Business Model Canvas — Revenue and Cost Planning

Business Model Canvas — How to Define Revenue & Costs

Revenue Streams

Common revenue models for startups:

• One-time sales — Products, digital downloads, courses
• Subscriptions — SaaS, memberships, recurring services
• Freemium — Free tier + paid upgrades
• Marketplace — Commission on transactions
• Advertising — Display ads, sponsored content

Cost Structure

Key cost categories to plan for:

• Fixed costs: Hosting, domains, subscriptions, salaries
• Variable costs: Payment processing fees, API usage, marketing spend
• One-time costs: Company formation, equipment, initial inventory

Unit Economics

The two numbers that matter most:

1. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) — Total revenue per customer over their lifetime
2. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) — Cost to acquire one customer

Rule of thumb: LTV should be at least 3x CAC for a sustainable business.

Use our Budget Calculator to model your costs, or get a full business plan with detailed financial projections.