Value a business · Calculator
SaaS Acquisition Payback Calculator
Calculate how long a business purchase could take to pay for itself using purchase costs and monthly cash flow assumptions.
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What is acquisition payback?
Simple payback is the number of months of cash flow it takes to recover everything paid to buy a business, including the one-time costs of the deal and the handover.
How the calculation works
Simple payback months = (purchase price + one-time costs) ÷ monthly cash available to recover the purchase.
Worked example
A $120,000 purchase plus $10,000 in costs takes 32.5 months to recover at $4,000 per month. After 36 months, the modeled net cash return is $14,000.
Assumptions and limitations
Cash flow is held constant. Include debt payments, taxes, owner compensation and reinvestment in your cash-flow assumption where relevant. This excludes resale value and the time value of money.
Frequently asked questions
What should monthly cash flow include?
The cash left each month after all expenses, including a salary for whoever runs the business and any loan repayments. Using profit before your own time overstates how fast you recover the price.
Is a shorter payback always better?
Not on its own. Payback ignores what the business earns after it is recovered and how risky the cash flow is. A slightly longer payback on steadier revenue can be the better purchase.
Why does it show net cash after 36 months?
It is a fixed reference window so different deals can be compared. A negative figure means the purchase has not paid back within three years at your cash-flow assumption.
Does this account for interest or inflation?
No. Cash in month 30 counts the same as cash today. For long paybacks, a discounted model will give a longer, more conservative answer.
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