Mini Session Profit & Capacity

Summary

This calculator separates three questions that are often mixed together: how many sessions physically fit, how many are booked or completed, and what remains after the modeled event costs. That separation makes the output easier to audit. Capacity is not demand, and planning profit is not a promise or a tax calculation.

How the calculation works

The schedule uses a cycle made from session minutes plus turnaround minutes. Because no turnaround is needed after the last session, PortraitPace adds one turnaround interval to the bookable window before dividing by cycle length and rounding down. It then checks that booked slots do not exceed physical capacity and that completed slots do not exceed bookings.

Revenue uses completed sessions, any entered average add-on revenue, and retained cancellation revenue for booked sessions that do not complete. Fixed event costs are subtracted once. Variable costs are multiplied by completed sessions. Processing fees are calculated from the modeled revenue and user-entered fee settings.

Build the event in the right order

First protect setup, teardown, breaks, and any recovery buffer, then enter only the continuous client-facing minutes as the bookable window. Next enter the repeatable session and turnaround cycle. Only after capacity is visible should you enter booked and completed counts. This order prevents a revenue target from quietly forcing more appointments into the schedule than the timing allows.

Gather fixed event costs from agreements and receipts. Gather per-completion costs from the fulfillment plan. If a cost remains uncertain, test a cautious value rather than leaving it out without a note. Keep the base price separate from average add-on revenue so the output shows when event economics depend on upgrades.

Synthetic worked example

Synthetic scenario — invented values for product demonstration and QA. Not a US or Canadian market benchmark. Imagine a 240-minute window with 15-minute sessions and 5-minute turnarounds. The schedule fits 12 slots. A user models 10 bookings, 9 completions, 225 USD per completed session, 400 USD in fixed costs, and 25 USD in variable cost per completion. The tool calculates revenue and costs from those invented entries, then shows the completed-slot break-even result. It does not infer whether ten people will book or whether that price fits a particular city.

Assumptions and exclusions

The model assumes a continuous event window and consistent cycle length. It excludes sales tax, GST/HST, owner income tax, exchange conversion, unpredictable schedule disruption, and costs the user did not enter. If the event uses different session lengths or multiple sets with separate reset times, model each block separately or use a more detailed schedule outside the tool.

Review capacity, break-even, and full-capacity output as different statements. Capacity says what fits. Break-even says how many completed slots recover entered fixed costs when contribution is positive. The full-capacity result shows arithmetic if every physical slot completes; it is not an expected outcome. Run a lower-completion case and a no-add-on case before using the plan, then preserve actual completions, costs, revenue, fees, and work hours for an after-event comparison.

Sources and next step

The SBA break-even page provides general context for separating fixed and variable costs. IRS and CRA sources help frame why actual revenue and expense records matter. Stripe’s public page is a reference point only; enter the fees that apply to your own processor and transaction mix.

Open the Mini Session Profit & Capacity calculator, then use Mini Session Capacity and Schedule to prepare the event timeline. Before publishing the offer, request the free Mini Session Profit Checklist for a separate cost and workflow review.