Contribution per sale = realised price − landed product cost − payment fee − variable allowance − any additional variable expense. Here: $5.00 − $2.30 − $0.20 − $0.30 = $2.20. The variable allowance is a simplified placeholder for stock losses, customer cases and other attributable costs.
Monthly operating contribution = retained sales × $2.20 − $550. The quieter case is $440 − $550 = −$110. The working example is $1,100 − $550 = $550. The higher-volume case is $1,980 − $550 = $1,430.
Simple cash recovery = $9,900 ÷ positive monthly operating contribution. The working case is 18.0 months. The higher-volume case is approximately 6.9 months. Negative or zero operating contribution gives no finite recovery under unchanged assumptions.
Operating break-even = $550 ÷ $2.20 = 250 retained sales per month. A 24-month simple recovery target is ($550 + $9,900 ÷ 24) ÷ $2.20 = 437.5, rounded up to 438 complete retained sales per month.
Include venue rent or commission, replenishment labour, travel, utilities, software, connectivity, insurance and maintenance. Classify sales-dependent costs as variable and fixed commitments as fixed. Count each expense once. Initial cash includes assumed opening inventory funding; product cost in the monthly model represents replacement stock.
These examples exclude financing, taxes, depreciation, seasonal ramp-up, discounting, changing working capital and residual value. They assume stable prices, unit contribution and fixed expenses. Simple cash recovery is a planning measure rather than accounting ROI or a promised return.