In business planning, the sales level at which total revenue equals total costs is the break-even point.
At break-even, a business has neither profit nor loss. The calculation typically uses fixed costs, variable cost per unit, and selling price per unit. The break-even quantity equals fixed costs divided by the contribution margin per unit, where contribution margin is selling price minus variable cost.
The point is a planning tool rather than a guarantee of commercial success. It can show how many units must be sold before a new product, store, or project begins generating accounting profit. A common mistake is to treat all costs as fixed or variable when some expenses change in steps or vary with capacity.