Ice cream shop seasonal profit calculator: break-even, off-season and loan coverage. Free, private

Will a seasonal ice cream shop pay its loan, and which months should stay closed?

Enter your twelve months: days open and customers per open day. You get profit by month, break-even customers per day for every open month, an open, close or closed verdict, loan coverage, the cash reserve the slow months need and payback on the start-up cost, plus what happens if prices or traffic move.

Works for any seasonal counter-service shop: frozen yogurt, shaved ice, snow cones, a lakeside stand. It works from your own figures; it does not know your traffic, your town or your lease.

Your shop

Average spend per customer, dollars

Product cost, % of sales (ice cream, cones, toppings, cups)

Card fees, % of sales

Hourly wage, dollars

Payroll taxes and extras, % of wages

Minimum crew hours per open day (all staff added up)

Customers one labor hour can serve

Utilities per month while open, dollars

Fixed costs every month, open or not (rent, insurance, software), dollars

Start-up cost, dollars (blank to skip payback)

Loan amount, dollars (blank for none)

Loan interest rate, % a year

Loan term, years

Owner draw you need per year after the loan, dollars (blank for none)

Twelve months, one per line: month, days open, customers per open day (0 days for a closed month)

Fill in your shop and all twelve months, then click Work out the year. Only spend per customer and the twelve months are required; the rest default to zero.

Result

Month by month

Month	Revenue	Labor	Profit after fixed costs	Break-even customers per day	Verdict

If spend per customer changes

Price change	Operating profit	Left after loan

If traffic changes

Traffic change	Operating profit	Left after loan

What it does, and what it leaves to you

Revenue: days open times customers per open day times average spend. Product cost and card fees are percentages of it.
Labor: each open day is staffed for the larger of your minimum crew hours and customers divided by customers one labor hour can serve, at your wage plus payroll extras. The owner's own time is not charged; that is what the owner draw line is for.
Utilities and fixed costs: utilities are charged only in months you are open; fixed costs are charged every month, open or closed.
Verdicts: open if the month earns more than its product, fees, labor and utilities; close if staying open loses money before fixed costs, so closing would save the loss; closed for a month you entered as zero days.
Cash reserve: your twelve months run twice in a row with loan payments, starting from zero cash; the reserve is the deepest fall below an earlier high.
Not decided: weather, how traffic changes with price, income tax, sales tax, depreciation, the owner's salary, equipment repairs and replacement, licences, health permits and what a lender will accept.

Common questions

How much does an ice cream shop make?

It depends on traffic, spend per customer, product cost, labor and rent, and most of all on how many months you are open. Enter your own twelve months and the page shows profit by month and for the year, using only your figures.

How many customers a day does an ice cream shop need to break even?

The page works it out for each open month: the customers per open day at which that month's profit after labor, utilities and fixed costs is zero. Slow shoulder months usually need far more than they get, which is what the open-or-close verdict shows.

Should I close in the off-season?

A closed month still pays rent and fixed costs. Staying open is worth it only if the month's sales, less product, card fees, labor and utilities, are above zero. The page marks each month open, close or closed, and adds up what closing the losing months saves.

How much cash do I need to get through winter?

The page runs your twelve months twice in a row, counting rent, fixed costs and loan payments, and reports the deepest fall below an earlier cash high. That is a reserve estimate for your inputs, not a loan or lender requirement.

Does this predict my traffic?

No. It works only from the days open and customers per day you enter. Check them against your own register reports, or a nearby comparable shop you know well, before relying on the answer.

Is my data uploaded anywhere?

No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent; a test in the code asserts there are no network calls.