Business guide
Fix unit economics before scaling spend
Growth multiplies whatever your economics already are, including the bad ones.
Know your true CAC
Include salaries, tools and agency fees. Ad spend alone understates acquisition cost, often by half.
Use gross-margin LTV
Revenue LTV flatters every business. The margin figure is what actually funds the next customer.
Watch payback, not just the ratio
A healthy ratio with an eighteen-month payback still consumes cash faster than most companies can fund.
Churn is the denominator
Halving churn does more for LTV than any pricing change, and it compounds.
Run the numbers
Tools for this topic
Business & Tech
ROI & Payback Calculator
Return, annualised return and payback period for any investment or project.
Business & TechBreak-Even Point Calculator
Units and revenue needed to cover fixed costs, plus margin of safety.
Business & TechCAC & LTV Calculator
Customer acquisition cost, lifetime value and the ratio investors ask about.
Business & TechHosting & Cloud Cost Calculator
Monthly infrastructure spend across compute, bandwidth, storage and support.
Estimates, not advice. Every figure here is produced from the inputs you enter and the formula printed on the page. Rules differ by state, carrier, lender and contract, so use these numbers to prepare for a conversation with a qualified professional rather than to replace one. See our full disclaimer.