Hey Sage · Free Australian growth calculator · AUD
Know what
a customer pays back
Customer lifetime value and ad spend calculator for Australian service businesses and clinics
Work forwards from a media budget or backwards from a revenue and profit goal. Adjust customer value, service frequency, delivery costs and acquisition cost to see what the maths actually allows.
Start with paying customers. Then show the working.
We calculate media CAC from new paying customers—not leads, calls, form fills or bookings. That keeps the acquisition number tied to revenue instead of an earlier funnel stage.
Choose budget-to-outcome when you know what you can spend. Choose goal-to-budget when you know the revenue and profit result you need. Both paths use the same customer value, delivery cost and capacity assumptions.
Start with the average amount you actually collect for a completed service.
Use paid visits or jobs so cancellations, refunds and no-shows are already reflected.
Lifetime value and first-90-day or first-year value answer different questions.
Contribution LTV is a safer acquisition guide than gross revenue LTV.
We add fixed campaign cost before comparing contribution LTV with acquisition cost.
A profitable campaign still fails if the team cannot deliver the required appointments or jobs.
How the calculator works.
Customer lifetime value
Revenue LTV is average collected revenue per completed service multiplied by lifetime completed services. Contribution LTV also removes the direct cost of delivery, which makes it the more useful comparison with CAC.
Revenue LTV = revenue per service × lifetime services
Contribution LTV = Revenue LTV × contribution margin
Customer acquisition cost
Media CAC is ad spend divided by new paying customers. Loaded CAC adds fixed campaign costs such as creative, landing pages or management. Cost per lead is not CAC: a lead has not necessarily booked, attended or paid.
Media CAC = ad spend ÷ new paying customers
Loaded CAC = (ad spend + fixed campaign cost) ÷ new paying customers
Budget to outcome
We divide the selected media budget by CAC to estimate new customers. Their completed services create revenue and contribution over the chosen horizon, then we subtract media and entered growth costs.
Growth profit = customers × horizon contribution − ad spend − fixed costs − growth overhead
Goal to budget
We solve separately for the customer count needed to close the revenue gap and the count needed to close the profit gap. The higher requirement becomes the plan, rounded up to a whole customer.
Required customers = ceiling(max(revenue constraint, profit constraint))
Required media spend = required customers × media CAC
GST, timing and limitations
We do not add or remove GST automatically. Australian health and service transactions can have different GST treatment, so keep every input on one consistent basis. The model excludes tax, financing, working-capital timing, discounting, seasonality and demand limits unless you reflect them in your inputs.
For clinics, practices and local services.
Patient lifetime value for clinics
For a clinic or practice, use average collected revenue per completed appointment and the average number of completed appointments from a newly acquired patient. Do not enter patient-level data. Use aggregate business figures only.
Service business lifetime value
For trades and local services, replace “appointment” with “completed job”. If follow-up work is irregular, use a conservative average and stress-test the service frequency rather than assuming every customer repeats.
Revenue LTV versus contribution LTV
Revenue LTV tells you how much a customer pays. Contribution LTV estimates what remains after direct delivery costs. Comparing gross revenue with CAC can make an acquisition plan look healthier than it is.
Why CAC is not cost per lead
A lead may not be qualified, booked, attended or paid. Use the same attribution period to divide media spend by new paying customers. Keep cost per lead as a separate funnel diagnostic.
How much should you spend on ads?
There is no universal percentage. Start with the customer contribution available after delivery, decide what profit must remain, then release budget only while CAC, demand and capacity still clear the model.
Scenario estimates, not guarantees
This is a deterministic planning tool. It cannot guarantee revenue, profit, patient numbers or ad performance. Validate every assumption against your own records and seek professional advice where required.
Customer lifetime value and ad spend FAQ
How do I calculate customer lifetime value for a service business?
Multiply average collected revenue per completed service by the average number of completed services over a customer’s lifetime. For a profitability view, multiply that revenue LTV by contribution margin after direct delivery costs.
How do I calculate patient lifetime value for a clinic?
Use aggregate clinic data: average collected revenue per completed appointment multiplied by average completed appointments per newly acquired patient. Keep raw patient information out of this tool and adjust for direct delivery costs before comparing value with CAC.
What is a good LTV to CAC ratio?
There is no universal target. Compare contribution LTV—not gross revenue LTV—with loaded CAC, then check cash timing, capacity, overhead, risk and the profit your business needs to retain.
What is the difference between CAC and cost per lead?
Cost per lead divides spend by enquiries or leads. CAC divides spend by new paying customers. A lead can be unqualified, fail to book, not attend or never pay, so the two metrics should not be used interchangeably.
How much should an Australian clinic spend on ads?
Work back from customer contribution, expected CAC, capacity and the amount of profit the clinic must keep. Test a controlled budget first and replace assumptions with observed paying-customer results before scaling.
How do I work backwards from a revenue goal?
Subtract current revenue from desired revenue, then divide the gap by expected revenue per newly acquired customer over the chosen value horizon. Compare that customer count with the separate profit requirement and use the higher result.
Should I include GST in the calculator?
Use one consistent basis across revenue, costs and targets. We do not add or remove GST automatically because treatment varies across Australian services and health transactions.
Is this a cash-flow forecast or financial advice?
No. It is a planning model based on the assumptions you enter. It does not model payment timing, tax, financing, seasonality, discounting, demand constraints or every operating cost.
Want us to pressure-test the real acquisition plan?
We can connect your CAC, lead quality, conversion path, customer value and operating capacity before you release more budget.
RUN BETTER ADS
