SaaS Metrics & Revenue Blog

Practical guides on ARR tracking, retention metrics, benchmarks, sales capacity, and pipeline planning for SaaS operators and finance teams.

  • AI for SaaS Finance: What to Use It For, What to Always Check, and Why You'll Need Fewer People
    AI • 8 min read • July 7, 2026

    AI is the biggest leverage shift to hit finance since the spreadsheet — but it rewards judgment, not blind trust. What AI is genuinely great at for SaaS finance teams, which tools fit which jobs, the mistakes it will confidently make, and why the lean-team era needs fewer people but sharper leadership.

  • SaaS Revenue Multiples in June 2026: What the Data Says and What It Means for Operators
    Market • 9 min read • June 18, 2026

    Public SaaS multiples have compressed to a decade low — but the real story is dispersion: top-quartile companies trade at 13–14x while the bottom sits at 1–2x. The June 2026 data on revenue multiples, the Rule of 40 premium, and what it means for how you run your business.

  • CARR vs. ARR: What's the Difference, and Which One Should You Report?
    Metrics • 8 min read • June 5, 2026

    CARR includes revenue you've contracted but haven't started billing yet; ARR counts only what's live and recurring today. The gap between them is where a lot of SaaS reporting gets confusing — and occasionally misleading. Here's the distinction, a worked example, and when each metric is the right one to use.

  • The SaaS Burn Multiple: What It Is, How to Calculate It, and Why It's the Efficiency Metric That Matters Now
    Metrics • 8 min read • May 28, 2026

    The burn multiple measures how much cash you burn to generate each dollar of new ARR. In a market that rewards efficiency over growth-at-all-costs, it's become the single number investors scrutinize first. Here's the formula, the benchmarks, and how to improve it.

  • CAC Payback Period for SaaS: How to Calculate It and Why It Matters More Than LTV:CAC
    Metrics • 8 min read • May 22, 2026

    CAC payback is the most useful efficiency metric for SaaS finance teams, and it's almost always calculated wrong. Here's the right formula, the benchmarks by segment, and why it tells you something LTV:CAC can't.

  • Setting Sales Quotas and Modeling Ramp Time: A Practical Guide
    Sales Planning • 9 min read • May 22, 2026

    Most SaaS quota plans start from last year's number and add 10%. Here's how to actually set quotas — from coverage ratio to ramp curves to attainment math — so the number on the AE's plan reflects what the business can support.

  • SaaS Benchmarks for Early-Stage Companies ($1M–$20M ARR): How to Use Them Without Getting Misled
    Benchmarks • 9 min read • May 8, 2026

    Public company benchmarks dominate the conversation, but most operators are running a $5M ARR business — not Snowflake. Here's how to find and use benchmarks that actually apply to early-stage SaaS, and why context matters as much as the numbers.

  • How to Annualize Monthly and Quarterly Retention Rates (The Right Way)
    Metrics • 7 min read • May 8, 2026

    If you're measuring retention monthly or quarterly, you can't just multiply by 12 or 4 to get the annual rate. Compounding makes the math non-linear. Here's how to do it correctly, with the formulas and worked examples.

  • From Target to Headcount: How to Size a Sales Org From the Top Down
    Sales Planning • 8 min read • April 24, 2026

    Most SaaS hiring plans start with a number leadership signed up for and end with a guess about how many people to hire. Here's a top-down framework that turns the bookings target into a defensible headcount plan — including the support roles most plans forget.

  • Do You Have Enough AEs to Hit Next Year's Number? A RevOps Diagnostic
    Sales Planning • 7 min read • April 22, 2026

    Sales capacity is the leading indicator everyone talks about but almost nobody models correctly. Here's a step-by-step diagnostic — with formulas — to tell you whether your AE team can actually produce the bookings leadership just signed up for.

  • ARR Tracking Without Stripe: How to Get Board-Ready Metrics from Any Data Source
    ARR Tracking • 6 min read • April 10, 2026

    Most ARR tracking tools require a Stripe integration. If you're on a different billing system, using a CRM export, or just want a clean model from a spreadsheet, here's how to get accurate ARR metrics without connecting your billing stack.

  • How to Build an ARR Bridge from a CSV Export
    ARR Tracking • 5 min read • April 10, 2026

    A step-by-step guide to turning a customer ARR export from any system into a complete ARR bridge with GRR and NRR — without Excel formulas or a billing integration.

  • How Many MQLs Do You Need to Hit Your ARR Target? The Exact Formula
    Pipeline Planning • 8 min read • April 1, 2026

    Most teams set MQL targets by adding a growth percentage to last year's number. Here's the reverse-funnel formula that actually works — and why timing changes everything.

  • How to Calculate Churn Rate for SaaS (Customer and Revenue Churn)
    Metrics • 7 min read • April 3, 2026

    Churn rate is straightforward in concept but easy to get wrong in practice. Here's the correct formula for both customer churn and revenue churn, with benchmarks and the mistakes to avoid.

  • Sales Pipeline Planning: How to Work Backwards From Your Revenue Target to Monthly Goals
    Pipeline Planning • 10 min read • March 20, 2026

    Most revenue teams set an annual target and hope the funnel fills itself. Here's how to reverse-engineer your ARR goal into exact monthly pipeline targets at every stage — MQL to won deal — using a model that actually reflects how deals move.

  • The Best ARR Tracking Tools for SaaS Finance Teams in 2026
    Tools • 8 min read • March 11, 2026

    A practical guide to how SaaS companies track ARR, GRR, and NRR — from spreadsheets to dedicated tools. What to look for and what questions to ask.

  • What Is an ARR Bridge? (And How to Build One)
    Metrics • 8 min read • March 6, 2026

    The ARR bridge is the single most important view of your SaaS business. Learn what it is, why it matters, and how to build one that your board will love.

  • Net Dollar Retention: The Complete Guide for SaaS
    Metrics • 10 min read • March 6, 2026

    NDR above 100% means your existing customers are growing. Learn how to calculate it, what good looks like, and why investors obsess over this metric.

  • SaaS Retention Benchmarks 2026: 20 Public Companies Compared
    Benchmarks • 6 min read • March 6, 2026

    How does your retention stack up? We analyzed NDR, GRR, and growth rates across 20 of the largest public SaaS companies.

  • How to Design a SaaS Sales Comp Plan That Actually Drives Results
    Sales Comp • 9 min read • March 9, 2026

    Most comp plans are too complicated. Here's how to build one that's simple, aligned to company goals, and motivates your AEs to sell.

  • Gross Revenue Retention (GRR): The SaaS Metric That Tells the Truth
    Metrics • 7 min read • March 9, 2026

    NRR gets the headlines, but GRR tells you whether your product actually retains customers. Here's how to calculate it and what good looks like.

  • The Rule of 40: What It Is and Why Every SaaS Company Should Track It
    Metrics • 7 min read • March 9, 2026

    Growth rate plus profit margin should equal 40 or more. Here's how to calculate it, what the benchmarks say, and why investors care.