Look up SaaS finance metrics, formulas, and benchmarks fast. Use when you need a quick metric definition, formula, or benchmark during analysis.

Purpose Quick reference for any SaaS finance metric without deep teaching. Use this when you need a fast formula lookup, benchmark check, or decision framework reminder. For detailed explanations, calculations, and examples, see the related deep dive skills. This is not a teaching tool—it's a cheat sheet optimized for speed. Scan, find, apply. Input Works best with: The metric you need — name it and get the formula, benchmark, and decision context. Also useful: Your numbers, if you want the formula applied on the spot. Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re ask. Arriving empty handed? That works too. Ask for the metric family you're working in (revenue, retention, efficiency, capital) and scan from there. Example invocation: Quick ref: burn multiple — formula, benchmark, and whether 1.7 is bad for Series B. Key Concepts Metric Categories Metrics are organized into four families: 1. Revenue & Growth — Top line money (revenue, ARPU, ARPA, MRR/ARR, churn, NRR, expansion) 2. Unit Economics — Customer level profitability (CAC, LTV, payback, margins) 3. Capital Efficiency — Cash management (burn rate, runway, OpEx, net income) 4. Efficiency Ratios — Growth vs. profitability balance (Rule of 40, magic number) When to Use This Skill Use this when: You need a quick formula or benchmark You're preparing for a board meeting or investor call You're evaluating a decision and need to check which metrics matter You want to identify red flags quickly Don't use this when: You need detailed calculation guidance (use saas revenue growth metrics or saas economics efficiency metrics ) You're learning these metrics for the first time (start with deep dive skills) You need examples and common pitfalls (covered in related skills) Application All Metrics Reference Table Metric Formula What It Measures Good Benchmark Red Flag Revenue Total sales before expenses Top line money earned Growth rate 20% YoY (varies by stage) Revenue growing slower than costs ARPU Total Revenue / Total Users Revenue per individual user Varies by model; track trend ARPU declining cohort over cohort ARPA MRR / Active Accounts Revenue per customer account SMB: $100 $1K; Mid: $1K $10K; Ent: $10K+ High ARPA + low ARPU (undermonetized seats) ACV Annual Recurring Revenue per Contract Annualized contract value SMB: $5K $25K; Mid: $25K $100K; Ent: $100K+ ACV declining (moving downmarket unintentionally) MRR/ARR MRR × 12 = ARR Predictable recurring revenue Growth + quality matter; track components New MRR declining while churn stable/growing Churn Rate Customers Lost / Starting Customers % of customers who cancel Monthly <2% great, <5% ok; Annual <10% great Churn increasing cohort over cohort NRR (Start ARR + Expansion Churn Contraction) / Start ARR × 100 Revenue retention + expansion 120% excellent; 100 120% good; 90 100% ok NRR <100% (base is contracting) Expansion Revenue Upsells + Cross sells + Usage Growth Additional revenue from existing customers 20 30% of total revenue Expansion <10% of MRR Quick Ratio (New MRR + Expansion MRR) / (Churned MRR + Contraction) Revenue gains vs. losses 4 excellent; 2 4 healthy; <2 leaky bucket Quick Ratio <2 (leaky bucket) Gross Margin (Revenue COGS) / Revenue × 100 % of revenue after direct costs SaaS: 70 85% good; <60% concerning Gross margin <60% or declining CAC Total S&M Spend / New Customers Cost to acquire one customer Varies: Ent $10K+ ok; SMB <$500 CAC increasing while LTV flat LTV ARPU × Gross Margin % / Churn Rate Total revenue from one customer Must be 3x+ CAC; varies by segment LTV declining cohort over cohort LTV:CAC LTV / CAC Unit economics efficiency 3:1 healthy; <1:1 unsustainable; 5:1 underinvesting LTV:CAC <1.5:1 Payback Period CAC / (Monthly ARPU × Gross Margin %) Months to recover CAC <12 months great; 12 18 ok; 24 concerning Payback 24 months (cash trap) Contribution Margin (Revenue All Variable Costs) / Revenue × 100 True contribution after variable costs 60 80% good for SaaS; <40% concerning Contribution margin <40% Burn Rate Monthly Cash Spent Revenue Cash consumed per month Net burn <$200K manageable early; <$500K growth Net burn accelerating Runway Cash Balance / Monthly Net Burn Months until money runs out 12+ months good; 6 12 ok; <6 crisis Runway <6 months OpEx S&M + R&D + G&A Costs to run the business Should grow slower than revenue OpEx growing faster than revenue Net Income Revenue All Expenses Actual profit/loss Early negative ok; mature 10 20%+ margin Losses accelerating without growth Rule of 40 Revenue Growth % + Profit Margin % Balance of growth vs. efficiency 40 healthy; 25 40 ok; <25 concerning Rule of 40 <25 Magic Number (Q Revenue Prev Q Revenue) × 4 / Prev Q S&M S&M efficiency 0.75 efficient; 0.5 0.75 ok; <0.5 fix GTM Magic Number <0.5 Operating Leverage Revenue Growth vs. OpEx Growth Scaling efficiency Revenue growth OpEx growth OpEx growing faster than revenue Gross vs. Net Revenue Net = Gross Discounts Refunds Credits What you actually keep Refunds <10%; discounts <20% Refunds 10% (product problem) Revenue Concentration Top N Customers / Total Revenue Dependency on largest customers Top customer <10%; Top 10 <40% Top customer 25% (existential risk) Revenue Mix Product/Segment Revenue / Total Revenue Portfolio composition No single product 60% ideal Single product 80% (no diversification) Cohort Analysis Group customers by join date; track behavior Whether business improving or degrading Recent cohorts same/better than old Newer cohorts perform worse CAC Payback by Channel CAC / Monthly Contribution (by channel) Payback by acquisition channel Compare across channels One channel far worse than others Gross Margin Payback CAC / (Monthly ARPU × Gross Margin %) Payback using actual profit Typically 1.5 2x simple payback Payback using margin 36 months Unit Economics Revenue per unit Cost per unit Profitability of each "unit" Positive contribution required Negative contribution margin Segment Payback CAC / Monthly Contribution (by segment) Payback by customer segment Compare to allocate resources One segment unprofitable Incrementality Revenue caused by action Baseline True impact of marketing/promo Measure with holdout tests Celebrating revenue that would've happened anyway Working Capital Cash timing between revenue and collection Cash vs. revenue timing Annual upfront monthly billing Long payment terms killing runway Quick Decision Frameworks Use these frameworks to combine metrics for common PM decisions. Framework 1: Should We Build This Feature? Ask: 1. Revenue impact? Direct (pricing, add on) or indirect (retention, conversion)? 2. Margin impact? What's the COGS? Does it dilute margins? 3. ROI? Revenue impact / Development cost Build if: ROI 3x in year one (direct monetization), OR LTV impact 10x development cost (retention), OR Strategic value overrides short term ROI Don't build if: Negative contribution margin even with optimistic adoption Payback period exceeds average customer lifetime Metrics to check: Revenue, Gross Margin, LTV, Contribution Margin Framework 2: Should We Scale This Acquisition Channel? Ask: 1. Unit economics? CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC ratio 2. Cash efficiency? Payback period 3. Customer quality? Cohort retention, NRR by channel 4. Scalability? Magic Number, addressable volume Scale if: LTV:CAC 3:1 AND Payback <18 months AND Customer quality meets/beats other channels AND Magic Number 0.75 Don't scale if: LTV:CAC <1.5:1 AND No clear path to improvement Metrics to check: CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC, Payback Period, NRR, Magic Number Framework 3: Should We Change Pricing? Ask: 1. ARPU/ARPA impact? Will revenue per customer increase? 2. Conversion impact? Help or hurt trial to paid conversion? 3. Churn impact? Create churn risk or reduce it? 4. NRR impact? Enable expansion or create contraction? Implement if: Net revenue impact positive after churn risk Can test with segment before broad rollout Don't change if: High churn risk without offsetting expansion Can't test hypothesis before committing Metrics to check: ARPU, ARPA, Churn Rate, NRR, CAC Payback Framework 4: Is the Business Healthy? Check by stage: Early Stage (Pre $10M ARR): Growth Rate 50% YoY LTV:CAC 3:1 Gross Margin 70% Runway 12 months Growth Stage ($10M $50M ARR): Growth Rate 40% YoY NRR 100% Rule of 40 40 Magic Number 0.75 Scale Stage ($50M+ ARR): Growth Rate 25% YoY NRR 110% Rule of 40 40 Profit Margin 10% Metrics to check: Revenue Growth, NRR, LTV:CAC, Rule of 40, Magic Number, Gross Margin Red Flags by Category Revenue & Growth Red Flags Red Flag What It Means Action Churn increasing cohort over cohort Product market fit degrading Stop scaling acquisition; fix retention first NRR <100% Base is contracting Fix expansion or reduce churn before scaling Revenue churn logo churn Losing big customers Investigate why high value customers leave Quick Ratio <2 Leaky bucket (barely outpacing losses) Fix retention before scaling acquisition Expansion revenue <10% of MRR No upsell/cross sell engine Build expansion paths Revenue concentration 50% in top 10 customers Existential dependency risk Diversify customer base Unit Economics Red Flags Red Flag What It Means Action LTV:CAC <1.5:1 Buying revenue at a loss Reduce CAC or increase LTV before scaling Payback 24 months Cash trap (long cash recovery) Negotiate annual upfront or reduce CAC Gross margin <60% Low profitability per dollar Increase prices or reduce COGS CAC increasing while LTV flat Unit economics degrading Optimize conversion or reduce sales cycle Contribution margin <40% Unprofitable after variable costs Cut variable costs or increase prices Capital Efficiency Red Flags Red Flag What It Means Action Runway <6 months Survival crisis Raise capital immediately or cut burn Net burn accelerating without revenue growth Burning faster without results Cut costs or increase revenue urgency OpEx growing faster than revenue Negative operating leverage Freeze hiring; optimize spend Rule of 40 <25 Burning cash without growth Improve growth or cut to profitability Magic Number <0.5 S&M engine broken Fix GTM efficiency before scaling spend When to Use Which Metric Prioritizing features: Revenue impact → Revenue, ARPU, Expansion Revenue Margin impact → Gross Margin, Contribution Margin ROI → LTV impact, Development cost Evaluating channels: Acquisition cost → CAC, CAC by Channel Customer value → LTV, NRR by Channel Payback → Payback Period, CAC Payback by Channel Scalability → Magic Number Pricing decisions: Monetization → ARPU, ARPA, ACV Impact → Churn Rate, NRR, Expansion Revenue Efficiency → CAC Payback (will pricing change affect it?) Business health: Growth → Revenue Growth, MRR/ARR Growth Retention → Churn Rate, NRR, Quick Ratio Economics → LTV:CAC, Payback Period, Gross Margin Efficiency → Rule of 40, Magic Number, Operating Leverage Survival → Burn Rate, Runway Board/investor repor

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