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Billboard payback calculator

How long a new billboard takes to pay for itself.

Payback

2.8 years

34 months of profit to cover the build.

Revenue each month

$2,960

Profit each month

$2,360

First-year return on the build cost

35.4%

Monthly profit = rate × faces × occupancy − monthly costs · payback = build cost ÷ monthly profit

How it works

  1. 01Payback is the time it takes for profit to cover the cost of the build.
  2. 02Revenue a month = monthly rate × faces × the share of the year they are sold.
  3. 03Profit a month = revenue − monthly costs.
  4. 04Payback in months = build cost ÷ profit a month.

Questions people ask

What costs should I count each month?

Ground lease, power, insurance, upkeep and permit fees. Leave out the build cost. That is what you are paying back.

What does this leave out?

Loans, income tax and rate changes. Treat the answer as a first check, not a forecast.

Why does occupancy matter so much?

An empty face earns nothing, but the costs keep coming. A small drop in occupancy adds months to the payback.

Every empty face is money you already spent.

Sign up free for your first 100 faces, or bring three open faces and we run Scout on them while you watch.