Multichannel CAC Payback Calculator

Quantify the blended CAC payback period for a combined marketing and sales motion. Pair monthly acquisition spend with the qualified pipeline it creates, layer in historic win rate and gross margin, and adjust for sales-cycle ramp to learn how fast cash invested in acquisition returns as gross profit.

Total all paid media, SDR salaries, commissions, agencies, and platforms attributable to net-new acquisition.
Monthly qualified pipeline (weighted contract value) produced by these acquisition channels.
Historical close rate for opportunities sourced by the channels above, expressed as a percentage.
Leave blank to assume a 75% blended gross margin on new bookings, or override with your finance team’s target.
Leave blank to assume a 1.00× ramp (pipeline converts immediately); increase when cycles delay closed-won timing.

Financial modeling tool for planning; verify with your finance team before committing spend.

Examples

  • LinkedIn Ads $25,000 plus webinars $8,000, $27,500 weighted SQL pipeline, 18% win rate, 78% margin, 1.10× ramp ⇒ 9.40-month blended payback
  • Outbound SDR pod $15,000, $18,000 qualified pipeline, 10% win rate, 70% margin, 1.20× ramp ⇒ 14.29-month payback

FAQ

How do I handle campaigns that report in different currencies?

Convert both spend and pipeline to a single reporting currency (often USD or your functional currency) before calculating so the resulting payback months reflect consistent dollars.

Can I model partner-sourced or channel deals separately?

Yes. Run this calculator with partner marketing costs and sourced pipeline alone to benchmark partner ROI, then compare with the blended result across all channels.

What if gross margin varies between products?

Use a weighted gross margin that mirrors the product mix you expect from the modeled pipeline. Start with 75% if you lack detail, then rerun the calculation with finance once more precise figures are available.

Additional Information

  • Pipeline value should reflect weighted contract value expected to close inside the modeled payback window, not total lifetime value.
  • Ramp factor accounts for multi-month sales cycles by scaling spend until pipeline begins to convert into gross profit.
  • Most mid-market SaaS targets a blended payback under 12 months; enterprise motions with long contracts may tolerate 18 months or more.

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