How to Track Lifetime Value vs Acquisition Cost in ClickUp

Using ClickUp to measure customer lifetime value (LTV) versus customer acquisition cost (CAC) helps your revenue teams prioritize the most profitable deals and segments, not just the biggest ones.

This how-to guide walks you through configuring ClickUp custom fields and tasks so every opportunity is evaluated on margin, churn risk, and long-term value.

Why Use ClickUp for LTV vs CAC?

Most sales teams only track top-line revenue. By combining LTV and CAC data in ClickUp, you can:

• Spot unprofitable deals before they close
• Identify segments with the highest margin, not just highest price
• Align sales, marketing, and finance around the same metrics
• Keep everyone working from a single source of truth

The goal is to let your revenue team focus on customers who deliver the best long-term value for your business.

Step 1: Set Up the Core Custom Fields in ClickUp

Start by creating the key financial and risk fields inside your ClickUp workspace so every opportunity can be scored consistently.

Create Revenue and Margin Fields in ClickUp

1. Open your sales or revenue Space in ClickUp.

2. Navigate to the List where opportunities are tracked.

3. Add the following custom fields:

   • Net Revenue (MRR or ARR) – number field for recurring revenue.
   • Gross Margin % – percentage field to capture margin.
   • Gross Margin Dollars – formula field that multiplies net revenue by gross margin percentage.

These fields allow you to compare two deals with the same price but very different profitability.

Add CAC and LTV Driver Fields in ClickUp

1. In the same List, add these additional custom fields:

   • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) – number field for total cost to acquire.
   • Months to Pay Back CAC – formula field that divides CAC by monthly gross margin.
   • Expected Customer Lifetime (Months) – number field for forecasted retention length.
   • Lifetime Value (LTV) – formula field that multiplies monthly gross margin by expected lifetime.

2. Save the new fields and ensure they are visible in your main opportunity view.

Once configured, every deal in ClickUp can show both short-term and long-term contribution to profit.

Step 2: Configure Risk and Fit Signals in ClickUp

Lifetime value is never guaranteed. To refine your models, you need structured risk indicators stored alongside financial data in ClickUp.

Build Qualitative Risk Fields in ClickUp

1. Create new custom fields on your opportunity List:

   • Churn Risk – dropdown with options like Low, Medium, High.
   • Product Fit – dropdown such as Strong, Moderate, Weak.
   • Implementation Complexity – dropdown such as Simple, Standard, Complex.
   • Strategic Importance – dropdown such as Core, Adjacent, Experimental.

2. Optionally, create a Risk Score formula field that assigns numeric values to each category and calculates a combined risk rating.

These fields help your team see beyond price to evaluate how sustainable each deal really is.

Standardize Data Entry in ClickUp

To keep your lifetime value and acquisition cost calculations reliable, define clear rules for how reps should fill in each field:

• Create a brief description or field help text for each custom field.
• Use required fields on key statuses, such as before moving an opportunity to proposal or closed won.
• Review new opportunities regularly to validate data quality.

Consistent data entry in ClickUp is critical for accurate LTV vs CAC reporting.

Step 3: Build LTV vs CAC Views in ClickUp

With your custom fields in place, you can create focused views that highlight the best and worst opportunities from a long-term perspective.

Create a Profitability List View in ClickUp

1. In your opportunities List, create a new view named LTV vs CAC.

2. Show these columns:

   • Deal Name
   • Net Revenue
   • Gross Margin %
   • Gross Margin Dollars
   • CAC
   • Months to Pay Back CAC
   • LTV
   • Churn Risk

3. Sort the List by Lifetime Value from highest to lowest.

4. Add a secondary sort by Months to Pay Back CAC from lowest to highest.

This view surfaces deals that deliver the fastest payback and the strongest long-term contribution.

Use Filters to Focus on Ideal ClickUp Deals

To help reps and leaders focus on the right subset of opportunities, apply filters such as:

• Churn Risk is not High
• Product Fit is Strong
• Gross Margin % is above a minimum threshold
• Months to Pay Back CAC is below a target limit

Save this as a shared view so your entire team uses the same criteria when prioritizing work in ClickUp.

Step 4: Use ClickUp to Guide Daily Revenue Decisions

Tracking the data is only useful if it shapes how your team works. Use ClickUp views and fields to guide daily actions.

Prioritize Pipelines with ClickUp LTV Insights

• Review your LTV vs CAC view in daily standups.
• Assign owners to the highest LTV, fastest payback opportunities first.
• Flag low-margin or high-risk deals for additional review before discounting.

Over time, this shifts your team from pursuing every logo to pursuing the best long-term customers.

Refine LTV and CAC Assumptions in ClickUp

As you learn more about your real churn and margin performance, adjust your fields and formulas:

• Update average lifetime assumptions for different segments.
• Refine CAC inputs to include additional marketing or service costs.
• Adjust risk scores to reflect new patterns in churn.

Because everything lives in ClickUp, updates flow automatically into future opportunity evaluations.

Step 5: Share Insights Across Teams with ClickUp

Lifetime value versus acquisition cost is not just a sales metric. Marketing, product, and finance all benefit from a shared view inside ClickUp.

Build Cross-Functional Dashboards in ClickUp

• Use widgets to display total LTV by segment.
• Show average CAC and payback period by channel.
• Highlight the number of high-risk, low-margin deals in the pipeline.

These dashboards help every team understand where value is created or lost.

Align Strategy with ClickUp Data

Use your ClickUp insights to drive decisions like:

• Which customer segments to prioritize in marketing campaigns
• Which implementation models to standardize
• Where to adjust pricing or discount policies

Because LTV and CAC are visible in the same system where work happens, strategy and execution stay tightly connected.

Resources and Next Steps

To deepen your understanding of how these concepts are modeled, review the original explainer on lifetime value versus acquisition cost on the ClickUp AI Agents page: LTV vs CAC with AI Agents.

If you want expert help designing revenue workflows and analytics around these metrics, you can also explore consulting resources such as Consultevo for additional guidance.

By structuring your fields, views, and dashboards in ClickUp around lifetime value and acquisition cost, you empower every revenue contributor to focus on customers who create durable, profitable growth.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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