SaaS Metrics Guide to SaaS Financial Performance (2024)

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Chaotic FlowStreamlined Angles on Turbulent Technologies by Joel York

Ebook Best Practices SaaS Metrics

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by Joel York

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SaaS Metrics Guide to SaaS Financial Performance (1)

SaaS Metrics Guide to SaaS Financial Performance (2)

Written by Joel York

I’ve wrapped up the highlights of my SaaS metrics series into a tidy SaaS Metrics Guide to SaaS Financial Performance. Like the original SaaS metrics series, this reference guide presents simple rules-of-thumb and graphic visualizations that capture the dynamic relationships between core SaaS metrics and SaaS financial performance.

It is NOT a comprehensive overview of SaaS metrics, but a deep dive into the most critical SaaS metrics with the goal of fostering intuition and deeper understanding of SaaS financial performance, including charts, formulas, definitions, sample calculations, and hyperlinks back to the full SaaS Metrics Rules-of-Thumb posts. Feel free to pass it along. Cheers! JY.

Click the image to download the
SaaS Metrics Guide to SaaS Financial Performance (PDF format)

Original SaaS Metrics Rules-of-Thumb Posts

  • SaaS Metrics Rule-of-Thumb #1 – SaaS Churn Kills SaaS Company Growth
  • SaaS Metrics Rule-of-Thumb #2 – New Customer Acquisition Growth Must Outpace Churn
  • SaaS Metrics Rule-of-Thumb #3 – Viral Growth Trumps SaaS Churn
  • SaaS Metrics Rule-of-Thumb #4 – Company Time to Profit Follows Customer Break-Even
  • SaaS Metrics Rule-of-Thumb #5 – Best Case Time to Profit is Simple Break-Even
  • SaaS Metrics Rule-of-Thumb #6 – Growth Creates Pressure to Reduce Total Cost of Service
  • SaaS Metrics Rule-of-Thumb #7 – Churn Creates Pressure to Reduce Total Cost of Service
  • SaaS Metrics Rule-of-Thumb #8 – Upselling and Upgrades Accelerate SaaS Profitability
  • SaaS Metrics Rule-of-Thumb #9 – Joel’s SaaS Magic Number
  • SaaS Metrics Rule-of-Thumb #10 – SaaS Customer Lifetime Value Drives SaaS Company Value

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33 Comments

  • Wow, super helpful! Thanks for taking the time to demystify churn, Steli. As a complete noob to SaaS metrics, I feel way more prepared to grapple with this concept after reaading your article! Cheers.

    Reply

  • […] York’s “SaaS Metrics Guide” and corresponding SaaS Metrics Rules of […]

    Reply

  • Food for Thought….SaaS related blogs and readings

    Click through some of these links to learn about S

    Reply

  • […] York’s “SaaS Metrics Guide” and corresponding SaaS Metrics Rules of […]

    Reply

  • […] PDF File Name: Saas metrics guide to saas financial performance Source: chaotic-flow.com » DOWNLOAD « […]

    Reply

  • Food for Thought….SaaS related blogs and readings…

    Click through some of these links to learn about S…

    Reply

  • Reply

  • Reply

  • Reply

  • […] York has compiled the most important SAASÂmetrics on one sheet of paper (if you print double-sided). Joel also really nicely points to his prior posts that explain the […]

    Reply

  • […] occurs when a SaaS business achieves a stable SaaS business model that allows management to monitor the key SaaS financial metrics, including recurring revenue, customer acquisition cost, churn, growth and cost of service. […]

    Reply

  • […] metrics challenge of previous years where all we had to do was master a relatively short list of SaaS financial metrics, the SaaS customer success metrics challenge is truly daunting–a bona fide big data problem. […]

    Reply

  • […] metrics challenge of previous years where all we had to do was master a relatively short list of SaaS financial metrics, the SaaS customer success metrics challenge is truly daunting–a bona fide big data problem. […]

    Reply

  • […] are witnessing a dramatic change in the way SaaS businesses are managed. While SaaS financial metrics, such as recurring revenue, acquisition cost, service cost, churn, growth and lifetime value have […]

    Reply

  • […] York’s “SaaS Metrics Guide” and corresponding SaaS Metrics Rules of […]

    Reply

  • […] York’s “SaaS Metrics Guide” and corresponding SaaS Metrics Rules of […]

    Reply

  • […] “SaaS Metrics Guide to Saas Financial Performance” […]

    Reply

  • […] York has compiled the most important SaaSÂmetrics on one sheet of paper (if you print double-sided). If you follow that link, you’ll also find York’s prior posts, […]

    Reply

  • […] start with, let’s define some key terms (seeÂhereÂfor more […]

    Reply

  • Amazing… big thanks for sharing these metrics.

    Reply

  • […] Link 3: SaaS Metric Cheat Sheet […]

    Reply

  • […] flow both which can sink a company. ÂJoel York provides a good reference to the most critical SaaS metrics. ÂDavid Skok provides an excellent guide to SaaS financial […]

    Reply

  • What is the best way for a SaaS company to deal with long sales cycles?…

    As long as the touch points in the long cycle time are managed effectively and the incentive structure recognizes the inherent nature of business this should not be a problem. A good thumb rule is to look at what is your average cost of sale compared t…

    Reply

  • Hi Christina,

    The only way I know is to use historical numbers…or benchmarks for similar services if you don’t have historical.

    If you don’t think your customer base is uniform, you will need to break it into cohorts based on whatever criteria differentiates your customers, e.g., date of signup, type of subscription plan, demographics, length of service, etc.

    Joel

    Reply

  • Joel,

    Do you have any thoughts on best ways to project churn on a monthly/quarterly/annual basis?

    Cheers,
    Christina

    Reply

  • What is considered a “good” number when tracking monthly churn for a SaaS business in MRR$ lost?…

    Peter’s comment is dead on…depends on the business. That said, 3.5% sounds strange to me….if that is 3.5%/month then it is > 50%/year (1.51=1.035^12)…which is pretty bad by most standards…might expect it from a consumer site or an event driven…

    Reply

  • Joel regarding your Churn Rate formula. Is C your total number of customers over all-time or for the period you are measuring (delta t)?

    Example: My software service is billed monthly. I started selling subscriptions in Jan 10. I want to calculate the Churn Rate from Oct 10 to Feb 11. Does C= # of customer (Jan 10 to Feb 11) or (Oct 10 to Feb 11)?

    Apologize if I’m not reading this correctly.

    Reply

  • […] York’s Chaotic Flow Blog is always really useful and he did a fantastic post on SaaS Metrics and Economics. ÂJoel provides a very scientific approach and a lot of details for those who are really […]

    Reply

  • […] This post was Twitted by MikeOliverAZ […]

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  • Joel, this is really nicely done! Thanks for putting it all together in one place!
    Scott

    Reply

  • Joel
    You nailed it! Yet again… Technically deep and insightful. You are doing the SaaS community a huge favor. I hope you don’t mind me referencing you in my latest post http: http://bit.ly/cyUH6W

    Check out OpenView Labs website labs.openviewpartners.com. Would love to get your feedback. Think of it as a mega blog for all that an early stage software company should be thinking about.

    Reply

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SaaS Metrics Guide to SaaS Financial Performance (2024)

FAQs

What are the key metrics you would use to evaluate the financial health of a SaaS startup? ›

The five key SaaS metrics are churn, customer retention, customer acquisition cost (CAC), monthly recurring revenue (MRR) and customer lifetime value (CLV).

How to measure success of SaaS? ›

What are the most important metrics for SaaS companies?
  1. MRR and revenue churn rate.
  2. Customer lifetime value (CLTV)
  3. Daily/Weekly/Monthly active users (DAU/WAU/MAU)
  4. Net promoter score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
  5. Engagement rate by channel, segment, and cohort.

What is the most important metric to measure success as a SaaS company when doing business in the age of the customer? ›

The key metrics for SaaS companies are Net Promoter Score (NPS), Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), churn rate and customer satisfaction ratings.

What is a KPI in SaaS? ›

There are many ways to measure performance, but a few critical differences exist in how SaaS companies measure their performance with key performance indicators (KPIs). The focus of SaaS companies comes with how many active monthly users and subscriptions there are. If the numbers are high, that's good.

What is the rule of 40 in SaaS? ›

The Rule of 40 states that if an SaaS company's revenue growth rate is added to its profit margin, the combined value should exceed 40%. In recent years, the 40% rule has gained widespread adoption as a popularized measure of growth by SaaS investors.

What 4 measures are used to assess financial performance? ›

The four statements that are extensively studied are a company's balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and annual report.

What is the most important metric when evaluating a SaaS company? ›

Churn is one of the most important metrics for SaaS companies, but MRR churn is particularly valuable.

How do you measure ROI in SaaS? ›

Steps to Conduct ROI Analysis
  1. Identify Costs: Begin by identifying all costs associated with the SaaS development project. ...
  2. Forecast Revenue: Estimate the revenue that the SaaS product is expected to generate over time. ...
  3. Calculate Net Profit: Subtract the total costs from the forecasted revenue to find the net profit.
Feb 26, 2024

How do you evaluate SaaS investments? ›

There are three main ways to value a software-as-a-service company by examining the company's earnings: SDE, EBITDA, and Revenue. Depending on your SaaS business's profitability and maturity, you might pick one valuation method over another to give yourself a better multiplier.

What is the magic number in SaaS? ›

The SaaS Magic Number is calculated by dividing the growth in recurring revenue by the previous period's recurring revenue. This indicates that the metric is heavily influenced by your capacity to retain existing customers and generate additional revenue over time.

What two SaaS metrics does upsell positively impact? ›

To measure the success of your upselling efforts you need to track key metrics such as:
  • Total Revenue. Total revenue is the total amount of money that a customer pays over the lifetime of their relationship with a SaaS company. ...
  • Average Order Value (AOV) ...
  • Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) ...
  • Expansion MRR. ...
  • Upsell Rate.

How to analyze a SaaS business? ›

The key components of profitability analysis for SaaS businesses include identifying revenue streams, assessing your costs, and then comparing the two to determine your profit and profit margins. Profit and profit margins help you understand if you're hitting your goals of earning more than your business is spending.

What is SaaS financial model? ›

What is a SaaS Financial Model? Simply put, SaaS financial modeling is a process of charting a summary of the expenses and revenues of your SaaS. It also includes present and future revenue forecasts and important KPIs that a finance leader must keep track of.

What is the rule of 40%? ›

The Rule of 40 is a principle that states a software company's combined revenue growth rate and profit margin should equal or exceed 40%. SaaS companies above 40% are generating profit at a rate that's sustainable, whereas companies below 40% may face cash flow or liquidity issues.

What is the SaaS grid? ›

SaaSGrid is the data backbone of SaaS companies. We integrate with CRMs, billing systems, general ledgers, and spreadsheets to pull in all of a company's data and empower them to report their metrics with confidence.

What are the key indicators of financial health? ›

Typical signs of strong financial health include a steady flow of income, rare changes in expenses, strong returns on investments, and a cash balance that is growing.

What metrics do you analyze to determine a department's financial health? ›

The four main areas of financial health that should be examined are liquidity, solvency, profitability, and operating efficiency.

What KPIs would you consider using to evaluate financial performance? ›

Profitability KPIs, such as gross profit margin and net profit margin. Liquidity KPIs, such as current ratio and quick ratio. Efficiency KPIs, such as inventory turnover and accounts receivable turnover. Valuation KPIs, such as earnings per share and price to earnings ratio.

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