If you run a SaaS business, you probably track revenue and users. But unit economics is the difference between a lifestyle business and a venture-scale company.
Here's the 5-number framework I use with portfolio companies:
1. CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
Total sales & marketing spend ÷ new customers. Channel matters — paid ads should have lower CAC than enterprise sales because they scale differently.
2. LTV (Lifetime Value)
ARPU × (1 ÷ churn rate) × gross margin. This is your true customer value, not just monthly revenue.
3. LTV:CAC Ratio
The VC gold standard. 3x+ means you can afford to grow. Below 1 and you lose money on every customer.
4. Payback Period
Months to recover CAC. Shorter = safer. Healthy SaaS companies recover in 12-18 months.
5. Gross Margin
Are you losing money on infrastructure or support? Top SaaS companies run 70-80%+ gross margins.
The problem? Most founders track these in messy spreadsheets or expensive tools like Baremetrics ($99+/mo).
I built a Google Sheets template that calculates all 5 metrics automatically. Drop in your monthly numbers and get color-coded alerts (green/yellow/red) — no finance degree needed.
Grab it here (paid, $29 — one-time, no subscription):
https://microtoolsb2b.gumroad.com/l/saas-unit-economics-dashboard
Or build your own using the formulas above. Either way, start tracking unit economics this month — not when you raise Series A.
Happy to answer questions in the comments!
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