Will that machine — or that branch — actually pay for itself?
Contribution margin, break-even volume and a realistic ramp. Enter the investment and the unit economics to see when the cumulative position turns positive.
Put your own numbers in.
Rent, salaries, maintenance contract, insurance, loan servicing — everything you pay whether or not a single patient walks in.
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Break-even volume
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Unit economics
Payback
First 24 months, with ramp
Volume is assumed to build linearly to your target over the ramp period. Cumulative position starts at minus the upfront investment.
Capacity is easy to buy. Utilisation is the hard part.
The business case usually fails on volume, not on price. Drapto tracks utilisation, procedure mix and revenue per room so you find out in month two whether the assumption held — not in year two.
About this calculator.
What is contribution margin and why does it decide everything?
It is revenue per procedure minus the variable cost of doing it. Fixed costs are paid out of contribution, so break-even volume is simply fixed cost divided by contribution. If contribution is thin, no amount of volume rescues the investment.
Why does the ramp period matter?
Because a new machine or branch almost never opens at full capacity. Assuming day-one volume is the single most common error in these business cases, and it usually hides several months of losses that still have to be funded.
Should loan repayments go in fixed costs?
Yes, if you are financing the purchase. Put the upfront amount you actually pay in the investment field and the monthly servicing in fixed costs, so the payback figure reflects real cash.
Is 24 months the right horizon?
For most clinical equipment, yes. If an investment has not turned cumulative-positive within two years, the assumptions usually deserve a second look rather than more patience.
Track the assumption after you sign the cheque.
Built to standards, not to a demo
The number this gives you is the start, not the answer.
A review looks at your own figures rather than an average.