Unit Economics Analyzer

Calculates and benchmarks key unit economics metrics like CAC, LTV, payback period, and contribution margin with segment and scenario analysis.

Break down your business to the numbers that actually matter. This skill calculates and benchmarks your unit economics — CAC, LTV, payback period, contribution margin — so you know exactly which customers make you money and which ones burn it.

What It Does

When activated, the agent will:

1. Calculate Core Metrics

   • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) — fully loaded (ads + sales salaries + tools + overhead)
   • Lifetime Value (LTV) — using both simple and DCF methods
   • LTV:CAC Ratio — the single number investors care about most
   • CAC Payback Period — months to recover acquisition spend
   • Contribution Margin — per unit and per customer

2. Benchmark Against Industry

   Metric	Healthy SaaS	Marketplace	E-commerce	Services
   LTV:CAC	3:1 – 5:1	2:1 – 4:1	1.5:1 – 3:1	4:1 – 8:1
   CAC Payback	12-18 mo	6-12 mo	1-3 mo	3-6 mo
   Gross Margin	70-85%	40-65%	30-50%	50-70%
   Net Revenue Retention	110-130%	100-115%	80-100%	90-110%

3. Segment Analysis

   • Break unit economics by customer segment, channel, plan tier, geography
   • Identify which segments are profitable and which are subsidized
   • Flag "toxic" segments where CAC > LTV

4. Cohort Decay Modeling

   • Month-over-month retention curves by acquisition cohort
   • Revenue decay rate and true LTV (not the optimistic version)
   • Churn-adjusted LTV using: LTV = ARPU × Gross Margin / Monthly Churn Rate

5. Scenario Planning

   • What happens to payback if CAC increases 20%?
   • Impact of 5% churn reduction on LTV
   • Break-even analysis: minimum retention rate for profitability
   • Pricing sensitivity: how price changes flow through to unit economics

How to Use

Tell the agent:

• "Analyze my unit economics" — walks through full calculation
• "My CAC is $X and monthly churn is Y%" — gets specific benchmarks
• "Compare my SaaS unit economics to benchmarks" — industry comparison
• "Model what happens if we cut churn by 3%" — scenario analysis
• "Break down unit economics by customer segment" — segmentation

Required Inputs

Provide what you have (the agent will estimate what's missing):

Revenue side:

• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) — monthly or annual
• Gross margin percentage
• Monthly or annual churn rate
• Expansion revenue rate (upsells, cross-sells)

Cost side:

• Total sales & marketing spend (monthly/quarterly)
• New customers acquired in same period
• Customer success/support costs per account
• Onboarding costs per customer

Formulas Reference

text

CAC = Total Sales & Marketing Spend / New Customers Acquired

LTV (Simple) = ARPU × Gross Margin% / Monthly Churn Rate

LTV (DCF) = Σ (Monthly Revenue × Gross Margin%) / (1 + Discount Rate)^month

LTV:CAC Ratio = LTV / CAC  [Target: >3:1]

Payback Period = CAC / (ARPU × Gross Margin%)  [months]

Contribution Margin = (Revenue - Variable Costs) / Revenue

Magic Number = Net New ARR / Prior Quarter S&M Spend  [Target: >0.75]

Burn Multiple = Net Burn / Net New ARR  [Target: <2x]

Red Flags Dashboard

Signal	Threshold	Action
LTV:CAC below 1:1	Losing money on every customer	Stop acquiring, fix retention or pricing
LTV:CAC below 3:1	Unsustainable at scale	Reduce CAC or increase retention
Payback > 24 months	Cash flow risk	Accelerate monetization or cut acquisition
Gross margin < 50%	Service business, not software	Re-examine delivery costs
Net retention < 100%	Revenue shrinking without new sales	Fix product-market fit
CAC trending up > 15% QoQ	Channel saturation	Diversify acquisition channels
Magic Number < 0.5	Inefficient growth spend	Pause scaling, optimize

Output Format

The agent produces:

• Executive Summary — 3-line verdict on business health
• Metrics Table — all calculated values with industry benchmarks
• Segment Breakdown — if data provided, per-segment P&L
• Scenario Matrix — sensitivity analysis on key variables
• Action Items — prioritized list of improvements with expected impact

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Get the Full Context

This skill gives you the framework. For industry-specific unit economics benchmarks, valuation context, and implementation playbooks:

→ AI Agent Context Packs — $47 per industry. SaaS, Fintech, Healthcare, E-commerce, and 6 more.

→ AI Revenue Leak Calculator — Free. Find where your business is losing money.

→ Agent Setup Wizard — Free. Configure your AI agent in 5 minutes.

Bundles:

• Pick 3 Packs — $97 (save $44)
• All 10 Packs — $197 (save $273)
• Everything Bundle — $247 (all packs + playbook + setup)