--- title: "CAC Payback: How to Calculate & Why It's Important | Jirav" description: CAC Payback measures the time taken by a company to recover the cost incurred to acquire a new customer through sales and marketing efforts. --- ![](https://www.jirav.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported%20sitepage%20images/header-logo.png?width=98&name=header-logo.png) - [ Resources ](https://www.jirav.com/resources) - Menu / Resources - [Resource Center ](https://www.jirav.com/resources) Blogs and resources on all things finance, FP&A, and Jirav [Webinars ](https://www.jirav.com/webinars) Learn more about Jirav and FP&A from industry experts [Events ](https://www.jirav.com/events) See our upcoming calendar of events [Help Center ](https://help.jirav.com/) Guide on how to use Jirav - [ Company ](https://www.jirav.com/company) - Menu / Company - [About ](https://www.jirav.com/company) Learn about Jirav’s story and meet our leadership team [News Coverage ](https://www.jirav.com/news) See the latest news and highlights [Press ](https://www.jirav.com/press-releases) Recent company announcements and updates [Careers ](https://www.jirav.com/careers) View current job openings and learn how to join the Jirav Tower ![business_env](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/business_env.svg) [ For Businesses ](https://www.jirav.com/reporting-planning-purpose-built-for-businesses) ![accounting_calc](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/accounting_calc.svg) [ For Accounting & CFO Firms ](https://www.jirav.com/reporting-planning-purpose-built-for-accounting-cfo-advisory-firms) [ Get a Demo ](https://www.jirav.com/request-demo) [ Sign in ](https://app.jirav.com/) ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/banner-shap.png) BLOG # CAC Payback: How to Calculate & Why It's Important | Jirav [![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/fb-icon.png) ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/cac-payback-customer-acquisition-costs/) [![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/tw-icon.png) ](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/cac-payback-customer-acquisition-costs/) [![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/in-icon.png) ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/cac-payback-customer-acquisition-costs/&summary=&source=CeBIT) 1 minute read ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/Resources-tile-pattern-giraffe@2x.png) ### What is CAC Payback? CAC Payback is a metric that measures the time taken by a company to recover the cost incurred to acquire a new customer through sales and marketing efforts. It shows how quickly a company can generate revenue from its investment in customer acquisition and helps evaluate the efficiency of the acquisition process. ### Why CAC Payback Is Important CAC Payback helps companies understand the return on investment (ROI) from their sales and marketing efforts. It helps companies determine if their acquisition strategies are working, and if they are not, they can identify areas that need improvement. The metric also helps companies make informed decisions about how much they can afford to spend on customer acquisition and remain profitable. ### How to Calculate CAC Payback CAC Payback is calculated by dividing the total cost of customer acquisition by the average revenue generated by a customer over a given period. The formula is as follows: CAC Payback = Total Cost of Customer Acquisition / Average Revenue per Customer It’s important to note that the average revenue per customer should be calculated over a period that is long enough to provide an accurate representation of the customer lifetime value. ##### Jirav Published April 25, 2023 ###### Related topics - [Metrics library](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/tag/metrics-library) - [Saas metrics library](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/tag/saas-metrics-library) ## Related blog posts ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/Resources-tile-pattern-giraffe@2x.png) Metrics library #### Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC): How to Calculate | Jirav [ Read more ](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/cac-customer-acquisition-costs) ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/Resources-tile-pattern-giraffe@2x.png) Metrics library #### Churn Rate: What It Means & How to Calculate It | Jirav [ Read more ](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/churn-percentage/) ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/Resources-tile-pattern-giraffe@2x.png) Metrics library #### SaaS Magic Number: Guide to Calculating & More | Jirav [ Read more ](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/saas-magic-number) ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/Resources-tile-pattern-giraffe@2x.png) Metrics library #### LTV/CAC Ratio: Formula + SaaS Calculator | Jirav [ Read more ](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/customer-lifetime-value-customer-acquisition-costs) ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/Resources-tile-pattern-giraffe@2x.png) Metrics library #### Net Revenue Retention: What it Is & How To Calculate | Jirav [ Read more ](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/net-revenue-retention/) ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/Resources-tile-pattern-giraffe@2x.png) Metrics library #### The Rule of 40: Definition + SaaS Calculator | Jirav [ Read more ](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/rule-of-forty) ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/Resources-tile-pattern-giraffe@2x.png) Metrics library #### What is Downgrade MRR Rate & How to Calculate It | Jirav [ Read more ](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/downgrade-percentage) ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/Resources-tile-pattern-giraffe@2x.png) Metrics library #### Gross Revenue Retention: Meaning & How to Calculate | Jirav [ Read more ](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/gross-revenue-retention/) ![](https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/April2021/images/Resources-tile-pattern-giraffe@2x.png) Metrics library #### Average Contract Value: Definition + Calculation | Jirav [ Read more ](https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/average-contract-value/) [Load more](##) ## Let’s get started! [ Request a demo ](https://www.jirav.com/request-demo) ![](https://ws.zoominfo.com/pixel/GayWM7nWYSEC9X3nq2tn) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Jirav", "url" : "https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/author/jirav" }, "dateModified" : "2023-04-25T14:56:36.342Z", "datePublished" : "2023-04-25T14:56:36.000Z", "headline" : "CAC Payback: How to Calculate & Why It's Important | Jirav", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.jirav.com/saas-metrics-library/cac-payback-customer-acquisition-costs", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.jirav.com/hubfs/Jirav%20Logo%20-%20176x75%20(small%20logo).png" }, "name" : "Jirav" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "http://www.schema.org", "@type" : "AccountingService", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "United States", "addressLocality" : "San Francisco", "addressRegion" : "CA", "postalCode" : "94102", "streetAddress" : "25 Taylor Street" }, "description" : "Jirav is a business planning software powering financial planning and analysis in the cloud with all-in-one forecasts, budgets, reports, and dashboards", "geo" : { "@type" : "GeoCoordinates", "latitude" : "37.782585", "longitude" : "-122.411255" }, "image" : "https://www.jirav.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Jirav_SitePageAssets_Feb2018/Jirav%20Logo%20for%20top%20nav.png?width=1200&height=510&name=Jirav%20Logo%20for%20top%20nav.png", "logo" : "https://www.jirav.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Jirav_SitePageAssets_Feb2018/Jirav%20Logo%20for%20top%20nav.png?width=1200&height=510&name=Jirav%20Logo%20for%20top%20nav.png", "name" : "Jirav", "openingHours" : "Mo, Tu, We, Th, Fr 09:00-17:00", "priceRange" : "$100/month-$750/month", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.instagram.com/gojirav/", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/jirav/", "https://twitter.com/GoJirav", "https://www.facebook.com/GoJirav/" ], "url" : "https://www.jirav.com/" } ```