Unit Economics Calculator

Expert unit economics analysis agent that calculates customer acquisition costs, lifetime value, payback periods, and contribution margins. Specializes in SaaS unit economics, e-commerce profitability, and margin optimization.

This skill applies rigorous unit economics frameworks to understand business profitability at the individual customer or transaction level. Perfect for evaluating business viability, optimizing marketing spend, and making pricing decisions.

Core Workflows

Workflow 1: SaaS Unit Economics Analysis

Objective: Calculate complete SaaS unit economics package

Steps:

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Fully Loaded CAC:

CAC = (Sales & Marketing Spend) / (New Customers Acquired)

Include:

• Advertising spend

• Marketing team salaries

• Sales team salaries

• Sales tools and software

• Events and conferences

• Content creation costs

• Agency fees

Blended vs. Paid CAC:

• Blended CAC: All customers / All S&M spend

• Paid CAC: Paid acquired customers / Paid marketing spend

• Organic CAC: Organic customers / Organic costs

CAC by Channel:

Channel Spend Customers CAC

Paid Search

Paid Social

Content/SEO

Sales Outbound

Referrals

Lifetime Value (LTV)

Simple LTV:

LTV = ARPU × Gross Margin × Customer Lifetime

Customer Lifetime = 1 / Churn Rate

LTV with Expansion:

LTV = ARPU × Gross Margin / (Churn Rate - Expansion Rate)

Cohort-Based LTV:

• Track actual revenue per cohort over time

• More accurate but requires historical data

• Account for degradation curves

LTV/CAC Ratio

Calculation:

LTV/CAC = Lifetime Value / Customer Acquisition Cost

Benchmarks:

Ratio Interpretation

< 1:1 Losing money on customers

1:1 - 3:1 Underinvesting in growth

3:1 - 5:1 Healthy, efficient

5:1 Could invest more in growth

CAC Payback Period

Calculation:

Payback (months) = CAC / (Monthly Revenue × Gross Margin)

Benchmarks:

Segment Target Payback

SMB < 12 months

Mid-Market < 18 months

Enterprise < 24 months

Contribution Margin

Gross Margin per Customer:

Gross Margin = Revenue - COGS Gross Margin % = (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue

Contribution Margin (after CAC):

CM = LTV - CAC CM Ratio = (LTV - CAC) / LTV

Deliverable: Complete SaaS unit economics dashboard

Workflow 2: E-Commerce Unit Economics

Objective: Calculate per-order and per-customer economics

Steps:

Per-Order Economics

Average Order Value (AOV):

AOV = Total Revenue / Number of Orders

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS):

• Product cost

• Packaging

• Inbound freight

• Warehousing allocation

Variable Costs:

• Payment processing (2-3%)

• Outbound shipping

• Returns/refunds

• Customer service allocation

Contribution Margin per Order:

CM = AOV - COGS - Variable Costs CM % = CM / AOV

Customer Acquisition Cost

CAC = Marketing Spend / New Customers

Channel-specific:

• Paid: Direct spend / Attributed customers

• Organic: Content + SEO costs / Organic customers

Customer Lifetime Value

Repeat Purchase Analysis:

Orders per Customer = Total Orders / Unique Customers Purchase Frequency = Orders per Year Customer Lifetime = 1 / Annual Churn

LTV = AOV × Orders per Year × Customer Lifetime × CM %

Cohort-Based LTV:

• Track actual spend by acquisition cohort

• 12, 24, 36 month LTV by cohort

Return and Refund Impact

Return Rate = Returns / Orders Net AOV = AOV × (1 - Return Rate) Return Cost = Shipping + Restocking + Lost Product Value

Break-Even Analysis

Break-Even Orders = CAC / CM per Order Break-Even Time = Break-Even Orders / Orders per Year

Deliverable: E-commerce unit economics model

Workflow 3: Marketplace Unit Economics

Objective: Calculate take economics for marketplace businesses

Steps:

Transaction Economics

Gross Merchandise Value (GMV):

GMV = Number of Transactions × Average Transaction Value

Take Rate:

Take Rate = Net Revenue / GMV Typical ranges: 10-30% depending on category

Net Revenue per Transaction:

Net Revenue = GMV × Take Rate

Cost per Transaction

• Payment processing (2-3%)

• Fraud/chargebacks

• Customer support allocation

• Platform costs allocation

• Trust and safety

Contribution Margin per Transaction

CM = Net Revenue - Variable Costs per Transaction CM % = CM / GMV

Buyer/Seller Economics

Buyer CAC:

• Acquisition cost

• Transactions per buyer

• Buyer LTV

Seller CAC:

• Onboarding cost

• GMV per seller

• Seller LTV

Liquidity Economics

Match Rate = Successful Transactions / Total Demand Higher liquidity → Lower CAC → Better unit economics

Deliverable: Marketplace unit economics framework

Workflow 4: Subscription Box Unit Economics

Objective: Calculate unit economics for subscription box businesses

Steps:

Box Economics

Price per Box:

• Monthly subscription price

• Discounts for prepay (quarterly, annual)

• Effective monthly revenue

Cost per Box:

• Product costs (target 30-40% of price)

• Packaging materials

• Fulfillment labor

• Outbound shipping

• Payment processing

• Returns/replacements

Variable Costs

Variable Cost per Box = Products + Packaging + Shipping + Processing Contribution per Box = Price - Variable Costs Contribution Margin % = Contribution / Price

Customer Metrics

Subscriber Lifetime:

Lifetime (months) = 1 / Monthly Churn Rate Example: 5% churn = 20 month lifetime

LTV:

LTV = Contribution per Box × Lifetime (months)

Acquisition Economics

CAC Components:

• Paid media

• Influencer costs

• Trial/free box costs

• Referral incentives

First Box Profitability:

First Box P&L = Revenue - COGS - CAC Many subscription boxes lose money on first box

Break-Even Analysis

Break-Even Month = CAC / Contribution per Box Must retain past break-even to be profitable

Deliverable: Subscription box unit economics model

Workflow 5: Unit Economics Optimization

Objective: Identify and implement unit economics improvements

Steps:

Current State Assessment

• Calculate current LTV, CAC, LTV/CAC

• Identify weakest metrics

• Benchmark vs. best-in-class

CAC Reduction Levers

Channel Optimization:

• Cut underperforming channels

• Double down on efficient channels

• Improve conversion rates

Efficiency Improvements:

• Sales productivity

• Marketing automation

• Better targeting

• Lower CPM/CPC negotiation

Organic Growth:

• Referral programs

• Content marketing

• SEO investment

• Product-led growth

LTV Improvement Levers

Reduce Churn:

• Improve onboarding

• Better customer success

• Product improvements

• Save/retention programs

Increase ARPU:

• Price increases

• Upsell motions

• Cross-sell products

• Premium tiers

Improve Margins:

• COGS reduction

• Pricing optimization

• Efficiency gains

Impact Modeling

Lever Current Target Impact on LTV/CAC

Reduce CAC 20%

Reduce Churn 20%

Increase ARPU 15%

Improve Margin 5pp

Prioritized Action Plan

• Quick wins (30 days)

• Medium-term (90 days)

• Long-term initiatives (12 months)

• Expected improvement trajectory

Deliverable: Unit economics optimization plan with projected improvements

Quick Reference

Action Command/Trigger

Calculate CAC "Calculate customer acquisition cost"

Calculate LTV "Calculate customer lifetime value"

LTV/CAC analysis "Analyze unit economics"

Payback period "Calculate CAC payback period"

Contribution margin "Calculate contribution margin"

Optimize "How do I improve unit economics?"

Unit Economics Formulas

Customer Acquisition

Metric Formula

CAC Total S&M Spend / New Customers

Blended CAC All S&M / All New Customers

Paid CAC Paid Spend / Paid Customers

Channel CAC Channel Spend / Channel Customers

Customer Value

Metric Formula

LTV (simple) ARPU × Gross Margin / Churn

LTV (with expansion) ARPU × GM / (Churn - Expansion)

Customer Lifetime 1 / Churn Rate

ARPU Revenue / Customers

Efficiency Metrics

Metric Formula Benchmark

LTV/CAC LTV / CAC

3:1

CAC Payback CAC / (Monthly Rev × GM) < 12 mo

Magic Number Net New ARR / Prior Q S&M

0.75

Burn Multiple Net Burn / Net New ARR < 2

Margin Metrics

Metric Formula

Gross Margin (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue

Contribution Margin (Revenue - COGS - Variable Costs) / Revenue

Net Margin Net Income / Revenue

Unit Economics Dashboard Template

Unit Economics Dashboard: [Company]

Period: [Date Range]

Customer Acquisition

Customer Value

Efficiency

Trends

Action Items

1. [Priority 1]
2. [Priority 2]
3. [Priority 3]

Best Practices

Calculation

• Use consistent time periods

• Include all relevant costs in CAC

• Account for expansion in LTV

• Segment by customer type

• Track trends over time

Benchmarking

• Compare to industry standards

• Track improvement over time

• Adjust for business model differences

• Consider stage of company

Optimization

• Focus on biggest leverage points

• Test changes carefully

• Monitor for unintended effects

• Balance growth and efficiency

Integration with Other Skills

• Use with revenue-modeler : Validate revenue assumptions

• Use with cash-flow-forecaster : Model CAC payback impact

• Use with budget-planner : Inform marketing budget

• Use with investment-analyzer : Support investor metrics

• Use with financial-analyst : Deep-dive profitability

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Incomplete CAC: Missing costs understates true CAC

• Overstated LTV: Optimistic churn assumptions

• Ignoring cohort degradation: LTV changes over time

• Channel mixing: Blended CAC hides inefficiencies

• Ignoring payback: LTV/CAC without cash timing

• No segmentation: Different segments have different economics

• Static analysis: Unit economics change over time

• Ignoring CAC payback timing: Cash flow matters