What’s the easiest way to calculate ROAS manually without using a paid dashboard?

Question

I don’t have access to tools like Triple Whale or Hyros. I want to track ROAS for a few small ad campaigns manually. I have the ad spend and sales data, what’s the simplest way to calculate ROAS without expensive tools? What’s the easiest way to calculate ROAS manually without using a paid dashboard?

Answer 1

If you just want a simple, no-frills way to calculate ROAS manually, you can do it with nothing more than your ad spend, your sales revenue, and a basic spreadsheet or calculator.

Here’s the easiest method:

1. Use the basic ROAS formula

ROAS=Revenue from AdsAd Spend\text{ROAS} = \frac{\text{Revenue from Ads}}{\text{Ad Spend}}ROAS=Ad SpendRevenue from Ads​

Example:

• Ad Spend: $500

• Revenue from those ads: $1,500

ROAS=1500500=3\text{ROAS} = \frac{1500}{500} = 3ROAS=5001500​=3

This means you earned $3 for every $1 spent (often written as 3.0x ROAS).

2. Track manually in a spreadsheet

Create a simple table with:

Date Range	Platform	Ad Spend	Sales from Ads	ROAS
July 1–7	Facebook	$200	$600	3.0
July 1–7	Google	$300	$900	3.0

• Update this weekly or daily.

• Use a spreadsheet formula like =Sales/Spend for ROAS.

3. Match sales to ad clicks as best you can

If you don’t have tracking tools:

• Export sales reports from your store.

• Use UTM tags or coupon codes to identify which sales came from which ads.

• Sum the revenue linked to each ad channel.

4. For subscription or repeat customers

If your customers buy again later, decide whether you want “Immediate ROAS” or “LTV ROAS”:

• Immediate ROAS: only count the first purchase.

• LTV ROAS: multiply the first purchase value by your average customer lifetime value factor. Example:

  • First purchase = $50

  • Average customer buys 4 times over 12 months → LTV factor = 4

  • LTV-adjusted ROAS = (50×4)/Ad Spend(50 × 4) / \text{Ad Spend}(50×4)/Ad Spend