Property Lettings CAC Calculator

Project Deep Dive

HomeMade PropTech was building a data-driven case for disrupting the traditional lettings market in the UK. Their thesis: property management companies spend far too much acquiring new tenants, and by quantifying the true Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), they could demonstrate that their technology platform dramatically reduces this cost. The problem was that their CAC model lived in an Excel spreadsheet that was too complex for investor meetings.

The spreadsheet modeled the full lettings lifecycle: portfolio size, average Estimated Rental Value (ERV), void periods, tenant turnover rates, marketing spend per property, agency fees, referencing costs, and compliance expenses. Cross-referencing these across a portfolio of properties revealed the true cost of acquiring each tenant — a number most property managers had never calculated. The formulas were correct, but presenting them to investors meant walking through Excel tabs and hoping nothing broke during a live demo.

We converted the spreadsheet into a clean, form-based web application that guides users through portfolio data entry step by step. The real-time calculation engine mirrors every Excel formula but presents results as a clear dashboard: CAC per tenant, CAC as a percentage of annual rent, portfolio-wide acquisition costs, and payback period. The responsive design meant the founder could pull it up on any device during investor meetings.

The tool proved its worth quickly. During seed funding conversations, the founder ran live scenarios showing investors how different portfolio sizes and turnover rates affected CAC. The ability to change inputs and see results update instantly — without the risk of accidentally breaking a formula — made the pitch credible and professional. The startup successfully secured seed funding, with several investors citing the CAC calculator as a key factor in their decision to invest.