Software agency Acquisition Payback Period
Payback months = acquisition cost / monthly contribution
Gather project time logs, licence invoices and retainer scopes. Include engineering, review, and project management. The starting figures are examples. Replace them with your own records.
Formula and worked example
Payback months = acquisition cost / monthly contribution
| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Acquisition cost per customer | 300 |
| Monthly contribution per active customer | 75 |
| Calculated result | 4 months |
Choose reliable inputs
Include software licences, delivery time, revisions and ongoing support when costing a project. For this software agency calculation, use project time logs, licence invoices and retainer scopes and a consistent definition of one project.
- Engineering: include the portion belonging to this project or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
- Review: include the portion belonging to this project or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
- Project management: include the portion belonging to this project or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
Use the same currency for every money input. Do not mix weekly costs with monthly revenue, or count the same expense in both an itemised cost and allocated overhead.
What if customers leave before payback?
Acquisition may never be recovered. Compare this estimate with measured retention and include delivery costs in contribution.
Assumes constant contribution and continued customer activity throughout payback.
What if this input changes?
If acquisition cost per customer rises by 10%, this example changes by 0.4 months. This shows the effect of one change; it does not predict what will happen.
Open the calculator, save your baseline, then change the input supported by the least reliable estimate in your records. Compare both scenarios before committing to a price or capacity promise.