The math
- Cost per item = material + packaging + (laser minutes ÷ 60 × machine cost per hour) + (selling price × fee %).
- Profit per item = selling price − cost per item. We show it before and after paying yourself for hands-on time.
- Monthly profit = profit per item × items per month.
- Payback = laser + extras ÷ monthly profit (before your wage), in months.
- Laser hours per month = items × laser minutes ÷ 60 — a check on whether one machine can keep up.
"Machine cost per hour" covers electricity, purifier filters, lenses and the wear on the laser module or CO2 tube. A dollar or two an hour is a reasonable placeholder for a hobby diode or desktop CO2; raise it for heavy daily use. "Laser + extras" should include ventilation, a rotary, safety gear and starter materials, not just the machine. For a full startup budget, read what it costs to start a laser engraving business, and see the best lasers for a small business.
A worked example
The defaults describe a personalized wooden sign that sells for $25: $4 of material, 12 minutes on the laser, 10 minutes of your time, $2 of packaging and 10% in fees. Machine time costs 12 ÷ 60 × $1.50 = $0.30 and fees $2.50, so the item costs $4 + $2 + $0.30 + $2.50 = $8.80 and earns $16.20 before your time. Ten minutes at $20 an hour is $3.33, leaving $12.87 of true profit.
At 40 sales a month that's $648 before your wage (about $515 after), and the laser runs 8 hours a month. A $1,500 setup pays back in about 2.3 months on cash profit, or about 2.9 months once you pay yourself for the hands-on time. Halve the volume and payback doubles; the hard part of a laser business is usually selling 40 a month, not making them. These figures are illustrative, not a forecast.