# Unit Economics Calculator MCP MCP > Unit Economics Calculator assesses if your customer acquisition spending makes sense. It calculates three key financial metrics—Contribution Margin, Lifetime Value, and Payback Period—to show you exactly how profitable your growth efforts are in months, not years. ## Overview - **Category:** finance - **Price:** Free - **Tags:** LTV, CAC, profitability, unit economics, growth metrics, financial modeling ## Description Figuring out if acquiring a new customer actually generates profit is the biggest headache for growing businesses. Most companies struggle to connect their marketing spend (CAC) with the long-term value of that customer (LTV). This MCP handles the full calculation chain: first, it determines your immediate profitability using gross price and variable costs; second, it estimates the total potential revenue you can expect from a customer over time; and third, it calculates two things: how many months it takes to recover your acquisition cost, and what your net residual profit margin is. The result isn't just a single number; it’s an actionable report that proves if your growth spending supports real profitability. Because these calculations deal with live financial figures, the entire process runs through Vinkius's financial circuit breaker, ensuring you set the budget and nothing can override those limits. ## Tools ### calculate_contribution_margin Determines a customer's profit margin by subtracting variable costs from gross revenue. ### calculate_payback_period Calculates how many months it will take for the recurring profits to cover the cost of acquiring the customer. ### rate_health Provides a quick health score that rates your overall unit economics based on payback period and margins. ## Prompt Examples **Prompt:** ``` The gross price is $100, COGS is $30, and support costs $5. The CAC is $400. Estimate the payback period. ``` **Response:** ``` First, I'll call `calculate_contribution_margin` with (100, 30, 5) to get a monthly margin of $65. Then, I will use `calculate_payback_period` with CAC=$400 and Margin=$65. The payback period is approximately 7 months. ``` **Prompt:** ``` I need to know if a $2,000 CAC is viable given a monthly margin of $150 and an estimated LTV of $3,000. ``` **Response:** ``` Running the numbers through `calculate_payback_period` shows that with a $150 margin, recovering a $2,000 CAC requires about 14 months. This is crucial for assessing long-term viability. ``` **Prompt:** ``` What if my COGS increases to $45? Calculate the new unit margin and rate the health. ``` **Response:** ``` I will first use `calculate_contribution_margin` (Revenue, $100; Costs, $45 + $5) to get a lower margin. Then, using that new margin, I can evaluate the unit economics health with `rate_health`. ``` ## Capabilities ### Determine Immediate Profit Calculates the profit generated from a single customer in one billing cycle by factoring out variable costs. ### Project Long-Term Customer Value Estimates the total potential revenue of a customer over time, based on assumed churn rate and current margins. ### Calculate Break-Even Time Determines the exact number of months required to recoup your initial cost of acquiring that customer. ### Assess Unit Health Score Rates overall unit economics stability based on how quickly you recover costs compared to potential revenue. ## Use Cases ### The CAC suddenly jumped 30% last quarter. A marketing manager asks their agent to assess the new spending. The agent first runs `calculate_contribution_margin` with the old data, then uses `calculate_payback_period` with the increased cost. It shows that the payback period is now six months longer, proving the current spend rate is unsustainable. ### We need to decide if we should raise prices. A product owner uses this MCP to simulate a price hike. By running `calculate_contribution_margin` with the new gross price, they see the immediate profit increase and then run `rate_health` to confirm that the overall unit economics remains stable. ### We are launching into a completely new market. A finance analyst needs baseline data. They input estimates for COGS, support costs, and CAC, letting the agent run `calculate_payback_period` to establish a realistic financial timeline before any money is spent. ### We suspect customer churn is worse than we thought. The agent helps model this by running LTV projections using updated churn rates, which then feeds into `calculate_payback_period`, showing how much longer it will take to recover costs. ## Benefits - Stop guessing about profitability. Use the core calculation to determine your immediate margin, so you know exactly what cash flow looks like in the first month. - Know your break-even point precisely. The `calculate_payback_period` tool tells you the exact months needed to recover CAC, removing guesswork from budgeting. - See if your current spending is sustainable. By modeling unit economics end-to-end, you can prove whether growth investment actually generates a positive net residual margin. - Quickly check for red flags. The `rate_health` function gives an immediate grade on your numbers, pointing out systemic weaknesses in the model. - Build complex financial models without the headache. You chain these calculations together to create a single story: from initial spend to long-term value. ## How It Works The bottom line is, it gives you an instant financial report card on your growth strategy. 1. You input the initial variables, like gross price, cost of goods sold per customer, and support fees. 2. The system uses those inputs to first calculate your immediate margin and then projects that margin against a set acquisition cost to estimate payback time. 3. It delivers two critical outputs: the precise number of months needed for recovery and the sustainable net residual profit. ## Frequently Asked Questions **How do I use calculate_contribution_margin with this MCP?** You provide three inputs: the gross price, the COGS per customer, and any support costs. The agent then calculates your immediate profit margin for one billing cycle. **Does rate_health only look at payback period?** No. It considers the overall unit economics by assessing how quickly you recover your acquisition cost compared to potential revenue, giving a holistic view of stability. **What is LTV in this MCP context?** LTV (Lifetime Value) is the model's projection of total future profit from a customer. The agent uses your margin data and expected churn rate to make that estimate. **Can I combine these tools for better analysis?** Absolutely. You can chain them together: use `calculate_contribution_margin` first, then feed that result into the LTV model, and finally run `calculate_payback_period` to get a complete ROI picture. **How does the MCP handle my data when I run calculate_payback_period?** Your credentials pass through a zero-trust proxy. They are used only in transit for the calculation and never stored on disk, keeping your financial data secure throughout the process. **If my input results in a negative margin using calculate_contribution_margin, what does that mean?** A negative contribution margin means that your variable costs are currently higher than your revenue. This flags an immediate profitability issue; you need to adjust inputs or re-evaluate the pricing model. **What is the expected performance speed when I run rate_health after the other two calculations?** The MCP runs all tools inside a secure V8 isolate sandbox. This isolation ensures extremely fast, reliable execution for every single calculation, regardless of complexity. **What specific format does the input data need to be when I use rate_health?** The tool requires standard JSON inputs that contain clean, numerical figures for both LTV and CAC. Providing accurate data points is critical because the health rating depends entirely on your input values. **What is the first step to calculating profitability?** You must first use `calculate_contribution_margin` by providing the Gross Price, COGS, and Support Cost. This establishes the core monthly profit before considering long-term effects. **How do I find out if my CAC is sustainable?** Use `calculate_payback_period`. This tool takes your Customer Acquisition Cost and the monthly contribution margin to tell you exactly how many months it will take to break even. A lower number means better unit economics. **What is the final measure of long-term value?** The most comprehensive view comes from `calculate_payback_period`. It synthesizes all inputs to provide a Net LTV Residual Margin, which is the true profit left over after paying back your CAC and accounting for churn.