Metrics for subscription & SaaS finance teams

The most important metrics that every SaaS company should have, from startup to scaleup.

ARR icon

Predictable revenue that a company can expect to receive on an annual basis from its subscription-based products or services.

CAC payback period icon

Measures how long it takes for a company to recoup the costs of acquiring a new customer. 

Cash Burn is cash used (“burned”) by the company’s operations when the company is not cash generative. Cash Runway is the amount of time until Cash Burn uses up all available cash.

CMRR icon

A forward looking view of MRR, usually MRR plus new bookings less churn.

CAC icon

Cost to acquire one new customer.

churn icon

Customer churn is the percentage of customers who stop doing business with a company or using a service.

Percentage of existing customers who remain customers after a given period.

CAC Icon

Annual value of all recurring revenue. Typically calculated as MRR * 12.

Net Dollar Retention icon

The percentage of revenue that a company retains from its existing customers over a given period of time.

Gross Margin % icon

Margin after direct costs. Calculated as revenue less cost of sales.

LTV/CAC icon

Lifetime value divided by acquisition costs, indicating the margin delivered by each new customer.

MRR icon

Predictable revenue that a company can expect to receive on a monthly basis from its subscription-based products or services.

Customer Lifetime Value icon

Percentage increase in MRR over a certain period of time, most typically a quarter or a year.

net dollar retention icon

Measures growth in revenue from a group of customers. Typically split into upgrades, downgrades, renewals and losses. 

Amount of recurring revenue lost over a specific period due to customer cancellations, downgrades, or price reductions.

Percentage increase in revenue over a certain period of time, most typically a quarter or a year. 

The percentage of customers or subscriptions that are successfully renewed at the end of a specific period.

CAC icon

A measure of growth or sales efficiency. Calculated as Revenue Growth divided by Customer Acquisition Costs.

Measures the growth and profitability of a subscription business. Calculated as annual revenue growth rate plus EBITDA margin.

Sales Efficiency measures how efficiently a company converts its sales and marketing investments into new revenue.