Break-Even Analysis Worksheet
A-Level Business · 8 calculation questions with UK SME contexts
Name: __________________________
Class: ____________
Date: ____________
Total: 16 marks
Q12 marks
A street food van has fixed costs of £2,400 per month. It sells burgers at £6.50 each, with variable costs of £2.00 per burger.
Calculate the break-even point in units per month.
Answer:
Q22 marks
A small bakery has £4,500 fixed costs per month. Each loaf sells for £4.20 with variable cost of £1.20.
Calculate the break-even point in units.
Answer:
Q32 marks
A wedding photographer has £9,600 fixed costs per year. Each booking generates a contribution of £400.
Calculate the break-even point in bookings per year.
Answer:
Q42 marks
A barber's monthly fixed costs are £3,200. Each haircut sells for £18 with £3 of variable costs.
Calculate the break-even point in haircuts per month.
Answer:
Q52 marks · contribution
A bookshop sells novels at £9.99. The publisher charges £4.50 per copy and packaging is £0.50 per copy.
Calculate the contribution per copy.
Answer:
Q62 marks · revenue
A bicycle repair shop has £6,000 fixed costs per year. Average repair price is £45, variable cost is £10.
Calculate the break-even revenue (£).
Answer:
Q72 marks · margin of safety
A pop-up cafe expects to sell 800 coffees this month. Break-even point is 600 coffees.
Calculate the margin of safety in units AND as a percentage.
Answer:
Q82 marks · what-if
A florist has £3,000 fixed costs/month and contribution of £6 per bouquet. The landlord raises rent by £600/month.
Calculate the new break-even and the change from the original.
Answer:
Specification
Edexcel 2.2.4
·
AQA 3.5.5
·
OCR 4.2
·
Year 12 Finance
TBS Education · Free for UK teachers
01 / 02
Break-Even Worksheet — Answer Key
All 8 answers below. Two worked solutions at the foot of the page for teaching reference.
For teacher use
Award 1 mark for method · 1 mark for correct answer
Q1
2,400 ÷ (6.50 − 2.00) = 2,400 ÷ 4.50
534 burgers (533.3 rounded up)
Q2
4,500 ÷ (4.20 − 1.20) = 4,500 ÷ 3.00
1,500 loaves
Q3
9,600 ÷ 400
24 bookings per year
Q4
3,200 ÷ (18 − 3) = 3,200 ÷ 15
214 haircuts (213.3 rounded up)
Q5
9.99 − (4.50 + 0.50) = 9.99 − 5.00
£4.99 contribution per copy
Q6
BE units = 6,000 ÷ (45 − 10) = 172. Revenue = 172 × 45
£7,740 break-even revenue
Q7
800 − 600 = 200. 200 ÷ 800 = 0.25
200 units · 25 %
Q8
Old: 3,000 ÷ 6 = 500. New: 3,600 ÷ 6 = 600
600 bouquets · +100 change
Worked solution · Q1 (Street food van)
Step 1 — Find contribution per unit:
Contribution = Selling price − Variable cost = £6.50 − £2.00 = £4.50
Step 2 — Apply the break-even formula:
BE units = Fixed costs ÷ Contribution = £2,400 ÷ £4.50 = 533.3
Step 3 — Round up (you cannot sell 0.3 of a burger; rounding down would not cover fixed costs):
Break-even = 534 burgers per month
Worked solution · Q7 (Margin of safety)
Step 1 — Calculate margin of safety in units:
MoS units = Actual sales − BE sales = 800 − 600 = 200 coffees
Step 2 — Convert to percentage of actual sales:
MoS % = (MoS units ÷ Actual sales) × 100 = (200 ÷ 800) × 100 = 25 %
Margin of safety = 200 coffees · 25 %
Interpretation: sales could fall by 25 % before the cafe loses money. A useful figure for risk evaluation in Year 13 evaluation questions.
TBS Education · Free for UK teachers
02 / 02