Contribution, not revenue
A repeat order is valuable only after its costs.
Sales LTV overstates the amount available for acquisition. Use cumulative contribution after COGS, fulfillment, payment fees, refunds, and incremental customer-service costs.
The calculator uses explicit 30, 60, 90, 180, and 365-day checkpoints. It does not extrapolate a lifetime value or insert an industry repeat-purchase rate.
Allowable CAC
The maximum CAC equals the final contribution in the chosen window minus the profit you need to retain. Payback occurs at the first checkpoint where cumulative contribution covers actual CAC.
Prepare a mature CAC cohort