Mobile detailing or shop: decision worksheet Detail Compass | 2026-10-12 All filled numbers below are hypothetical. No jobs were timed. This cash plan requires separate tax, financing, reserve, and accounting checks. BLANK COMPARISON Month: ____ Service scope: ____ Vehicle condition: ____ For each plan, enter MOBILE / SHOP (or a third shared-bay plan). Price per completed job: ____ / ____ Supplies, travel, disposal and other direct cost per job: ____ / ____ Payment fee per job: ____ / ____ Owner hours per completed job (service, travel, setup, handover): ____ / ____ Additional monthly support hours (commute, messages, upkeep, cancelled visits): ____ / ____ Fixed monthly overhead, including all recurring premises/vehicle charges: ____ / ____ Owner-pay rate per hour: ____ / ____ Available owner hours per month: ____ / ____ Low/base/high completed jobs after cancellations: ____ / ____ Quote date and source for each cost: ____ Keep fixed and job-related costs separate. Count each expense and hour once. FORMULAS C = price - direct cost - payment fee (contribution per job) H = completed jobs x owner hours per job + additional monthly support hours Cash after owner pay = completed jobs x C - fixed overhead - owner-pay rate x H Pay check passes when cash >= $0 with all costs and hours included. Monthly capacity passes when H <= available owner hours. Booking capacity also needs allowed site windows, bay space, waiting and vehicle holds. For zero jobs, cash = -fixed overhead - owner-pay rate x support hours. Never divide by zero jobs. Mark missing costs unknown and hold the decision. LOCATION RECORD (each plan) Permitted activity and local planning authority/date: ____ Property permission, customer access, storage and operating hours: ____ Stormwater authority and sewer operator/date: ____ Confirmed collection, treatment and disposal arrangements: ____ Insurance scope, exclusions, controls and broker/date: ____ Equipment/product conditions, utilities, shelter and vehicle hold: ____ Unresolved requirement: ____ Required action: ____ Keep wash water out of storm drains. A driveway or floor drain is not permission. LAUNCH CASH (each plan) Equipment and vehicle changes: ____ Premises fit-out: ____ Deposits, including separately recorded return terms: ____ Permits and other launch costs: ____ Reserve for slow bookings: ____ Total required cash: ____ Available cash: ____ Gap: ____ Loan payments, tax reserve and other cash obligations: ____ Check accountant treatment separately. Deposits still use launch cash. FILLED COMPARISON (all hypothetical) Price: $240 both. Fee: $7.20 both. Owner pay: $30/hour both. Vehicle work: 4 hours/job both. Mobile: direct cost $32 including $10 travel; 5.5 owner hours/job. Shop: direct cost $22; 4.5 owner hours/job. Monthly support: 10 hours both. Available hours: 180 both. Mobile fixed overhead: $600. Shop fixed overhead: $1,600 ($1,100 rent + $500 other). Mobile contribution: $200.80. Shop contribution: $210.80. Mobile per-job owner pay: $165. Shop per-job owner pay: $135. Monthly support pay: $300 both. Jobs | Mobile hours | Mobile cash after pay | Shop hours | Shop cash after pay 20 | 120 | -$184.00 | 100 | -$384.00 28 | 164 | $102.40 | 136 | $222.40 36 | 208 | $388.80 | 172 | $828.80 20 jobs: both fail pay. 28 jobs: both pass pay/monthly hours. 36 jobs: mobile fails monthly hours by 28; shop passes with 8 hours left. All cases still need location, calendar, launch-cash and reserve checks. At 28 mobile jobs, 0.5 added travel hour/job means 178 hours and -$317.60 cash. At 28 shop jobs, $300 added overhead means -$77.60 cash. These figures do not establish demand, earnings, tax clearance or site approval. CALCULATOR HANDOFF https://detailcompass.com/tools/break-even Use recurring bills and combined owner hours per job. Combined hours per job = job hours + monthly support hours / monthly jobs. Your pay per job = combined hours per job x owner-pay rate. For the hypothetical 28-job mobile case: 5.5 + 10 / 28 = 5.8571 hours/job. Pay per job = 5.8571 x $30 = $175.71, rounded. Keep full precision here. Do not divide by zero jobs. Keep fixed bills and support pay in this worksheet. Weekly jobs = monthly jobs / (52 / 12). Rounded weekly entries can change the monthly estimate. Compare the calculator output with exact monthly counts here. Confirm omitted taxes, loan payments and reserve needs separately. DECISION Low case pay/monthly hours/booking/location/launch cash: ____ Base case: ____ High case: ____ Failed condition and fix: ____ Chosen plan and reason: ____ First month review date: ____ Sources checked 2026-10-12: https://www.sba.gov/counseling/launch-your-business/ https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2021-11/bmp-municipal-vehicle-and-equipment-washing.pdf