Dog boarding and daycare calculator: what occupancy do you need to break even? Free, private

Your facility

Boarding runs or suites you can fill at once

Nightly boarding price, dollars

Average boarding occupancy over a year, %

Average stay, nights

Add-ons per stay (bath, walks, treats, medication), dollars

Daycare spots, dogs at one time

Daycare price per day, dollars

Average daycare fill on days open, %

Daycare days open per month

Supplies per dog per day: food extras, cleaning, laundry, waste, dollars

Card and booking-software fees, % of revenue

Dogs per attendant (your ratio, insurer or state rule)

Staffed hours per day

Minimum staff on duty whenever open

Hourly wage, dollars

Payroll tax and benefits, % of wages

Rent per month, dollars

Utilities, water and waste per month, dollars

Manager or your own draw per month, dollars

Insurance per year, dollars

Other fixed costs per month (software, marketing, vet partner), dollars

Build-out per run (kennels, flooring, drains, fencing), dollars

Equipment total (play yards, washers, front desk, cameras), dollars

Launch cost: licence, legal, first marketing, dollars

Lease deposit, months of rent

Contingency on build-out, equipment and launch, %

Demand in month 1, % of planned occupancy

Months to reach planned occupancy

Loan as % of startup cost (0 for all cash)

Loan interest rate, %

Loan term, years

Target operating margin, %

Fill in your facility, then click Work out the business. Boarding runs or daycare spots, a price and a staffing ratio are required; the rest default to zero or the neutral choice.

Result

If demand runs above or below plan

Versus plan	Dogs on site	Attendants	Profit per month	Margin	Cash after loan

If you charge more or less

Price change	Profit per month	Margin	Cash after loan

If wages rise or fall

Wage change	Profit per month	Cash after loan

Year by year, first five years

Year	Operating profit	Cash after loan

What it does, and what it leaves to you

Sales: runs × occupancy × 30 nights, plus daycare spots × fill × days open, plus one add-on per stay (nights ÷ average stay), less card and software fees as a share of revenue.
Staffing: average dogs on site ÷ dogs per attendant, rounded up, never below your minimum, times staffed hours × 30 days × wage plus payroll costs. This is a step cost, so the page scans capacity in half-percent steps to find break-even instead of solving a straight line.
Other costs: supplies per dog-day, rent, utilities, manager, insurance and other fixed costs.
Startup: build-out per run, equipment, deposit, launch and contingency. The loan is a share of that on level payments. Ramp-up runs sixty months with demand climbing in a straight line from the month-1 figure; payback is the first month cumulative cash covers your equity.
Not decided: local demand and competing kennels; boarding licence, zoning and noise rules; vaccination and bite-liability policy; the staffing ratio your insurer requires; holiday and seasonal swings; income tax and depreciation; and what a lender will offer.

Common questions

How much profit does a dog boarding and daycare business make?

It depends on how many runs and daycare spots you fill, what you charge, and what attendants, rent and insurance cost. Enter your own figures; the page works out revenue after fees, supplies, staffing, fixed costs, monthly profit and margin at your planned occupancy.

How much occupancy does a dog kennel need to break even?

Costs do not rise smoothly with dogs: you add an attendant each time the ratio is passed. The page scans every half percent of capacity, with boarding and daycare at the same percent full, and reports the first level that covers operating costs and the first that also covers the loan.

How many attendants do I need for my dogs?

The page divides the average number of dogs on site by the dogs-per-attendant figure you enter, rounds up, and never goes below your minimum staff. Use the ratio your insurer, your state or county, or your own standard requires; the page does not know it.

How much does it cost to open a dog boarding facility?

Build-out per run, equipment, lease deposit, launch cost and a contingency, all from your inputs. A ramp-up table shows the lowest cash point while demand builds, which is the reserve to hold on top of your equity.

Does this tell me whether a kennel will succeed?

No. It works only from your figures. It does not know local demand, competing kennels, seasonality, licensing, zoning and noise rules, or disease and liability risk. Check those first.

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.