01 Acquisition cost
What it cost to get this customer
Ad spend divided by the jobs it booked, a referral credit, or $0 when the customer found you on their own.
Attribute
Every customer, a source, a cost & a value.
See cost per booked job by channel & lifetime value by customer. Example data is labelled as example.
One customer path, example
- Ad clickGoogle Ads, "water heater repair"CostValue
- LeadTexted in, answered in 38 sCostValue
- Booked2:16 PM, water heater repairCostValue
- PaidDeposit & balance collectedCostValue
- RepeatThird visit, lifetimeCostValue
Three numbers
Three numbers on every customer.
A source, a cost & a value. Open any customer & they are the first thing you see.
02 First ticket
What the first job was worth
The first paid invoice from your booking tool or payments, not a quote.
03 Lifetime value
What the customer is worth so far
Everything this person has paid, across visits, on one record.
A customer profile, example
Maria Rivera
RepeatSourceGoogle Ads"water heater repair"
Acquisition cost$41per booked job
First ticket$780paid
Lifetime value$2,3403 visits
By trade
The question each trade asks.
Every figure on this page is example data. Yours comes from your own tools.
Cost per booked job by channelExample
Rivera Plumbing, one week.
What the owner does with it
- Google books a job for $41. Meta needs $112 for the same job.
- A booked job from Google averages a $780 first ticket, so the $41 is paid back on the first visit.
- The budget move that follows is drafted for approval on the ads page.
Revenue & margin per deviceExample
| Device | Revenue | Per visit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laser | $4,100 | $293 | $1,860 |
| Microneedling | $900 | $225 | -$300 |
Laser: 14 treatments at $293 against $160 in lease & consumables each. Microneedling did not cover its lease.
Labor as a share of service revenueExample
This week31%up from 27%
Unbooked hours9one provider, the cause
Labor needs payroll access or a wage table you fill in once. Without payroll, it is marked estimated from hours.
Repeat visit valueExample
Average RO$486per paid repair order
Repeat share62%of customers come back
Customer lifetime$2,940across visits
Estimates open$14,90010 waiting on a yes
What it changes
- A first visit worth $486 is acquired for $38, & the customer is worth $2,940 over time.
- That makes the second visit, not the first, the number to chase.
- Foreman follows each estimate on day 1, day 3 & day 7.
Covers per labor hourExample
Harbor Kitchen. Covers divided by hours on the clock.
What the owner does with it
- Tuesday seats 61 covers on 34 labor hours. Friday seats 124 on 38.
- The week shows the Tuesday shift, not the average, is the one to trim.
- Prime cost is the same idea: labor & food as a share of sales.
Where the numbers come from
Every number has a place it comes from.
If a number is missing, it says so instead of guessing.
| Number | Comes from | If we do not have it |
|---|---|---|
| Source | The ad click, the tracking number on your line, a booking form field, or the first text | Marked unknown & asked on the first reply |
| Acquisition cost | Spend read from Google & Meta, divided by jobs booked; referral credits you set | Shown as spend only, no cost per job |
| First ticket & lifetime value | Invoices & paid status from your booking tool, payments or books | Taken from a scheduled export, & the Monday report says so |
| Labor | Payroll & the time clock | A wage table you fill in once, marked estimated from hours |
| Margin per device | A service-to-device map set up with you, plus lease & consumable costs | Revenue per device only |
What Foreman does with it
The numbers are what Foreman works from.
Respond
The numbers are the target list
Customers due for service, quotes outstanding & high-value customers gone quiet, worked by Respond.
Diagnose ads
The numbers judge the ads
Cost per booked job by channel feeds the budget moves on Diagnose ads.
Weekly report
The numbers reach you on Monday
Six lines, ending with what needs you, in the weekly report.
Questions.
How does Foreman know where a customer came from?
From the ad click, the tracking number on your line, a form field on your booking page, or by asking on the first text. When it cannot tell, the source is marked unknown & not guessed.
Do I need to connect my books?
It helps. Booking & payments give first ticket & lifetime value. The books add costs, which is what turns a device or a job from revenue into margin. Without them you still get source, cost per booked job & revenue.
What if I do not run payroll in a tool?
You fill in a wage table once, with each person & an hourly cost. Labor is then marked estimated from hours on the report, so you know which numbers are exact.
Are the example figures real?
No. Every dollar figure on this page is example data for an invented business, labelled as such. Your numbers come from your own tools once they are connected.
Who sees the customer value?
You & the people you give access. Customer records, with the source & cost on them, are yours & are exported when you leave.