1.7 Revenue, Costs and Break-Even
Revenue, fixed and variable costs, total cost, profit or loss, contribution and contribution-method break-even.
How to study WJEC GCSE Business
Learn the concept, apply it to the named business and stakeholder, use qualitative or quantitative evidence, and make a context-limited judgement.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Total revenue equals price multiplied by quantity, while total cost combines fixed and variable costs.
Exam cue: Identify the WJEC unit, business context, stakeholder and command word before selecting theory or evidence.
Concept 2
Profit or loss is total revenue minus total cost and affects owners, employees, lenders and future decisions.
Exam cue: Write the relationship, label money and output units, show working and interpret what the result means for risk or decision-making.
Concept 3
Contribution per unit equals selling price minus variable cost per unit; break-even output equals fixed cost divided by contribution per unit.
Exam cue: Trace the decision through a business consequence, use qualitative or quantitative evidence and finish with a context-limited judgement.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Confusing revenue with profit or dividing fixed cost by selling price instead of contribution per unit.
Guardrail: Avoid generic chains, unsupported current figures and cross-board assumptions; make every point depend on the given business evidence.
Importing the legacy WJEC two-exam structure, the Eduqas route or an England 9-1 grading convention.
Guardrail: Use qualification code 3160QS or 3160CS and the four-unit untiered structure; do not import the legacy WJEC or Eduqas route.
Listing generic advantages and disadvantages without applying them to the named Welsh, UK or global business context.
Guardrail: Avoid generic chains, unsupported current figures and cross-board assumptions; make every point depend on the given business evidence.
Memory anchors
Revenue
Income from sales: selling price multiplied by quantity sold.
Fixed cost
A cost that does not change directly with output in the relevant period.
Variable cost
A cost that changes with the level of output.
Profit
Total revenue minus total cost when the result is positive.
Contribution per unit
Selling price per unit minus variable cost per unit.
Break-even output
Fixed costs divided by contribution per unit.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
A market stall sells 240 bowls at £18 each. What is its sales revenue?
A tour operator charges £35 per booking and takes 160 bookings. Calculate total revenue.
Answer all questions to submit.
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Move forward only after this module is stable.
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