LTV/CAC
Customer lifetime value divided by the fully-loaded cost to acquire that customer (LTV / CAC), expressed as a multiple (e.g. 3.0 = 3:1). The headline unit-economics ratio: how many dollars of lifetime gross profit each acquisition dollar returns. Report the same LTV and CAC definitions published as `sales.ltv` and `sales.cac`. Common pitfall: a ratio quoted without its LTV/CAC definitions, or one that does not reconcile with the reported LTV and CAC. — Sales KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier)
No public third-party standard anchors this KPI yet, so I'mBoard authors and maintains the definition — transparently labeled as editorial tier. See the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system and the back-attribution workstream.
Rogue ID: sales.ltv_cac_ratio
Type: Number
Domain: Sales
Definition
Customer lifetime value divided by the fully-loaded cost to acquire that customer (LTV / CAC), expressed as a multiple (e.g. 3.0 = 3:1). The headline unit-economics ratio: how many dollars of lifetime gross profit each acquisition dollar returns. Report the same LTV and CAC definitions published as sales.ltv and sales.cac. Common pitfall: a ratio quoted without its LTV/CAC definitions, or one that does not reconcile with the reported LTV and CAC.
Formula
LTV/CAC = LTV / CAC, using the same period and definitions as `sales.ltv` and `sales.cac`. Expressed as a multiple (3.0 = 3:1).Why it matters
The single number boards use to judge whether growth spend is creating value; below the stage norm, scaling S&M burns cash faster than it builds value.
How to interpret
Per the SaaS-investor convention (BenchmarkIt 2025: healthy minimum 3:1, top performers 5:1+), a ratio below 3.0 at Series A and later signals unit economics that do not yet justify scaling. The stage minimums used by the deterministic consistency check live in KPI_CONSISTENCY_POLICIES.
Related KPIs
sales.ltvsales.cacsales.cac_payback_periodsales.gross_margin
Source
I'mBoard editorial — authored and maintained by I'mBoard, first published 2026-04-01. No third-party standard is cited for this KPI; when one emerges, the definition is back-attributed and promoted to the published tier (a minor version bump). Read the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system, attribution rules, and dispute process.
Stage relevance
| Company stage | Priority |
|---|---|
| Series A | Recommended |
| Series B | Recommended |
| Series C+ | Recommended |
| Public | Recommended |
Suggested for stages: Series A, Series B, Series C+, Public.
Default owning functions
- Sales
- Finance
Machine-readable
- This KPI as JSON:
/api/ontology/sales/ltv_cac_ratio.json - All Sales KPIs:
/api/ontology/sales.json - Full catalog:
/api/ontology/index.json
Customer Lifetime Value
Gross-margin-adjusted revenue a newly acquired customer is expected to generate over its lifetime: average annual revenue per customer x gross margin % / annual revenue churn rate. Reported as an absolute currency amount per customer. Common pitfall: using revenue instead of gross profit, or an uncapped lifetime (1 / churn with churn near zero), inflates LTV and every ratio built on it. — Sales KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
Median Deal Size
Median dollar value across active pipeline opportunities — the typical deal in the pipeline, robust against the few-big-deals skew that distorts the average. The honest read on the "core motion" deal-size; if the team is winning a few oversized deals but the median is shrinking, the underlying motion is degrading even though the topline numbers look fine. Common pitfall: omitting median in dashboards in favor of just the average lets concentration risk hide. A best-practice board pack always shows both. — Sales KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).