Ice and Water Vending Profit Calculator

How to use the ice vending calculator

Enter daily sales for each bag size, then enter the number of operating days in the month. Add water vending revenue if the location also sells drinking water. Use one location at a time so that rent, utility bills, and maintenance match the sales being modeled. You can change sales to compare a busy summer month with a slower winter month.

Numbers discussed in the interview

CJ reports prices of $2 for a 10 lb bag and $3.50 for a 20 lb bag. He describes packaging at roughly 7–10 cents per bag, one location with $550 monthly rent, and water and utilities of about $500, rising toward $700 in high season at the location being discussed. The calculator uses these as starting references, not universal prices.

The default daily sales, $300 water revenue, $200 maintenance reserve, $150 other costs, and $20,000 startup investment are illustrative assumptions. They are not an audited statement for his business. Replace them with seller records, bills, or quotes for the specific machine. A $500 used-machine story in the interview is not a complete installed startup budget.

Fixed rent versus revenue share

For fixed rent, enter the lease payment and set revenue share to zero. For a share-only agreement, set rent to zero and enter the percentage. Both can be used for an agreement that includes both charges. The share applies to all entered ice and water revenue. CJ describes about 30% at one location; this is a different arrangement from the $550 fixed-rent example.

Count costs once

The per-bag field covers packaging only. Water and electricity belong in the monthly utilities field, so do not include them again in bag cost. Add filters, card fees, insurance, cleaning, paid labor, and other expenses in the other-cost field. Maintenance is a reserve, not a promise that repairs will cost that amount. This model does not include financing payments, depreciation, taxes, or owner pay unless you account for relevant cash expenses in the inputs.

Understanding the results

Monthly revenue equals ice sales plus water sales. Monthly profit subtracts packaging, utilities, rent, landlord share, maintenance, and other entered costs. Annualized profit multiplies this month by twelve; it does not account for seasonality. Use the linked purchase calculator for a busy-and-slow-month model.

Break-even revenue holds your current ice-to-water sales mix and packaging ratio constant. It is an approximation, not a prediction of customer demand. Payback divides startup investment by positive monthly profit and shows N/A when profit is zero or negative.

Questions before committing to a location

Can customers safely enter, park, and leave with trailers? Are the connections and lease suitable for the machine? What do actual sales records show during winter and downtime? Traffic counts alone do not establish sales. Confirm installation, maintenance, access, and any applicable local requirements before purchasing equipment.