Planning worksheet

Reward-cost worksheet for your loyalty program

Loyal-T Cards Team · September 2026

Download the editable worksheet (Markdown text)

A merchant planning aid; not a forecast. Use one currency and one matching review period throughout. This is distinct from the site's customer-value calculator, which estimates annual revenue per regular customer and does not estimate profit.

Fill in your assumptions

Input	Your value	Meaning
Review period	________	Start/end dates; long enough for the normal return interval
Currency	________	Use the same currency for every monetary input
R: expected reward redemptions	________	Number of redemptions during this period
C: incremental cost per reward	________	Supplies, packaging and additional labour per redemption
D: contribution displaced per reward	________	Expected lost contribution when the reward replaces a sale that would have happened; do not double-count costs already in C
F: platform cost allocated to the period	________	Planning allocation of the actual paid plan; an annual payment is still paid annually
O: other incremental program costs	________	Staff administration, materials or other costs during the same period
M: contribution per additional eligible paid visit	________	Revenue less variable delivery costs and variable fees for that visit; exclude a reward cost already included above

Reward burden: R × (C + D).

Total program burden: R × (C + D) + F + O.

Additional paid visits needed to cover that burden: round up(total program burden ÷ M), provided M is greater than zero. If M is zero or negative, extra visits at those economics cannot cover the burden. This threshold is an arithmetic scenario, not evidence those visits will occur or can be attributed to the program.

Worked example in USD

Assume 40 redemptions in a month, $1.50 direct cost per reward, $0.50 expected displaced contribution, $55 allocated platform cost, $20 other incremental costs and $4 contribution per additional paid visit.

Reward burden: 40 × ($1.50 + $0.50) = $80.
Total burden: $80 + $55 + $20 = $155.
Break-even threshold: round up($155 ÷ $4) = 39 additional paid visits.

The $55 in this illustration allocates an assumed $660 annual cost over 12 months. It is not a monthly Loyal-T payment option. Check current pricing and use your actual plan cost. Avoid mixing an AED contribution figure with a USD platform cost; use the actual converted charge or an explicitly recorded exchange-rate assumption.

Scenario	R	C + D	F + O	M	Burden	Extra visits needed
Lower reward burden	20	$2	$75	$4	$115	29
Base illustration	40	$2	$75	$4	$155	39
Higher reward burden	60	$2	$75	$4	$195	49
Lower visit contribution	40	$2	$75	$2	$155	78

The examples conservatively budget all stated redemptions. If changing the estimated number of additional visits also changes redemptions, update R and recalculate. Do not call recorded loyalty revenue incremental profit. A reward's menu price is not necessarily its cost; conversely, direct supplies alone can understate its economic burden.

Review with actuals

Replace assumptions with recorded costs and redemptions. Compare matched periods or a suitable cohort with enough observation time, acknowledge seasonality and selection effects, and track staff effort. If you cannot distinguish additional visits from visits that would have happened anyway, report the threshold and the uncertainty separately.

Continue with the first-30-days checklist to plan staff checks and a review date.