A marketing budget starts with cash you can spend, not deals you hope to close. Use this calculator to separate the reserve you want to protect, one-time setup and monthly channel costs. It shows how long that money funds the plan if no new cash arrives.
TL;DR
- Start with cash already available for marketing. Keep property purchases, renovation money and other obligations outside this budget.
- Subtract protected cash and one-time setup once, then add monthly direct mail, digital, other channels and shared costs without double counting.
- Runway assumes constant spending and no incoming cash. Expected deals do not put money back in the budget or establish a closing date.
- Lead and deal calculations are optional scenarios, not benchmarks. The example is invented; replace its costs and assumptions with your own.
How much marketing can your cash actually fund?
The calculator asks a narrow question: after setup and a protected reserve, how many months of this spending plan can you cover?
It does not start with a percentage of a future sale or an income target. A profitable-looking acquisition plan can still run out of marketing cash before a purchase closes. Keep the money needed to buy and renovate houses separate from what you can commit to finding them.
The Small Business Administration's finance guidance distinguishes recurring and nonrecurring costs and the timing of cash received. That distinction matters here: a possible deal is not available cash.
Spendable cash = available marketing cash − protected reserve − one-time setup.
Monthly spending = direct mail + digital marketing + other channels + shared marketing costs.
Runway in months = spendable cash ÷ monthly spending.
The protected reserve is part of the available-cash figure, not an extra amount added to it. Setup is an upfront expense. Monthly spending stays constant in this simple model; it does not change with seasonality or a larger mailing order.
Count each cost once
Use the amounts you actually expect to pay, including costs outside a vendor's headline quote. The direct-mail cost guide separates mailing prices from the wider campaign budget.
| Cost | Where to enter it | Check before adding it |
|---|---|---|
| One-time design or account setup | Setup | Is it already included in a channel quote? |
| Recurring printing, postage and mail-specific work | Monthly direct mail | Does the number include every planned send? |
| Paid search or social spending | Monthly digital | Have you included the channel's management cost if you pay one? |
| Other recurring acquisition channels | Monthly other channels | Is the same expense already counted elsewhere? |
| Shared list, software, tracking or follow-up costs | Monthly shared costs | Are these costs shared, or already inside a channel amount? |
Price your own time separately if you want a labor comparison. This cash worksheet only includes amounts you enter. It does not automatically add taxes, unpaid owner labor, property costs or future spending commitments.
Before acting on fractional runway, put the actual payment dates on a calendar. Three months of evenly spread expenses is not the same cash schedule as a large invoice due tomorrow.
An invented budget and a spending change
The starting example is illustrative, not a recommended budget or a Homebase customer result:
| Input or result | Starting example | Higher monthly spending |
|---|---|---|
| Available marketing cash | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Protected reserve | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| One-time setup | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Spendable cash | $8,000 | $8,000 |
| Monthly direct mail | $1,000 | $1,400 |
| Monthly digital | $500 | $500 |
| Monthly other channels | $0 | $0 |
| Monthly shared costs | $100 | $100 |
| Total monthly spending | $1,600 | $2,000 |
| Runway | 5 months | 4 months |
The extra $400 a month removes one funded month under these assumptions. It does not show that the larger plan produces more deals. With $8,000 available and spending of $1,800 a month, the calculator instead shows four whole months and $800 left after those monthly budgets, excluding the protected reserve.
A zero monthly budget displays runway as “Not defined,” not a promise of endless marketing. If available cash equals reserve plus setup, spendable cash is zero. Reserve plus setup cannot exceed available cash. Negative amounts, invalid numbers and cash amounts with more than two decimal places are rejected.
What the optional lead and deal numbers mean
Enter distinct seller leads for one month across the channels in this plan. Do not count three calls from one seller as three separate leads. If you cannot make a supported assumption, leave that field blank and use the cash calculation on its own.
Recurring blended cost per lead is monthly spending divided by those scenario leads. Eventual deals from that month's leads equal leads multiplied by the lead-to-close percentage. Recurring blended cost per deal is monthly spending divided by those expected deals.
With the invented $1,600 monthly budget, 20 leads and a 5% lead-to-close assumption, the arithmetic gives $80 per lead, one eventual deal from that month's leads and $1,600 recurring cost per deal. At 2.5%, expected deals fall to 0.5 and recurring cost per deal rises to $3,200. Neither percentage is a benchmark.
These recurring cost figures exclude setup and the protected reserve. They are not all-in acquisition cost, profit or return on investment. Expected deals can be fractional; real purchases are whole transactions and may close much later. Zero leads leave cost per lead undefined. Zero expected deals leave cost per deal undefined. Blank optional fields skip the corresponding calculation.
For campaign contribution and return, use the separate direct-mail ROI calculator. For the costs of the property itself, use the house-flip calculator.
Turn the result into a spending decision
Write down the reserve you will not touch, the maximum monthly commitment, who will answer responses and the date you will review the plan. Test higher expenses and weaker lead assumptions before paying for a larger program.
Compare actual spending and outcomes over a consistent window. A response is not a purchase, and a shared-number inquiry is not proof that a particular campaign caused it. The tracking lesson explains that distinction.
Homebase's first neighborhood analysis is free; mailing is paid. If neighborhood mail fits the budget and the work you can support, analyze a neighborhood free before making a paid mailing decision.
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