Paid ads. Reviewed October 29, 2026
Cost per acquisition
Also called: CPA, Cost per booked job, Cost per customer
Cost per acquisition is what it costs in marketing to win one paying customer, which for a contractor means a booked and completed job, not a lead.
In practice
It is cost per lead divided by the share of leads that become jobs. A $50 lead with a 20 percent booking rate is a $250 customer. A $120 lead with a 60 percent booking rate is a $200 customer and the better buy.
Set the ceiling from the average ticket and the margin, then judge every channel against it.
Related terms
- Cost per leadCost per lead is total marketing spend on a channel divided by the number of calls, forms or chats it produced, and it is the number to judge a campaign on rather than cost per click.
- Average ticketAverage ticket is the average revenue per completed job, and it is the number that decides how much a business can afford to pay for a lead.
- Booking rateBooking rate is the share of leads that turn into a scheduled appointment or estimate, and it is the first place to look when leads are up but revenue is not.
- Customer acquisition costCustomer acquisition cost is total sales and marketing spend over a period divided by the number of new customers won in it.
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