file prices in USD. Final checkout terms will be available when sales open.
What if my business is not in the catalog?
Review the Custom Work scope and current availability. The page explains possible deliverables and the information needed to define a request; it does not guarantee a quote or delivery date.