Professional services
Law Firm Client Acquisition Cost Calculator
Works what a firm pays to win a client, where consultation time is a real cost.
Result
Sales time is included because it is a real cost of winning work even though it never appears on an advertising invoice. Recovering under 100% on the first job is normal in the trades, provided customers come back.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Marketing spend plus intake and consultation time divided by clients retained. The attorney time element is substantial in legal services: an initial consultation is often an hour of attorney time at the firm's most expensive rate, and at typical retention rates several are consumed per client won.
What moves the number
- Marketing spend across channels.
- Consultation time and the retention rate from consultation.
- Whether consultations are paid or free.
- Referral share, which costs almost nothing.
Where this one goes wrong
Free consultations are a marketing cost measured in attorney hours and they are frequently the largest line in acquisition cost without appearing anywhere in the budget. Either charge for them, screen harder at intake so fewer unqualified matters reach an attorney, or accept the cost knowingly. Acquisition cost also varies by practice area by more than most people expect, so a firm-wide figure can conceal one area that loses money on every client it wins.
Before you quote
- Count consultation time as acquisition cost.
- Screen at intake before committing attorney time.
- Measure acquisition cost by practice area.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
Should consultations be free?
It is a marketing cost measured in attorney hours, which makes it expensive and usually invisible in the budget. The alternatives are charging, or screening harder at intake so fewer unqualified matters reach an attorney. Either is better than not knowing the cost.
What does a legal client cost to acquire?
It varies by practice area more than almost any other business variable, which is why a firm-wide figure can hide an area losing money on every client it wins. Measure it per area, including the consultation time consumed by matters that did not retain.
Are referrals the cheapest source?
By a wide margin, since they cost little to acquire and retain at a far higher rate. Referral relationships with other lawyers and with past clients are the backbone of profitable practices, though fee-sharing arrangements carry their own conduct rules.
The formula
acquisition cost = (marketing + sales cost) / clients won
Put this calculator on your site
Free to embed. Paste this where you want it to appear. It stays up to date automatically because it loads from BDEVY.
Please keep the attribution line. It is the only thing we ask in return.
How to use this calculator
- Marketing spend per month ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $3,200.
- Sales time and tools ($). Quoting time, CRM, call answering.
- Leads per month. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 70.
- Share that become clients (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 32%.
- First matter fee ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $2,600.
- Gross margin (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 58%.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to cost to win one client, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Marketing spend per month | $3,200 |
| Sales time and tools | $900 |
| Leads per month | 70 |
| Share that become clients | 32% |
| First matter fee | $2,600 |
| Gross margin | 58% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost to win one client main result | $183.04 |
| Cost per lead | $58.57 |
| Clients per month | 22 |
| Gross profit on the first matter | $1,508 |
| Recovered on the first matter | 824% |
Each customer costs $183.04 to win, and the first job returns $1,508 of gross profit, 824% of the acquisition cost. The rest has to come from repeat work.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only marketing spend per month, this is what happens to cost to win one client. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Marketing spend per month ($) | Cost to win one client |
|---|---|
| $1,600 | $111.61 |
| $2,400 | $147.32 |
| $3,200 example above | $183.04 |
| $4,800 | $254.46 |
| $6,400 | $325.89 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Marketing spend per month ($)
- A money amount, starting at $3,200.
- Sales time and tools ($)
- Quoting time, CRM, call answering.
- Leads per month
- A number, between 0 and 20000, starting at 70.
- Share that become clients (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 100, starting at 32%.
- First matter fee ($)
- A money amount, starting at $2,600.
- Gross margin (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 95, starting at 58%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Cost to win one client | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Cost per lead | A money figure. |
| Clients per month | A number. |
| Gross profit on the first matter | A money figure. |
| Recovered on the first matter | A percentage. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.