R2D Protocol

What's the minimum ACV where custom dev makes sense?

Find the deal size below which every custom request is a loss. Pre-filled with DE/NL Series A benchmarks — change to your numbers.

Person-days per typical custom request

Anchor: typical 10–20 days; large modules or integrations 40+. Set this to your own. Based on 7+ years auditing Sales↔R&D handoffs at scale (Roseltorg, 150+ systems unified).

Daily developer cost (salary + overhead), €

Benchmark: Senior engineer DE/NL €93–96K/yr × 1.35 overhead ÷ 220 days = €583. Default €550 — Glassdoor DE 2026, TechPays (n=919)

Gross margin, %

Benchmark: Median B2B SaaS GM 2024 = 74% — ChartMogul SaaS Benchmarks 2024

Contract length

1 year

2 years

3 years

Benchmark: Most Series A B2B SaaS contracts are annual — SaaS Capital 2025

Your current average ACV, € (optional — enables comparison)

Benchmark: Median ACV — early-stage (<$5M ARR) ~$12K, growth-stage ($10–50M ARR) ~$35K (Optifai 2026, n=939); all-company median $26K (SaaS Capital 2025)

€0

Minimum ACV for profitable custom dev

This covers development only. CAC, onboarding and the support tail sit on top – this calculator doesn't count them. Even above the threshold, real payback on a deal can still be negative.

Your real per-deal floor comes from your Jira and CRM data.

Find your real number → Book a 30-min diagnostic

Cost of one custom request

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Formula: person-days × daily developer cost.
This is the hard cost before any margin is applied — what the business actually spends to deliver one custom request.

Minimum ACV to break even

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Formula: custom dev cost ÷ (GM% × contract length in years).
The gross margin earned over the contract term must fully cover the custom dev cost. Below this ACV — the deal loses money on the custom component before any other costs (CAC, onboarding, support).

Formula from R2D Protocol methodology. Assumes one custom request per deal. Multiple requests multiply the minimum proportionally. Exact figures require a Diagnostic Sprint with your Jira and CRM data.