Should I refuse an order below MOQ?

Not necessarily. Taking it with the setup charge shown, or at the margin per part needed, still meets your profit floor. Decline only when the customer accepts neither and the slot has better work.

Why is the MOQ higher than break-even?

Break-even only pays for setup; the MOQ also earns your minimum order profit, which needs about profit floor ÷ margin per part more parts. Set the floor to zero when spare capacity makes break-even acceptable.

What should the minimum order profit be?

Your own floor; the $500 default is only an example. Base it on what the machine slot would earn on your other work, since a small order displaces that work.

Does a customer's target price change the MOQ?

Yes, in inverse proportion to margin per part. Cutting a $14 margin to $7 doubles the parts needed to cover setup and your floor, from 94 to 188 at the defaults.

Contract Manufacturing, Job Shop Quoting & Make-to-Order calculator

Minimum Order Quantity Calculator

Find the smallest order that pays for its setup and still earns your minimum order profit, and what the requested quantity earns. You need setup hours, shop rate, margin per part and the customer's quantity.

What this calculator does

The order quantity that recovers setup and meets your profit floor, and what to charge when a customer asks for less.

Formula used

Setup cost per order = setup hours × shop rate
Minimum order quantity = (setup cost + minimum order profit) ÷ margin per part before setup, rounded up; break-even quantity uses setup cost alone
Order profit = requested quantity × margin per part − setup cost
Setup charge needed = setup cost + minimum order profit − requested quantity × margin per part, when positive
Margin per part needed = (setup cost + minimum order profit) ÷ requested quantity

Inputs explained

Setup Hours: Setup, programming and first-article hours for one order.
Shop Rate: Burdened hourly rate for machine, operator and overhead.
Margin per Part Before Setup: Piece price minus material, outside processing and run time at shop rate.
Minimum Order Profit: Least profit an order must earn after setup; 0 means break-even.
Requested Quantity: Parts the customer asks for on this RFQ or release.

How to use the result

Best suited to triaging an RFQ for a short run, setting MOQ rules for a part family, pricing a small release on a blanket order.
Excludes special tooling, material minimum buys and freight; quote those as separate charges. Treats margin per part as fixed; if you offer a price break at the MOQ, rerun at that price.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The U.S. prime lending rate is 7.00% (Federal Reserve via FRED, 2026-10-02). Payback and financing math should start from today's rate, not a remembered one.

Common questions

Should I refuse an order below MOQ? Not necessarily. Taking it with the setup charge shown, or at the margin per part needed, still meets your profit floor. Decline only when the customer accepts neither and the slot has better work.
Why is the MOQ higher than break-even? Break-even only pays for setup; the MOQ also earns your minimum order profit, which needs about profit floor ÷ margin per part more parts. Set the floor to zero when spare capacity makes break-even acceptable.
What should the minimum order profit be? Your own floor; the $500 default is only an example. Base it on what the machine slot would earn on your other work, since a small order displaces that work.
Does a customer's target price change the MOQ? Yes, in inverse proportion to margin per part. Cutting a $14 margin to $7 doubles the parts needed to cover setup and your floor, from 94 to 188 at the defaults.

Last reviewed 2026-10-01.