Short answer
Customer lifetime value is the gross profit a customer brings you over the years they stay. Multiply jobs per year by years and job value, then by your margin. It matters because a septic pumper or plumber who gets repeat work can afford to pay more to win a customer than a one-job company. Enter your own numbers below.
Most trade businesses judge ads by the first job alone. That undervalues customers who book a yearly pump-out, a seasonal service or call you again for the next problem. This customer lifetime value calculator shows the larger number, and a cautious ceiling for what to pay.
Use the calculator
The starting numbers are round placeholders, not industry averages. Replace every one with your own figures. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
How the numbers are worked out
- Jobs = jobs per year times years.
- Revenue = jobs times average job value.
- Gross profit = revenue times your margin.
- Cautious ceiling = one third of gross profit. This is a conservative rule of thumb to start from, not an industry standard. It leaves room for overhead and for customers who leave sooner than planned.
Where to get your real inputs
Pull a list of customers from your invoicing or job software and count how many came back, how often and for how long. If you have no system yet, start a simple record of each customer's last job date. The septic reminder templates include a customer record layout you can copy.
Using the result
- Compare the ceiling with your cost per booked job. If ads cost more than the ceiling, fix conversion before you add spend.
- Repeat customers justify reminder systems and review requests, which cost far less than ads.
- Treat short-lived or one-off customers separately from repeat customers. Averaging them hides both.
Want this checked against your real account?
These calculators give you a first read on your own assumptions. They cannot see your account, your market or how quickly your phone is answered. LiveLeadsLane is a new, founder-led remote practice run by Prakhar Kirsali from India. Paid ads management starts at $375 a month for one platform, with ad spend paid by you directly to the platform, and a recommended minimum of $1,500 a month per platform. Book a free call and bring your numbers, or see the published prices. Nothing here is a promise of leads or revenue.
