How many moving jobs are needed to break even?
Calculate a local move price, contribution, three break-even boundaries, and independent crew and truck capacity.
Work through the guide →Price a complete local move and reserve a feasible three-person crew and one-truck block before selling more moving dates. The stated national wage scenario uses 22 completed local moves per month at $1,850.00 per completed local move, producing $3,884 mature monthly EBIT and $259,705 modeled opening funding. Sales, capacity and nonwage costs remain planning assumptions.

Inventory, access, loading, travel and return determine the block, while claims consume later recovery time. Spare person-hours do not create a second truck or a deliverable overlapping booking.
One completed local move earns the authorized final crew-and-truck charge. Quotes, deposits, bookings, open balances and claim work are separate from completed revenue.
At the assumed activity, the mature month produces $5,351 EBITDA, $3,884 EBIT and $3,851 cash after maintenance. The first twelve modeled months use $13,569 of operating cash; they do not represent a full year at the mature run rate.
The EBIT threshold is approximately 19.53 completed local moves per month; it uses the same price, variable-cost basis and complete paid roster. The listed ceiling is 24 completed local moves per month, with the operating qualifications in the capacity explanation below. Solve both crew and truck workload at the proposed whole-move count, including nonjob work and expected claim recovery per move. Reserve the actual route, building-access and reset blocks.
| Test | Entered activity or cost | Monthly EBIT |
|---|---|---|
| Published reference | 22 completed local moves per month | $3,884 |
| 20% less earned activity | 17.6 completed local moves per month | -$3,031 |
| 10% higher wage benchmarks | 1.10 × the same occupational wage anchors | $2,132 |
| 20% higher occupancy cost | $3,000.00 monthly occupancy | $3,384 |
Of the three separate tests shown, 20% less earned activity makes the largest change to monthly EBIT: -$6,916. This is a result of the stated test sizes, not a probability or a universal risk ranking.
The driver/lead, two helpers and owner-manager/dispatch replacement coverage are paid. Three workers for an elapsed hour consume three crew-hours; truck-hours remain a separate resource.
Opening payments of $147,467, the deepest cumulative operating cash deficit of $39,170 in month 4, and the retained buffer of $73,069 add to $259,705 modeled funding. Refundable deposits are included in opening cash uses; they are not operating expenses. Funding is a scenario total, not a quote or a financing recommendation.
The receivables allowance and maintenance cash sit alongside payroll and direct move costs. A customer deposit is a future service obligation; claim refunds and vehicle disruption need dated cash treatment.
EBITDA pays the full modeled roster and operating costs. EBIT also deducts depreciation. Mature cash deducts maintenance investment from EBITDA, after receivables stop growing. All three exclude financing, income taxes and additional owner distributions.
If either resource cannot deliver the next complete move or recovery erases the protected schedule, narrow scope, reprice or decline the date before adding bookings. Record complete moves with inventory, access, billed and paid time, truck use, final collection and recovery; test an ordinary overrun against the next booked move.
The wage observation is the BLS May 2025 national occupational median for each stated role. Hours, employer allowance, sales, prices, capacity and all nonwage costs are authored assumptions. Read the calculation definitions.
Calculations retain the exact input values. USD totals are displayed to whole dollars and blended prices to cents; activity and threshold estimates are displayed to up to two decimals. Rounded thresholds are estimates, not prescriptions for a sufficient whole job, visit or member count.
The operating record begins with one completed household move tied to the customer, origin, destination, inventory and access assumptions, estimate or quote, billable basis, crew, truck, paid hours, realized charge, payment status, customer handoff, and claim outcome. A lead, estimate, reservation, deposit, cancellation, reschedule, unfinished move, claim, refund, chargeback, or unpaid invoice is not another completed revenue unit.
Referrals and repeat household work help only when the company can deliver them without overlapping the one truck or hiding quality failures. Track inquiry source, quote acceptance, cancellations, completed moves, realized crew-and-truck hours, access changes, collection, customer outcome, claims, and referrals. Property-manager, office, interstate, storage, or recurring delivery work requires its own scope and operating model.

| Format | What changes | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Local household moves with one truck | One paid three-person crew completes local origin-to-destination moves inside a defined service area | The reference format here; quoted scope, access, billed hours, paid crew-hours, truck-hours, travel, claims, customer terms, and collection constrain the plan. |
| Long-distance or interstate household-goods operation | Authority, tariffs or estimates, linehaul, driver hours, weights, custody, claims, agents, storage, and delivery windows can differ materially | Use a separate regulatory, fleet, staffing, price, and cash model. |
| Storage, portable containers, freight, or commercial relocation | Warehouse, container, freight, office, industrial, or specialty handling creates different property, equipment, custody, insurance, and revenue units | Do not extend the one-truck local household move assumptions into these formats. |
A founder prepared to manage quoted scope, customer property, a paid field crew, one truck, route and building access, documentation, collection, and claim accountability. The format rewards disciplined estimates and whole schedule blocks because a high hourly rate cannot repair unbilled time, overlapping bookings, or repeated damage.

The figures below are a national wage reference scenario. The paid roster uses May 2025 BLS national occupational medians. Prices, customer volume, rent, equipment and other commercial inputs are authored assumptions. This is not a researched average startup cost, owner-income promise or a funding recommendation.
| Input or result | Reference | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Completed sales units | 22 completed local moves / month | 22 completed local moves per month; demand requires evidence. |
| Net selling price | $1,850.00 | Build and test a relevant local menu, package or contract scope. |
| Revenue | $40,700 | Calculated volume × price, not observed sales. |
| Paid payroll | $17,527 / month | National wage medians × the stated hours × the 18% employer allowance. |
| Opening payments | $147,467 | Authored equipment and setup allowances, deposit and paid training. |
| Funding including reserve | $259,705 | Opening payments + deepest modeled operating deficit + retained buffer. |
| Mature operating profit (EBIT) | $3,884 / month | After the full paid roster and depreciation; before financing and income taxes. |
| Approximate EBIT threshold | Approximately 19.5 completed local moves per month | A rounded estimate. Test whole permitted activity against the full roster and resource constraints. |
The paid field crew supplies 520.00 monthly crew-hours and the one-truck schedule supplies 180.00 truck-hours. At 22 moves, the authored plan uses 474.60 crew-hours and 162.20 truck-hours after nonjob time and entered claim recovery. The 24-move ceiling uses 98.88% of paid crew-hours and 97.44% of truck-hours. This is a planning ceiling, not observed demand.
$140.00 for fuel, tolls, and road cost plus $55.00 for consumables and disposal per completed move, 2.0% for payment and collection, and 2.5% for the entered claim, damage, and service-recovery allowance. The resulting 15.04% variable share excludes paid roster labor, which remains in payroll. Vehicle, general liability, cargo, and business insurance $3,000.00; recurring marketing $3,000.00; dispatch, CRM, phones, and software $650.00; utilities and small-office services $350.00; accounting, legal, licensing, and compliance $700.00; parking security, telematics, and registration $650.00; recruiting, uniforms, and safety $500.00; miscellaneous office and administration $350.00 per month. Occupancy or secure parking and the maintenance reserve are modeled separately. Insurance is an allowance, not a binder quote or statement of required limits.
The May 2025 national median wage anchors are $21.57 per hour for the driver or crew lead, $19.35 for mover/helpers, and $50.85 for paid owner-manager and dispatch replacement coverage. These cross-industry observations do not establish company-specific hiring terms, driver eligibility, lawful scheduling, employer obligations, insurance acceptance, or unpaid capacity.
BLS May 2025 national wage workbook · Calculation definitions · How owner income differs from EBIT
| Workstream | What the brief needs | Decision before spending |
|---|---|---|
| Truck, parking, and road readiness | One suitable straight or box truck, secure parking or storage, inspections, registration, loading access, fuel, maintenance, cleaning, ordinary downtime, replacement, and roadside response | Price the full truck system and one ordinary downtime event; a paid crew without a usable truck does not create moving capacity. |
| Moving and protection equipment | Dollies, hand trucks, ramps or liftgate, straps, pads, floor and doorway protection, tools, packing materials, personal protective equipment, inspection, cleaning, loss control, and replacement | Tie each item to the included move scope, truck payload and access conditions rather than buying an undifferentiated package. |
| Estimate, dispatch, custody, payment, and claim records | Inventory and access notes, estimates, customer documents, valuation or liability choice, scheduling, crew and truck assignment, condition records, billable time, payment, complaints, claims, refunds, and closure | Test one complete record from inquiry through collection and claim closure; a full calendar cannot replace a closed move record. |
Compare installed scope, exclusions and payment dates. Do not treat an unquoted item as zero or count a bundled installation twice. How to compare equipment quotes and build the opening budget explains a reusable quote ledger.

Write the local household scope, service area, crew, truck, inventory assumptions, access conditions, packing or disassembly, exclusions, estimate or quote, hourly or other price basis, travel charge, minimum, deposit, collection, cancellation, delay, damage, claim, and refund terms.
Schedule whole blocks for yard preparation, equipment loading, deadhead travel, origin work, inter-address travel, destination work, customer handoff, documentation, reset, maintenance, ordinary downtime, and claim recovery. Do not assign the crew or truck to overlapping work.
Take the exact entity, ownership, local or interstate scope, truck and weight, driver, employees, service area, parking or storage, estimates, customer documents, deposits, valuation or liability choices, insurance, advertising, and claim process to the responsible authorities, insurer, and counsel where needed.
Run authorized paid tests or a controlled opening. Record inquiries, accepted quotes, completed and collected moves, inventory changes, access, every paid hour, truck-hours, direct costs, customer outcomes, claims, refunds, and work declined because crew, truck, authority, or insurance was unavailable.
| Measure | Why it changes a decision |
|---|---|
| Completed and collected moves by quoted scope | Separates closed household moves from inquiries, reservations, deposits, cancellations, unfinished work, disputes, and unpaid invoices. |
| Billable hours and realized revenue per move | Shows whether inventory, access, travel, minimums, discounts, refunds, and collection support the quoted crew-and-truck price. |
| Paid crew-hours and truck-hours by category | Connects capacity to yard work, deadhead travel, customer work, documentation, reset, maintenance, idle gaps, and ordinary downtime. |
| Claims and recovery tied to the original move | Makes damage or loss, repeat travel, repair coordination, documentation, refunds, recoveries, customer outcome, and future capacity visible. |
Review actuals against the scope you priced. If an extra service, new trading hour or more distant client changes the work, update the roster and contribution calculation before expanding.
Describe the exact entity, ownership, local or interstate scope, household-goods activity, truck type and weight, drivers, employees, service area, parking or storage, estimates, pricing, minimums, deposits, valuation or liability choices, insurance, customer documents, advertising, claims, and any packing, storage, disposal, freight, commercial, or specialty work. Ask the responsible federal, state, and local offices, insurer, and counsel which carrier, mover, business, driver, vehicle, safety, weight, parking, employment, tax, consumer, estimate, custody, insurance, and claim requirements apply.
Each state profile links to official registration, tax and employer routes, together with the questions still requiring an address-specific answer. How to find the permits and approvals your business actually needs provides the record to keep.
Stop when whole-move break-even exceeds the lower of crew or truck capacity, when the entered price depends on hours the customer will not accept or the company cannot document, when claims consume the protected recovery window, or when the planned service depends on unresolved authority, insurance, driver, vehicle, weight, parking, storage, estimate, valuation, deposit, or customer-contract requirements.
Write a response that changes the actual cause: narrower scope, a different site, revised paid staffing, a tested price or a delayed opening. A larger cash buffer only addresses a temporary timing gap.

Calculate a local move price, contribution, three break-even boundaries, and independent crew and truck capacity.
Work through the guide →Build a one-truck moving schedule from job scope, crew and truck blocks, access, travel, loading, closeout, and claims.
Work through the guide →Calculate contribution, the price required at realistic sales volume and the number of completed services needed to cover fixed costs.
Work through the guide →Account for service, setup, cleaning, travel and owner work, then turn a complete paid week into a monthly staffing budget.
Work through the guide →A Restaurant earns many guest transactions through one fitted food-service site. A Moving Company earns from fewer scheduled household projects using one truck and one paid crew across origin and destination addresses. Both coordinate paid labor and equipment, but the restaurant carries daily premises throughput while moving carries route, access, custody, claims, and job-duration risk.
Compare the operating choices →A Coffee Shop depends on many short transactions during a few buying windows. A Moving Company depends on fewer jobs whose duration changes with inventory, access, loading, travel, and customer readiness. One manages counter flow and repeat habit; the other protects whole crew-and-truck blocks and custody of customer property.
Compare the operating choices →Both businesses send paid workers to customer properties and lose capacity to travel, access, and quality recovery. A Cleaning Business earns from recurring scoped visits; a Moving Company earns from one-time origin-to-destination projects using one truck. Contract retention differs from job quoting, custody, loading, and claim exposure.
Compare the operating choices →A Hair Salon sells skilled appointment time at a fitted destination. A Moving Company sells a crew-and-truck block across customer addresses. Both depend on scheduling and customer readiness, but a move can change with inventory, stairs, elevators, parking, travel, and claims after the job.
Compare the operating choices →An Auto Detailing Business completes scoped vehicle packages through technician and bay capacity at one site. A Moving Company transports customer property between addresses through one crew and truck. Both need careful intake and condition records, but moving adds route, building access, custody, weight, loading, and household-goods claim exposure.
Compare the operating choices →A Laundromat earns from customer-operated washer turns supported by installed machines, utilities, and one location. A Moving Company earns from paid field projects supported by one truck and a three-person crew. One concentrates capital in self-service equipment; the other ties capacity to coordinated paid hours, route access, and custody.
Compare the operating choices →A Daycare Center earns recurring child-weeks while maintaining licensed room, ratio, supervision, and premises coverage every operating day. A Moving Company earns from discrete household projects using one crew and truck. Both carry serious safety and customer-trust duties, but continuous care differs from temporary custody and transport of property.
Compare the operating choices →A Pet Grooming Salon sells scheduled hands-on appointments at a fitted animal-care premises. A Moving Company sells whole crew-and-truck projects across customer addresses. Both require careful intake, handling, and customer handoff, but moving adds route, building access, cargo custody, longer schedule blocks, and household-goods claims.
Compare the operating choices →Both formats dispatch a paid crew and equipment across a service area. A Landscaping Company earns from recurring property-service visits on compact routes; a Moving Company earns from distinct origin-to-destination projects using one truck. Route density matters to both, while moving adds inventory, building access, custody, billed duration, and household-goods claims.
Compare the operating choices →A Food Truck uses its vehicle as a mobile food-production and selling unit for many orders during selected service windows. A Moving Company uses its truck as cargo and route capacity for fewer household projects. Both depend on vehicle uptime and daily preparation, but their revenue units, customer location, contents, permissions, and failure paths differ.
Compare the operating choices →A Bakery converts scheduled production into many retail orders, with batch capacity, freshness, waste, and staffed selling hours shaping contribution. A Moving Company converts paid crew and truck time into completed household projects, with access, route, loading, claims, and collection shaping contribution. One is production-and-retail led; the other is field-logistics led.
Compare the operating choices →A Fitness Studio earns recurring member-months while delivering usable scheduled class access. A Moving Company earns from completed origin-to-destination jobs through one crew and truck. Both reconcile demand with paid capacity, but membership retention and class utilization differ from job quoting, travel, loading, custody, and claim recovery.
Compare the operating choices →Both businesses dispatch paid workers and vehicles to customer properties. An HVAC Company separates service calls from equipment-replacement jobs through two technicians and service vehicles; a Moving Company delivers one household project through a three-person crew and one truck. Technical diagnosis and parts cash differ from inventory, access, custody, billed duration, and damage claims.
Compare the operating choices →A Moving Company earns from completed household moves through one coordinated crew and truck across origin and destination addresses. An Auto Repair Shop earns from completed repair orders through technicians, three bays, labor operations, and parts. Both manage customer property and quality claims, but moving carries route and access risk while repair carries diagnosis, parts, equipment, and bay-flow risk.
Compare the operating choices →A Moving Company earns from completed local household moves through whole crew-and-truck blocks across yard, origin, route, destination, and reset. A Plumbing Company earns from completed and collected residential service jobs through licensed plumbers, two vehicles, dispatch, materials, permits, and callback control. Both must fit paid capacity to realized contribution, while plumbing adds address-to-address travel, trade authority, water and gas system risk, material acquisition, and return-service exposure.
Compare the operating choices →A Moving Company earns from completed local household moves through whole crew-and-truck blocks across yard, origin, route, destination, and reset. An Electrical Contractor earns from completed and collected residential service and small-alteration jobs through licensed electricians, two vehicles, dispatch, sold hours, materials, permits, inspections, testing, and rework control. Both must fit paid capacity to realized contribution, while electrical adds address-to-address travel, trade authority, code and energized-work risk, material compatibility, inspection dependencies, and return-service exposure.
Compare the operating choices →Moving Company earns from completed local household moves and is constrained by whole crew-and-truck blocks across yard, origin, route, destination, and reset. Pest Control Company earns a monthly household-plan yield while delivering a separate calendar of inspections, initial visits and callbacks. Compare realized contribution and paid capacity in their own units; a pest contract base is useful only when retention, legal scope and route obligations remain deliverable.
Compare the operating choices →Moving Company earns from completed local household moves and is constrained by whole crew-and-truck blocks across yard, origin, route, destination and reset. Residential Remodeling Company earns accepted interior scope, expressed as comparable project equivalents, while controlling a paid carpenter crew and authorized specialty trades. Compare the complete paid operating mechanism and dated cash, using each format’s own unit.
Compare the operating choices →No. Keep the reservation and any deposit in the booking and cash records. Count the move under the stated policy only after the included work is completed, and track invoicing, collection, disputes, refunds, and claims separately.
Only when the underlying inventory and access assumptions, billable hours, hourly crew-and-truck rate, travel or dispatch charge, paid crew-hours, truck-hours, discounts, direct costs, and claims remain visible. Replace the average with actual closed-move records.
Tie each claim to the original move, record customer notice, evidence, paid recovery hours, truck use, repair or replacement cost, insurer or other recovery, refund, customer outcome, and closure. Do not count the claim as a new sale.
Do not assume it does. Confirm the exact origin, destination, service, truck, weight, custody, estimate, insurance, customer documents, and operating authority with the responsible federal, state, and local bodies before accepting the move.
No states match these filters.
Sorting compares one defined format. It does not rank states for attractiveness or prove demand. Funding includes opening payments, the deepest cumulative operating cash deficit in the 60-month model and the retained cash buffer.
| State | Funding scenario | Loaded payroll / month | Approximate EBIT threshold completed local moves per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $252,774 | $16,493 | 18.9 |
| Alaska | $279,616 | $20,113 | 21.2 |
| Arizona | $261,640 | $17,809 | 19.7 |
| Arkansas | $238,995 | $14,352 | 17.5 |
| California | $274,763 | $19,514 | 20.8 |
| Colorado | $280,078 | $20,166 | 21.2 |
| Connecticut | $276,227 | $19,704 | 20.9 |
| Delaware | $266,277 | $18,411 | 20.1 |
| Florida | $253,575 | $16,612 | 18.9 |
| Georgia | $256,171 | $17,000 | 19.2 |
| Hawaii | $267,048 | $18,511 | 20.2 |
| Idaho | $250,554 | $16,161 | 18.7 |
| Illinois | $261,055 | $17,729 | 19.7 |
| Indiana | $261,790 | $17,828 | 19.7 |
| Iowa | $256,644 | $17,070 | 19.2 |
| Kansas | $254,705 | $16,781 | 19.1 |
| Kentucky | $253,246 | $16,563 | 18.9 |
| Louisiana | $248,356 | $15,833 | 18.5 |
| Maine | $260,377 | $17,628 | 19.6 |
| Maryland | $268,615 | $18,715 | 20.3 |
| Massachusetts | $277,133 | $19,821 | 21 |
| Michigan | $254,582 | $16,763 | 19 |
| Minnesota | $269,213 | $18,793 | 20.3 |
| Mississippi | $250,513 | $16,155 | 18.7 |
| Missouri | $249,876 | $16,060 | 18.6 |
| Montana | $260,733 | $17,681 | 19.6 |
| Nebraska | $255,911 | $16,961 | 19.2 |
| Nevada | $255,705 | $16,930 | 19.1 |
| New Hampshire | $270,520 | $18,962 | 20.4 |
| New Jersey | $286,643 | $20,921 | 21.7 |
| New Mexico | $251,739 | $16,338 | 18.8 |
| New York | $276,715 | $19,767 | 21 |
| North Carolina | $252,527 | $16,456 | 18.8 |
| North Dakota | $267,182 | $18,529 | 20.2 |
| Ohio | $254,513 | $16,752 | 19 |
| Oklahoma | $247,040 | $15,637 | 18.3 |
| Oregon | $267,182 | $18,529 | 20.2 |
| Pennsylvania | $261,309 | $17,766 | 19.7 |
| Rhode Island | $266,670 | $18,462 | 20.1 |
| South Carolina | $251,493 | $16,301 | 18.7 |
| South Dakota | $268,300 | $18,674 | 20.3 |
| Tennessee | $257,486 | $17,196 | 19.3 |
| Texas | $253,746 | $16,638 | 19 |
| Utah | $260,548 | $17,653 | 19.6 |
| Vermont | $256,383 | $17,031 | 19.2 |
| Virginia | $262,530 | $17,924 | 19.8 |
| Washington | $282,862 | $20,486 | 21.4 |
| West Virginia | $243,807 | $15,154 | 18 |
| Wisconsin | $271,606 | $19,103 | 20.5 |
| Wyoming | $254,472 | $16,746 | 19 |
Published research and calculations support business planning and education. They are not personalized financial, investment, tax or legal advice, and they do not guarantee costs, revenue, profit or financing. Estimates depend on the stated format, location, source periods and assumptions. Check the requirements and commitments that apply to your circumstances.