Skip to main content
ECOMCAAccounting · Tax · Advisory
Menu
WhatsApp UsContact us

Cohort LTV, Blended CAC & Payback Calculator

See your blended CAC after cancellations and RTOs, LTV over 24 months and the months to pay back acquisition.

Reviewed by CA Apurav GargUpdated Calculated in your browser; copied links include your figures

On this page

Calculator

Note:
Example values — replace with yours.

This month’s new customers

Orders placed by first-time customers this month.

Acquisition spend this month (excl. GST)

Contribution per delivered order (CM2, before marketing)

Net revenue less product, packaging, shipping, fees and RTO cost.

Advanced options

The figures below start with illustrative defaults — replace them with your own data.

Leave ₹0 if RTO cost is already in first-order CM2.

Blocked GST on free samples and TDS (10%) you bear on influencer barter, as a % of the sampling loss.

WhatsApp, email and loyalty cost for each delivered repeat order.

Discounts repeat-order cash to show payback in today’s money.

Repeat orders per customer, cumulative

Delivered repeat orders per delivered first-time customer, counted from their first order. Each figure includes the months before it.

Your result

8.19 months

Each delivered customer costs ₹750 to acquire, 66.7% more than the ₹450 the ad dashboard shows.

Blended CAC
₹750.00
Dashboard ad CAC
₹450.00
12-month LTV:CAC
1.21×
Cash and time value
This cohortAmount
Cash the cohort needs in month 0 (J-curve valley)₹2,96,400
Payback, undiscounted8.19 months
Payback at a 0% cost of capital8.19 months
24-month LTV at a 0% cost of capital₹1,229.00

Month-0 cash = 760 delivered customers × (first-order CM2 after RTO cost − blended CAC). Discounting uses 0% ÷ 12 a month, at the middle of each period.

Payback curve: LTV per customer vs blended CAC
₹750M0M3M6M12M24₹360₹498₹656₹913₹1,229

LTV per customerBlended CACPayback (8.19 months)

LTV and profit per customer by month
HorizonRepeat ordersLTVLTV:CACNet per customerCohort net
First order0₹360.000.48×−₹390.00−₹2,96,400
Month 30.35₹498.250.66×−₹251.75−₹1,91,330
Month 60.75₹656.250.87×−₹93.75−₹71,250
Month 121.4₹913.001.21×₹163.00₹1,23,880
Month 242.2₹1,229.001.63×₹479.00₹3,64,040

LTV = first-order CM2 + repeat orders × repeat-order CM2. Cohort net = 760 delivered customers × net per customer. LTV:CAC is rounded down.

Note:
Free samples: Input tax credit is not available (and must be reversed) on goods given away as gifts or free samples without consideration. (Section 17(5)(h), CGST Act, 2017 — input tax credit is not available (and must be reversed) in respect of goods disposed of by way of gift or free samples without consideration.). Influencer barter: TDS at 10% on benefits above ₹20,000 a year (Section 393(1) [Table S. No. 8(iv)], Income-tax Act, 2025 (for tax year 2026-27 onwards); section 194R, Income-tax Act, 1961 (for FY 2025-26).). If you bear these, enter them as the tax overhead in Advanced options.
Note:
The first order loses ₹390 per customer. Each customer needs 0.99 repeat orders to recover the blended CAC.

What this tells you

The CAC on an ad dashboard counts ad spend against orders placed. What a new customer really costs also includes influencer, agency and sampling spend, spread over only the customers whose first order was delivered.

Enter one month’s new-customer cohort to see the blended CAC, how LTV builds from repeat orders over 24 months, and how many months it takes for a customer to pay back what they cost to acquire.

Assumptions used

  • Delivered customers = gross orders × (1 − cancellations) × (1 − RTO % of dispatched orders).
  • All acquisition spend for the month is charged to that month’s new customers.
  • Every repeat order earns the same contribution; repeat orders are delivered orders.
  • Between months 3, 6, 12 and 24, LTV is assumed to rise in a straight line.
  • Repeat orders are discounted only when you enter a cost of capital (illustrative default 0%), at the middle of each period: months 1.5, 4.5, 9 and 18.
  • Retention / CRM spend (illustrative default ₹25) comes off every repeat order; RTO cost (default ₹0) comes off the first order only when you enter it.
  • Tax overhead on samples: Input tax credit is not available (and must be reversed) on goods given away as gifts or free samples without consideration. (Section 17(5)(h), CGST Act, 2017 — input tax credit is not available (and must be reversed) in respect of goods disposed of by way of gift or free samples without consideration.). TDS on business perquisites such as influencer barter: Section 393(1) [Table S. No. 8(iv)], Income-tax Act, 2025 (for tax year 2026-27 onwards); section 194R, Income-tax Act, 1961 (for FY 2025-26).. As on 2 November 2026.
  • Figures exclude GST and are rounded for display only; the working uses exact values.
Legal references and sources
GST credit on gifts and free samples
Section 17(5)(h), CGST Act, 2017 — input tax credit is not available (and must be reversed) in respect of goods disposed of by way of gift or free samples without consideration.
Last verified 27 Oct 2026
Business perquisites TDS rate
Section 393(1) [Table S. No. 8(iv)], Income-tax Act, 2025 (for tax year 2026-27 onwards); section 194R, Income-tax Act, 1961 (for FY 2025-26).
Last verified 27 Oct 2026
Business perquisites TDS threshold (aggregate per recipient per year)
Section 393(1) [Table S. No. 8(iv)], Income-tax Act, 2025 (for tax year 2026-27 onwards); section 194R, Income-tax Act, 1961 (for FY 2025-26).
Last verified 27 Oct 2026

How this is calculated

  1. Delivered customers = gross orders × (1 − cancelled %) × (1 − RTO %).
  2. Acquisition cost = ad spend + influencer fees + agency retainer + sampling loss × (1 + tax overhead %).
  3. Dashboard CAC = ad spend ÷ gross orders. Blended CAC = acquisition cost ÷ delivered customers.
  4. First-order (M0) LTV = first-order CM2 − RTO ÷ (1 − RTO) × cost per RTO order.
  5. Net repeat CM2 = repeat-order CM2 − retention spend per repeat order.
  6. LTV at month m = M0 LTV + repeat orders by month m × net repeat CM2.
  7. Discounted LTV: each period’s extra repeat orders × net repeat CM2 ÷ (1 + annual rate ÷ 12)^t, with t = 1.5, 4.5, 9 and 18 months.
  8. Month-0 cash = delivered customers × (M0 LTV − blended CAC): the cash the cohort needs before repeat orders pay it back.
  9. LTV:CAC = LTV ÷ blended CAC, rounded down. Net per customer = LTV − blended CAC; cohort net = net per customer × delivered customers.
  10. Payback: the month where LTV reaches blended CAC, found by straight-line interpolation between the two months either side.

Terms used here

Worked examples

Example: 1,000 new-customer orders in a month

5.0% cancelled, 20.0% RTO. ₹4,50,000 on ads, ₹75,000 on influencers and ₹45,000 agency retainer. First-order CM2 ₹360, repeat-order CM2 ₹420 less ₹25 retention spend (illustrative).

  • Delivered: 1,000 × 0.95 × 0.8 = 760 customers.
  • Dashboard CAC ₹4,50,000 ÷ 1,000 = ₹450. Blended CAC ₹5,70,000 ÷ 760 = ₹750, 66.7% more.
  • LTV: ₹360 → ₹498 → ₹656 → ₹913 → ₹1,229 at the first order and months 3, 6, 12 and 24.
  • LTV reaches ₹750 between month 6 (₹656) and month 12 (₹913): payback = 8.19 months.
  • 12-month LTV:CAC 1.21×; cohort net at month 12 ₹1,23,880.

Example 2: free samples with blocked GST and TDS borne

The same cohort with ₹60,000 on influencers, ₹40,000 agency retainer and ₹20,000 of free samples, plus a 28.0% tax overhead (18% GST blocked and 10% TDS borne, illustrative). Repeat-order CM2 ₹425 less ₹25 retention = ₹400.

  • Acquisition cost ₹5,75,600.00 ÷ 760 = blended CAC ₹757.37.
  • Month-0 cash: 760 × (₹360 − ₹757.37) = −₹3,02,000.00, the cash needed before repeat orders pay it back.
  • Payback 8.25 months.

Our Virtual CFO service covers unit economics, acquisition spend and cash planning.

Questions sellers ask

Why is blended CAC higher than the CAC on my ad dashboard?

The dashboard divides ad spend by the orders the platform counts, including orders that are later cancelled or returned undelivered. Blended CAC adds influencer, agency and sampling costs, and divides by the customers who actually received their first order.

What counts as contribution (CM2) here?

Net revenue from a delivered order, less product cost, packaging, shipping, payment and marketplace fees, and the cost of returns and RTOs, before any marketing spend. Marketing is left out because it is what the payback is measured against.

How do I find repeat orders per customer?

Take the customers who placed their first order in one month, then count their delivered repeat orders in the following 3, 6, 12 and 24 months, divided by the number of those customers. Most storefront and analytics tools have a cohort or retention report that shows this.

What is a reasonable payback period?

It depends on how much cash the business has to fund acquisition before it is earned back, and on how reliable the repeat rates are. A shorter payback ties up less cash. This tool shows the figure; it does not judge it.

Why does payback fall between two months?

Repeat orders are entered at months 3, 6, 12 and 24 only. Between two of these, the tool assumes LTV rises in a straight line, so the payback month is an estimate between the two points.

Is GST included?

No. Enter acquisition spend and contribution excluding GST, assuming the GST on them is claimed as input tax credit. If you cannot claim it, include it in the spend.

Want our team to look at these numbers alongside your books?

We keep books, file GST and TDS returns and prepare monthly MIS for D2C and marketplace sellers. Share your figures and we will walk you through what we find.

Contact usWhatsApp us

Related

Disclaimer

A planning estimate for general information only, based on the figures you enter. It is not professional advice. Repeat rates and contribution vary between cohorts; actual payback may differ.

Report a problem with this calculator