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Understand What You Can Afford to Pay for a Customer

Calculate a first-order acquisition target and compare it with actual acquisition cost from a consistent customer cohort.

Name or project: ____________________ Date: ______________

1. Period, cohort and currency

2. Net revenue per first-order customer

3. Direct delivery costs (avoid duplicate fees)

4. Other variable costs

5. Contribution to retain

6. Target CAC

7. Total acquisition spend and included categories

8. New paying customers and actual CAC

9. Cash collection timing and uncertainty

Next action: Fill in conservative first-order numbers. Use the calculator, then check whether the cash timing and fixed overhead make the target workable.

General education. Hypothetical examples are not forecasts. Print this page or use your browser’s Save as PDF option.