The Revenue Architect · Free calculator

What can you afford to pay for one customer?

Know your limit before you buy the lead. Put in your price, your costs, and how you get paid. Get a clear target for your next ad spend.

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Your numbersExample figures

Start with an example, then replace the numbers. All money is in USD.

What you sell

How does one customer pay you?One job, order, or full programEach month

Price of the full sale

Leave out sales tax. For a program, use the full price even if the client pays in parts.

For a one-time sale, we count that sale only. For monthly work, we count the paid months you enter. Promised renewals do not pay the bills.

Your spending limit

Example numbers. Replace with your own.

Up to$150.00

in ads to win one customer

This is a ceiling based on your inputs. Aim below it to leave room for a weak week.

Full customer cost limit$300.00Ads + all other costs to win the buyer

Max cost per lead$30.00At a 20% buy rate

ROAS targetAt least 12.00xSale price divided by ads

Where your limit comes from

Price per sale: $1,800.00
Delivery cost (COGS): $900.00
Gross profit / margin: $900.00 / 50.0%
Payment fees + refund reserve: $0.00
Left before winning the buyer per sale: $900.00
Divide by your 3:1 goal: $300.00
Use the lower cash or value limit: $300.00
Less other costs to win one buyer: $150.00
Left for ads: $150.00

CAC means customer acquisition cost: the full cost to win one new paying customer. The limit includes ads and your other sales costs.

Paid back when the full payment clears. This assumes the payment timing you entered and spending up to your limit.

$600.00 is left for overhead and profit on the sale. It is not all take-home pay.

Before you raise spend

Give your plan a bad week.

Change one assumption. See what still works.

If only half as many leads buy

$15.00

Your lead-cost limit falls to this at a 10% buy rate. A cheap lead is only useful if it turns into a buyer.

If you need repeat work to make it work

This plan counts one sale. Add repeat sales only when past payments support them. Do not use a hoped-for second sale to rescue the first.

ROAS is a different test

2.40x

First-sale break-even ROAS after delivery, fees, refunds and your other acquisition costs. General overhead still needs paying.

Already running ads? Check your real customer cost.

Use one group of leads and the new customers they became. Give them time to buy. Use costs from the same group. These example numbers are separate from your plan above.

Ad spend

Other sales and marketing costs

Leads in this group

New paying customers

$750.00 full cost per new customer

$120.00 cost per lead

This group is $450.00 per customer over your limit. Check the price, delivery costs, sales costs and buy rate before raising spend.

Use the target. Then check the payments.

A signed contract is work sold. A collected payment is money paid. Use your CRM and payment records to check which ad brought each paying customer.

Replace the examples with your own prices and costs.
Check the lower case before you set your ad budget.
Run a small test. Track leads, buyers, delivery costs and paid bills.
Raise spend in steps only when the numbers and payment timing still work.

What the math includes

COGS: labor + materials + other direct delivery costs. Gross margin is the part of the price left after those costs.

Money available: gross profit less payment fees and a refund reserve. The calculator uses this lower figure for its customer-cost goal. Without fees or refunds, a 3:1 goal is lifetime gross profit divided by 3.

Cash cap: money left from payments expected inside your wait limit. Monthly plans use whole months, with payments at each month-end plus any extra delay. One-time plans reserve all delivery costs and wait for full collection. Overhead or costs due before payment may require a lower limit.

Ad cap: the lower of the value cap and cash cap, less your other acquisition costs. Max lead cost is the ad cap times the share of leads who buy.

ROAS: sales divided by ads. The first-period target uses one sale or one monthly price. Match the time period when comparing your reports.

All results are estimates from your inputs. Keep your overhead, capacity, taxes and actual payment dates in the final plan. A calculator cannot guarantee the return on your next ad.

More on the methods: Shopify on break-even ROAS and Stripe on CAC payback.

Want help checking the whole path?

Bring your saved numbers to a free Revenue Growth Audit. We can map the gaps from ad to paid bill.

Book a free audit

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