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Knowledge base

The metric library

Plain-English definitions and formulas for every operating metric Plantactic computes — so the whole team reads the numbers the same way. 209 documented and growing toward ~700.

Bookings

53
ACV Growth

ACV Growth Rate

The period-over-period percentage change in total annual contract value, from opening balance to closing balance.

Percentage bookings · revenue · +1
ARPnU Growth

ARPnU Growth Rate

The month-over-month percentage change in average revenue per new user — whether each new cohort is landing at higher or lower value.

Percentage bookings · growth · +2
ARPU Growth

ARPU Growth Rate

The period-over-period percentage change in average revenue per user, isolating expansion and pricing power from headcount growth.

Percentage saas · expansion · +1
ARPU (New)

Average Revenue Per New User

Annual contracted revenue from users newly added in a period, divided by the count of those new contracted users.

Currency bookings · user-economics · +2
CARR GR

CARR Growth Rate

The period-over-period percentage change in contracted annual recurring revenue (CARR) from opening balance to closing balance.

Percentage bookings · revenue · +2
Churned CARR

Churned Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue

The annualized value of contracts removed from your CARR base when a customer fully cancels a signed agreement in the period.

Currency bookings · contracts · +2
Churned Logos

Churned Contracted Logos

The number of unique contracted customers whose subscription fully canceled to zero recurring revenue during a period.

Count saas · retention · +2
Churned CMRR

Churned Contracted Monthly Recurring Revenue

Monthly recurring revenue lost when contracted customers cancel entirely and their CMRR balance drops to zero during the period.

Currency bookings · churn · +2
Churned Users

Churned Contracted Users

The raw count of contracted users (seats or accounts) whose contracts were cancelled or not renewed during a period.

Count bookings · churn · +2
Closing CARR

Closing Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue

The total annualized recurring revenue locked into all signed customer contracts at the end of a reporting period, reflecting all inflows and outflows during that period.

Currency bookings · revenue · +3
Closing CMRR

Closing Contracted MRR

Your contracted recurring revenue closing balance — the period-end binding commitment total after new bookings, expansions, downgrades, and cancellations flow through the waterfall.

Currency bookings · recurring revenue · +2
CARR

Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue

The annualized recurring revenue locked into all signed customer contracts, whether or not each contract has gone live yet.

Currency bookings · revenue · +2
CARR ARPU

Contracted Average Revenue Per User

The average annualized contracted revenue per active user seat — total signed-contract value, live or not, divided by current seats.

Currency saas · bookings · +2
Contracted Customer Lif.

Contracted Customer Lifetime

The average number of months a contracted customer is expected to stay before fully canceling, derived as the inverse of the monthly contracted logo churn rate.

Months saas · churn · +3
Contracted GDR

Contracted Gross Dollar Retention

The percentage of opening contracted annual recurring revenue retained over a period after losses to churn and downgrades, calculated only on signed contracts and excluding all expansion.

Percentage saas · retention · +3
Logo Churn Rate

Contracted Logo Churn Rate

The share of contracted customer accounts that fully canceled during a period, measured against the opening contracted logo base.

Percentage saas · retention · +2
Contracted NDR

Contracted Net Dollar Retention

The percentage of opening contracted recurring revenue you retain and expand from existing customers over a period, after churn and downgrades and after adding upsells and price increases — measured on contracted revenue rather than live, recognized revenue.

Percentage retention · bookings · +2
Contracted NDR

Contracted Net Dollar Retention

The percentage of opening contracted annual recurring revenue you retain and expand from existing customers over a period, including churn, downgrades, and upsells — calculated on contracted revenue not yet recognized on the income statement.

Percentage retention · bookings · +2
User Churn

Contracted User Churn

The percentage of contracted user seats lost to outright cancellation in a period, excluding downsells and other partial reductions.

Percentage retention · churn · +2
Customers

Customers

The count of distinct new customers acquired during a period — business entities that signed at least one term-committed contract in the window. It is a tally of customers acquired, not the cumulative customer base, and a single entity is counted once no matter how many contracts it signs.

Count bookings · customer-acquisition · +1
Downsell CARR

Downsell Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue

Annualized revenue lost when signed, not-yet-active customer contracts are partially downgraded before they activate.

Currency bookings · contracts · +2
Downsell CMRR

Downsell Contracted Monthly Recurring Revenue

Monthly recurring revenue lost when existing contracted customers downgrade their plans or remove add-ons while remaining live.

Currency bookings · retention · +2
GRR

Gross Revenue Retention

The percentage of contracted recurring revenue you keep from your existing customer base over a period, counting only churn and downgrades — never expansion.

Percentage retention · saas · +1
GUR

Gross User Retention

The percentage of prior-period users you keep after churn and downgrades, excluding any new users you add.

Percentage bookings · users · +2
Logo Growth Rate

Growth Rate Contracted Logos

The period-over-period percentage change in the number of unique customers with signed contracts, from opening to closing balance.

Percentage bookings · logos · +2
CMRR Growth Rate

Growth Rate Contracted MRR

The month-over-month percentage change in contracted monthly recurring revenue, from the opening balance to the closing balance.

Percentage bookings · growth · +2
Contracted User Growth

Growth Rate Contracted Users

The period-over-period percentage change in your total contracted user pool, from opening balance to closing balance.

Percentage bookings · users · +2
LR

Logo Retention

The share of customer logos active at period start that you still have at period end — unit-level retention, ignoring revenue size.

Percentage saas · retention · +2
NDR

Net Dollar Retention

The percentage of opening live annual recurring revenue you retain and expand from existing customers over a period, after churn and downgrades and after adding upsells — calculated on revenue that is billing today, not on contracted bookings.

Percentage retention · recurring-revenue · +2
Net New CARR

Net New Contracted ARR

The net change in contracted annual recurring revenue over a period: new bookings and expansions minus contractions and churn.

Currency bookings · saas · +2
Net New Logos

Net New Contracted Logos

The net change in distinct customer logos in a period: new contracted logos signed minus logos lost when their final active contract ends.

Count bookings · customer-acquisition · +2
Net New CMRR

Net New Contracted MRR

Net change in contracted monthly recurring revenue in a period from new bookings, upsells, downsells, and churn.

Currency bookings · mrr · +1
Net New Users

Net New Contracted Users

The net change in contracted users over a period: new contracted users added minus contracted users churned.

Count bookings · user-growth · +2
Net New Logos

Net New Logos

The net change in distinct customer organizations over a period — new logos signed minus logos lost to churn. It counts customers, not dollars.

Count saas · bookings · +4
NRR

Net Revenue Retention

The percentage of opening contracted revenue you keep from existing customers over a period, after churn and downgrades and after adding upsells.

Percentage retention · bookings · +2
Net User Retention

Net User Retention

The share of your prior-period user base you keep after expansions, contractions, and churn — net dollar retention applied to user counts.

Ratio retention · bookings · +2
New ACV

New Annual Contract Value

The annualized value of newly signed customer contracts in a period — each contract's total value divided by its term in years.

Currency bookings · revenue · +2
New ARPU

New Average Revenue Per User

Annualized recurring revenue contracted per new user seat acquired in a period, before any expansion or churn.

Currency bookings · new-business · +2
New CARR

New Contracted ARR

Annualized recurring revenue from contracts you signed this period, counted when signed whether or not the customer has gone live yet.

Currency bookings · arr · +2
New CMRR

New Contracted Monthly Recurring Revenue

Monthly recurring revenue from customers signing their first binding subscription contract in the period.

Currency bookings · acquisition · +2
New Seats

New Contracted Users

Count of new user seats or licenses added through new contracts (legally binding agreements) signed in a period.

Count bookings · customer-acquisition · +2
New Logos

New Customer Logos

The count of distinct new customer organizations that signed a binding contract during a period.

Count bookings · customer-acquisition · +1
New TCV

New Total Contract Value

The full lifetime value of newly signed customer contracts over the whole term, including recurring and one-time components.

Currency bookings · new-business · +2
Starting CARR

Starting Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue

The contracted annual recurring revenue balance carried forward from the prior period — your opening CARR for the month.

Currency bookings · revenue · +2
Starting CMRR

Starting Contracted MRR

Your contracted recurring revenue opening balance — the prior period's closing Contracted MRR carried forward as this period's committed baseline.

Currency bookings · mrr · +2
TCV Growth

TCV Growth Rate

The period-over-period percentage change in your total booked contract value, from the opening balance to the closing balance.

Percentage bookings · growth · +1
Total ACV

Total Annual Contract Value

The annualized value of all active contracts — total contract value divided by average contract term in years, expressed as annual run-rate.

Currency bookings · revenue · +2
TCV

Total Contract Value

The full booked value of a contract over its entire term — either entered directly or calculated from licenses, price per license, and contract duration.

Currency bookings · revenue · +2
Contracted Logos

Total Contracted Logos

Count of unique customer accounts holding an active recurring-revenue contract at the close of the period.

Count bookings · customer-base · +2
Contracted MRR

Total Contracted MRR

The total normalized monthly value of every binding customer contract you hold, built as a waterfall from last month's balance.

Currency bookings · recurring revenue · +2
Contracted Users

Total Contracted Users

The end-of-period count of all active contracted user seats or licenses across your entire customer base.

Count bookings · users · +2
Upsell CARR

Upsell Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue

Annualized revenue added when an existing customer upgrades a signed-but-not-yet-active contract before its start date.

Currency bookings · contracts · +2
Upsell CMRR

Upsell Contracted Monthly Recurring Revenue

Monthly recurring revenue added by existing customers who sign formal expansion contracts during the period.

Currency bookings · expansion · +2

Recurring Revenue

38
ARR

Annual Recurring Revenue

The annualized value of all active recurring subscriptions at a point in time — your total MRR multiplied by 12.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
ARR Growth

ARR Growth Rate

The period-over-period percentage change in annual recurring revenue, from the opening balance to the closing balance.

Percentage saas · revenue · +2
CARR per User

Average CARR per User

The average annual contracted recurring revenue locked in per active user seat, measuring per-seat unit economics for user-based licensing models.

Currency saas · revenue · +3
Churned ARR

Churned Annual Recurring Revenue

The annualized recurring revenue lost when customers fully cancel their subscriptions, calculated as Churned MRR for the period times 12.

Currency saas · retention · +2
Churned Live ARR

Churned Live Annual Recurring Revenue

The annualized recurring revenue lost when customers fully cancel their actively billing (live) subscriptions in a period, calculated as the period's Churned Live MRR times 12.

Currency saas · retention · +3
Churned MRR

Churned Monthly Recurring Revenue

The recurring monthly revenue lost when customers cancel their subscriptions outright and their MRR drops to zero.

Currency saas · churn · +2
Churned Users

Churned Users

The number of active user seats lost in a period because customers cancelled their entire contracts and dropped to zero users.

Count retention · churn · +1
Closing ARR

Closing ARR

The annualized value of all active recurring subscriptions at the end of a period.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
Closing ARR

Closing ARR

The annualized value of all active recurring subscriptions as of the last day of a period — the ending balance of your ARR waterfall, carried forward as next period's Starting ARR.

Currency saas · revenue · +3
Closing Users

Closing Live Users

The total count of active, billable user seats across all contracts at the close of a period — your seat-based user base at month-end or quarter-end.

Count saas · seats · +4
Closing MRR

Closing Monthly Recurring Revenue

The recurring monthly subscription revenue from all active contracts on the last day of a period, after every new sale, expansion, downgrade, and cancellation has flowed through the waterfall.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
Contracted GDR

Contracted Gross Dollar Retention

The percentage of contracted annual recurring revenue retained from the prior period after losses to churn and downgrades, excluding all expansion.

Percentage retention · contracted · +2
Downsell ARR

Downsell Annual Recurring Revenue

The annualized recurring revenue lost when existing customers downgrade to lower tiers or remove add-ons.

Currency saas · retention · +2
Downsell LARR

Downsell Live ARR

The annualized recurring revenue lost when existing live customers downgrade tiers, reduce seats, or remove add-ons on contracts that are currently billing.

Currency saas · retention · +3
Downsell MRR

Downsell Monthly Recurring Revenue

MRR lost when active customers contract their recurring spend by downgrading plans or dropping add-ons, while remaining paying customers.

Currency saas · retention · +1
Downsell Users

Downsell Users

Count of existing customers who reduced their seat count in a period but stayed above zero seats (a downgrade, not a churn).

Count saas · retention · +2
User Growth Rate

Growth Rate of Users

The period-over-period percentage change in total active users: the change in user count divided by the starting user count.

Ratio growth · users · +2
ARR per Logo

Live ARR per Logo

The average live annual recurring revenue each active customer account generates — total Live ARR divided by your count of active logos.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
MRR

Monthly Recurring Revenue

Total predictable monthly subscription revenue a business generates from active contracts.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
MRR Growth

MRR Growth Rate

The period-over-period percentage change in monthly recurring revenue, showing whether your subscription base is expanding or contracting.

Percentage saas · revenue · +2
Net New ARR

Net New ARR

The annualized net change in recurring revenue in a period: new and expansion inflows minus contraction and churn outflows.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
Net New LARR

Net New Live ARR

The annualized net change in live recurring revenue over a period: new and expansion inflows minus contraction and churn outflows, counted only on contracts that are billing today.

Currency saas · revenue · +3
Net MRR

Net New MRR

The net change in monthly recurring revenue from all sources—new customers, upgrades, downgrades, and churn—over a period.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
Net New Users

Net New Users

The net change in active user seats between two periods: new and upgraded seats minus churned and downgraded seats, as a signed integer.

Count saas · growth · +2
New ARR

New Annual Recurring Revenue

The annualized recurring revenue won from newly acquired customers in a period — your new-business run-rate over the next 12 months.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
New LARR

New Live ARR

The annualized recurring revenue added by brand-new customers whose contracts have gone live — the run-rate value of new-logo revenue that is actually billing today, not merely signed.

Currency saas · revenue · +3
New MRR

New Monthly Recurring Revenue

Recurring monthly revenue added by customers landing their first paid contract in the period — brand-new logos only.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
New Users

New Users

The number of customers who activate their first paid subscription in a period, going from zero active seats to one or more.

Count saas · growth · +1
Starting ARR

Starting Annual Recurring Revenue

The annualized recurring revenue balance carried forward from the prior period — your opening ARR for the month.

Currency saas · revenue · +1
Starting ARR

Starting Annual Recurring Revenue

The annualized recurring revenue balance carried forward from the prior period — your opening ARR for the month.

Currency saas · revenue · +1
Starting MRR

Starting Monthly Recurring Revenue

The recurring revenue balance carried forward from the prior period — your opening MRR for the month.

Currency saas · revenue · +1
Starting Users

Starting Users

The number of active users at the start of a reporting period; equals the prior period's closing user count.

Count users · retention · +1
Total Users

Total Users

The count of all active, billable user seats or subscriptions at the close of a period — a point-in-time headcount of your user base.

Count usage · count · +2
Upsell ARR

Upsell Annual Recurring Revenue

The annualized recurring revenue added when existing customers increase their spend through upgrades, add-ons, or seat expansion.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
Upsell LARR

Upsell Live ARR

The annualized recurring revenue added when existing live customers increase their spend through upgrades, add-ons, or seat expansion, based only on contracts that are currently billing.

Currency saas · revenue · +3
Upsell MRR

Upsell Monthly Recurring Revenue

Additional monthly recurring revenue from existing customers increasing their spend through upgrades, higher tiers, or add-ons.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
Upsell Users

Upsell Users

Number of existing, active customers whose seat count increased during a period — the headcount of accounts that expanded, regardless of dollars.

Count saas · expansion · +2
UR

User Retention

Share of users active at period start who are still active at period end, measured as ending active users divided by starting active users.

Ratio saas · retention · +2

Income Statement

36
Gross Margin per Unit

Average Annual Gross Margin Per Unit

The average annual gross profit a business retains from a single customer or user after direct cost of goods sold — annual revenue per unit multiplied by gross margin percentage.

Currency saas · unit-economics · +2
Contract Duration

Average Contract Duration

The average term length, in months, across all active contracts—how long your typical customer is committed to pay.

Months saas · contracts · +1
New Contract Duration

Average New Contract Duration

The average commitment length of all contracts newly signed in a period, in months.

Months saas · contracts · +2
Cash Burn

Cash Burn

The net amount of cash a company depletes over a period, measured as the decrease in its cash balance from one period-end to the next.

Currency cash-flow · burn · +2
Subscription Lag

Close to Subscription Days

The average number of calendar days between a contract's close date and its subscription start date, across all new contracts in a period.

Days saas · operations · +4
Collections

Collections

Cash actually received from customers during a period against invoices, net of refunds and chargebacks — the cash counterpart to recognized revenue.

Currency saas · cash-flow · +3
Cust. Success Payroll

Customer Success Payroll & Expenses

Total monthly operating cost of payroll, benefits, and employment expenses for your customer success organization.

Currency operating-expense · headcount-cost · +2
Cust. Support Payroll

Customer Support Payroll & Expenses

Total monthly cost of payroll, benefits, tools, and allocated overhead for the customer support function that delivers reactive help to active customers.

Currency cogs · headcount-cost · +3
EBITDA

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization

Operating profit before financing and accounting charges: gross margin minus all operating and overhead expenses, before interest, taxes, and D&A.

Currency profitability · operating · +2
EBITDA Margin

EBITDA Margin

Operating profitability as a percentage of revenue: the share of each revenue dollar left as EBITDA after direct costs and operating expenses, but before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

Percentage profitability · operations · +2
Eng/Tech Payroll

Engineering & Technology Payroll & Expenses

The fully loaded monthly cost of your engineering and technology function: payroll for engineering headcount, fees for technical contractors, and the development tools and infrastructure those teams run on.

Currency operating-expense · headcount-cost · +2
Engineering Payroll

Engineering Team Payroll & Expenses

Total monthly operating cost of payroll, benefits, and employment expenses for your engineering organization.

Currency operating-expense · headcount-cost · +2
Expenses

Expenses

Total operating, cost-of-goods-sold, and overhead costs a company incurs in a period to run the business and generate revenue.

Currency profitability · income-statement · +2
G&A Expenses

G&A Team Payroll & Expenses

Total period cost of running the general and administrative function — all compensation, benefits, and payroll tax for finance, legal, HR, and corporate administration, plus the back-office software and facilities those teams consume.

Currency operating-expense · overhead · +2
Gross Burn

Gross Burn

Total cash a business spends on operating expenses in a period, before any revenue or other inflows are subtracted.

Currency saas · burn · +3
GM

Gross Margin

The percentage of every revenue dollar left after paying the direct costs of delivering your product or service.

Percentage profitability · unit-economics · +1
Marketing Payroll

Marketing Payroll & Expenses

Total monthly salary and direct payroll cost for the marketing organization, including marketing contractors and freelancers.

Currency operating-expense · headcount-cost · +3
Op & Overhead Exp

Operating and Overhead Expenses

The total cost of running the business below gross margin — R&D, sales and marketing, and general and administrative — excluding the cost of goods sold.

Currency income-statement · profitability · +2
Operating Expenses

Operating Expenses

The period cost of the product and engineering organization that builds and improves the product: R&D, product, and engineering payroll plus the tools, contractors, and overhead that team consumes. It is the cost line that sits below gross margin and turns it into operating profit.

Currency income-statement · profitability · +2
Overhead Expenses

Overhead Expenses

The fixed general and administrative cost of running the company — finance, legal, HR, facilities, and insurance — that supports the whole business rather than building, delivering, or selling the product.

Currency income-statement · operating-expense · +2
R&D Expenses

R&D Expenses

The full-loaded operating cost of your engineering and research capacity: payroll, contractors, tools, and infrastructure dedicated to building product.

Currency operating-expense · cash-burn · +2
R&D Payroll

R&D Team Payroll & Expenses

Total monthly operating cost of payroll, benefits, and employment expenses for your research and development organization.

Currency operating-expense · headcount-cost · +2
Revenue Growth

Revenue Growth Rate

The percentage change in total revenue from one period to the next, measuring how fast your top line is expanding.

Percentage income-statement · growth · +2
Sales Payroll

Sales Team Payroll & Expenses

Total fully-loaded compensation cost for the sales organization in a period — salary, commission, bonus, benefits, and employer payroll taxes for every sales rep, sales engineer, and sales leader.

Currency income-statement · headcount-cost · +3
Software COGS

Software COGS

Direct payroll and support cost to deliver and run your software product, split between recurring (ongoing service) and non-recurring (one-time) work.

Currency saas · cost-structure · +2
Software Contracts

Software Contracts

The number of distinct active software product or service agreements you hold at a point in time.

Count saas · contracts · +1
Software Rev

Software Revenue

Total revenue recognized from selling software, combining recurring subscriptions and one-time licenses or non-recurring software services.

Currency revenue · saas · +2
COGS

Total COGS

The total direct cost of delivering all products and services to customers, across both recurring and non-recurring revenue lines.

Currency profitability · operations · +2
Total Contracts

Total Contracts

The number of active contracts in the period, across both recurring and non-recurring revenue models — a count of commitments, not their value.

Count contracts · volume · +2
OpEx + COGS

Total Expenses

The sum of every cost a business incurs to build, sell, and run its product: COGS, sales and marketing, product and engineering, and admin.

Currency income-statement · unit-economics · +2
Gross Margin

Total Gross Margin

The dollar value of gross profit: revenue left after subtracting all direct costs to deliver your product or service.

Currency profitability · unit-economics · +2
Recurring COGS

Total Recurring COGS

The direct cost of delivering your recurring contracts, summed across every product line: software, professional services, and physical product.

Currency profitability · cost-structure · +2
Recurring Contracts

Total Recurring Contracts

The number of active subscription contracts on a recurring revenue model as of your reporting date.

Count subscription · base · +3
Recurring Gross Margin

Total Recurring Gross Margin

The dollar profit left from recurring revenue after subtracting every direct cost to deliver it (COGS), before any operating expense.

Currency profitability · recurring-revenue · +2
Recurring Revenue

Total Recurring Revenue

Revenue recognized in a period from all active recurring contracts — software subscriptions, recurring services, and product subscriptions.

Currency revenue · recurring · +2
Total Revenue

Total Revenue

The sum of all recurring and non-recurring revenue your business recognizes in a reporting period.

Currency revenue · income-statement · +2

General

34
A/R

Accounts Receivable

The total value of invoices customers owe for goods or services already delivered but not yet paid, measured as a balance at a point in time.

Currency saas · cash-flow · +3
Live ARPU

Average LARR per User

Live annual recurring revenue divided by the count of active user seats on live contracts at period end — the average yearly value of one live, paying seat.

Currency saas · revenue · +2
ARPA

Average Revenue Per Account

The average annual recurring revenue each active customer account generates—total ARR divided by your active logo count.

Currency saas · revenue · +1
ARPU

Average Revenue Per User

Annual recurring revenue divided by the count of active user seats at period end — the average yearly value of one seat.

Currency saas · revenue · +1
CAC Payback

CAC Payback Period

The number of months a new customer's gross-margin contribution takes to recover the sales and marketing cost spent to acquire them.

Months saas · unit-economics · +2
Cash + A/R

Cash and A/R Balance

Total near-term liquid working capital available to the business: cash and cash equivalents on hand plus customer invoices issued but not yet collected.

Currency liquidity · cash · +3
Cash Balance

Cash Balance

The amount of liquid cash a company holds at a point in time, after opening balance, collections, funding inflows, and operating outflows are netted together.

Currency cash-flow · liquidity · +3
Cash Infusion

Cash Infusion (Debt/Funding)

External capital received in a period from equity funding rounds, debt financing, or other non-operational sources — money that funds the business but is not earned from customers.

Currency cash-management · funding · +2
Churned Logos

Churned Logos

The count of distinct customer organizations (logos) whose recurring revenue fell to zero through full cancellation during a period.

Count saas · retention · +2
Closing Logos

Closing Logos

The point-in-time count of distinct active customer organizations at the end of a reporting period, built as a waterfall from the opening logo balance plus new logos won minus logos lost to churn.

Count saas · customer · +4
CLTV:CAC

CLTV to CAC Ratio

How many dollars of gross-margin lifetime value you earn per dollar spent acquiring a customer — lifetime value divided by acquisition cost per logo.

Ratio saas · unit-economics · +2
Contracted CAC Payback

Contracted CAC Payback Period

The number of months it takes new contracted bookings to repay acquisition spend, using booked new MRR and gross margin.

Months efficiency · payback · +2
Contracted CAC/User

Contracted CAC per User

Sales and marketing spend required to land one new customer who has signed a contract but not yet gone live in the period.

Currency saas · sales-efficiency · +2
Contracted LTV:CAC

Contracted CLTV to CAC Ratio

The ratio of contracted customer lifetime value to the sales and marketing cost of acquiring one new customer logo.

Ratio saas · unit-economics · +2
Contracted CLTV

Contracted Customer Lifetime Value

The gross-margin dollars a contracted customer is expected to generate per year, multiplied by a fixed assumed customer lifetime.

Currency saas · unit-economics · +2
Contracted CLTV:CAC

Contracted Customer Lifetime Value to Customer Acquisition Cost

The contracted lifetime value of a customer divided by the cost to acquire one customer organization, expressed as a multiple.

Multiple saas · unit-economics · +2
COGS

Cost of Goods Sold

The direct costs to deliver your product or service in a period. It is the cost line that turns revenue into gross margin.

Currency profitability · margin · +2
CAC per Logo

Customer Acquisition Cost per Logo

Fully-loaded sales and marketing spend divided by the number of new customer logos won in the same period.

Currency acquisition · cac · +2
CAC per User

Customer Acquisition Cost per User

The blended sales and marketing spend required to acquire one new paying user or seat in a period.

Currency saas · sales-efficiency · +1
Churn Rate

Customer Churn Rate

The percentage of customers lost in a period, measured as churned logos divided by starting logos.

Percentage retention · saas · +2
Customer Lifetime

Customer Lifetime

The average length of time a customer stays subscribed before churning, calculated as the inverse of the customer churn rate.

Months saas · retention · +2
LTV

Customer Lifetime Value

The gross-margin dollars a live customer generates per year, multiplied by an assumed 5-year lifetime — a churn-free proxy for customer worth.

Currency saas · unit-economics · +2
Days to Live

Days To Go Live

The average number of calendar days between contract signature and customer go-live — the point at which a customer first begins paying or actively using the product.

Days saas · implementation · +3
Days to Live

Days To Go Live

Average number of calendar days between contract signature and customer activation (first billable use).

Days implementation · customer-success · +2
Downsell Logos

Downsell Logos

The number of distinct existing customers whose recurring revenue decreased during a period through a downgrade, tier reduction, or feature removal, while remaining active.

Count saas · retention · +2
GM%

Gross Margin Percentage

The percentage of each revenue dollar left after the direct costs of delivering your product (COGS).

Percentage saas · profitability · +2
Product Payroll

Product Team Payroll & Expenses

All compensation, benefits, and direct costs for the product management and product operations function in a period.

Currency payroll · product-operations · +2
Revenue

Revenue

Total recognized income earned from all revenue streams in a period — subscriptions, usage, and one-time fees — under accrual accounting.

Currency financial · revenue · +2
Runway (Cash Burn)

Runway (Months, Cash Burn)

Number of months a company can sustain operations with its current cash balance if monthly cash burn continues unchanged.

Months cash-flow · burn · +2
Starting Logos

Starting Logos

The count of active customer organizations (logos) carried forward from the prior period — your opening logo balance for the period and the leftmost bar of the logo waterfall.

Count saas · customer · +2
Total Logos

Total Logos

Point-in-time count of all distinct, active customer organizations (legal entities) at the end of a period.

Count saas · customer · +2
CAC

Total Sales and Marketing Expenses

Total sales and marketing spend in a period — the acquisition cost pool that feeds every per-customer and payback calculation.

Currency efficiency · sales · +2
S&M Expenses

Total Sales and Marketing Expenses

All money spent on sales and marketing in a period — the cost pool that feeds CAC, payback, and acquisition-efficiency calculations.

Currency efficiency · sales · +2
Upsell Logos

Upsell Logos

Count of distinct existing customer organizations that increased their recurring spend during a period through upgrades, add-ons, or higher tiers.

Count saas · customer · +2

Efficiency

19
ARR Per Employee

ARR Per Employee

The average live annual recurring revenue generated per full-time employee, measuring how productively the organization converts headcount into repeatable, active subscription revenue.

Currency efficiency · productivity · +2
Avg Days to Live

Average Days To Go Live

The average number of calendar days from contract signature to the moment a customer goes live and generates their first recurring revenue.

Days efficiency · onboarding · +3
CAC Ratio

Bessemer CAC Ratio

Bessemer's measure of sales-and-marketing efficiency: the gross-margin-adjusted net new ARR generated in a period divided by the sales-and-marketing spend of the prior period that produced it.

Ratio saas · efficiency · +2
Blended CAC Ratio

Blended CAC Ratio

Sales and marketing spend per dollar of new and expansion annual recurring revenue won — acquisition cost measured against all the recurring revenue growth it produced, not just new logos.

Ratio saas · efficiency · +3
Burn Multiple

Burn Multiple

A ratio of cash burn to new revenue growth; the amount of cash burned per dollar of net new revenue (or ARR) added each period.

Ratio saas · efficiency · +2
CAC Ratio

CAC Ratio

Sales and marketing spend per dollar of new annual recurring revenue won — how many acquisition dollars it takes to capture one dollar of new subscription run-rate.

Ratio saas · efficiency · +3
CAC:CLTV

CAC to CLTV Ratio

The proportion of customer lifetime value consumed by acquisition cost per customer — lower is better, and below 0.33 signals strong unit economics.

Ratio saas · unit-economics · +2
CARR Per Employee

CARR Per Employee

Contracted annual recurring revenue divided by total headcount — how much committed recurring revenue the business carries per person on the payroll.

Currency efficiency · productivity · +2
Cash-Out (Net Burn)

Cash-Out Month (Net Burn)

The calendar month in which a company's available cash is projected to run out if its current net burn rate continues unchanged.

Months cash-flow · efficiency · +3
Cash-Out (Cash Burn)

Cash-Out Months (Cash Burn)

Number of months until a company's cash reserves are fully depleted at its current monthly cash burn, assuming no new funding and no change in spend.

Months cash-flow · burn · +2
Prior-Qtr CAC

Monthly CAC (Prior Quarter)

The total sales and marketing spend recorded two months before the current month — a lagged acquisition-cost benchmark used to read spend trends against the current period.

Currency efficiency · acquisition · +3
Net Burn

Net Burn

The net amount of cash a company consumes from operations each month after subtracting the revenue it generates from its total operating spend.

Currency saas · efficiency · +2
Revenue Per Employee

Revenue Per Employee

The average annual revenue generated per full-time equivalent employee, measuring how productively a company converts payroll into top-line revenue.

Currency efficiency · productivity · +2
Rule of 40

Rule of 40

A composite efficiency benchmark that sums a company's revenue growth rate and EBITDA margin to test whether it is balancing growth and profitability well enough to create durable value.

Percentage saas · efficiency · +3
Runway (Net Burn)

Runway (Months, Net Burn)

Number of months a company can keep operating on its current cash before reserves run out, after netting monthly revenue against monthly spend.

Months cash-flow · burn · +2
Magic Number

SaaS Magic Number

Annualized recurring-revenue growth in a period divided by the prior period's sales and marketing spend — how much new annual recurring revenue each dollar of go-to-market investment generates.

Ratio saas · efficiency · +3
Magic Number

SaaS Magic Number (Contracted)

The ratio of new contracted annual recurring revenue (CARR) signed in a period to the sales and marketing spend in that same period, measuring how efficiently the go-to-market engine converts spend into forward-looking bookings.

Ratio saas · efficiency · +3
Magic Number

Sales Magic Number (Contracted)

Ratio of contracted revenue expansion in a period to S&M spend; measures how efficiently sales resources convert spend into contracted ARR.

Ratio saas · efficiency · +2
Magic Number (Live)

Sales Magic Number (Live)

New Live ARR added in a period divided by the sales and marketing spend in that same period — how much annualized recurring revenue from newly live customers each S&M dollar generated.

Ratio saas · efficiency · +3

Headcount

14
COGS HC

COGS Headcount

Point-in-time count of all full-time-equivalent staff whose work delivers the product and serves existing customers — the people whose payroll flows through cost of goods sold rather than sales, marketing, or overhead.

Count headcount · cost-structure · +3
CAC Headcount

Customer Acquisition Headcount

The number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees dedicated to customer acquisition at a point in time — the combined sales and marketing teams that source, work, and close new business.

Count saas · headcount · +2
CS Headcount

Customer Success Headcount

The number of full-time equivalent employees whose primary role is customer success — driving adoption, retention, and expansion across the post-sale customer lifecycle — measured at a point in time.

Count headcount · saas · +2
Cust. Support HC

Customer Support Headcount

The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees dedicated to the customer support function at a point in time, including support agents, support engineers, and the leaders who manage them.

Count headcount · support · +3
Eng HC

Engineering & Technology Headcount

Point-in-time count of all engineering and technology staff employed or deployed against revenue-generating work.

Count headcount · efficiency · +2
Engineering Team Headco.

Engineering Team Headcount

The number of full-time and full-time-equivalent engineering staff employed by the company in a given period.

Count headcount · operating-expenses · +1
G&A HC

G&A Team Headcount

Point-in-time count, in full-time equivalents, of all General and Administrative staff who run the company's corporate functions — finance, accounting, legal, HR, IT, and facilities — rather than build the product or generate revenue.

Count headcount · efficiency · +2
Live Users

Live Users

The count of active, currently engaged users on live (paying) subscriptions at a point in time.

Count
Live Users

Live Users

The count of active, billable user seats on live (revenue-generating) subscriptions at a point in time — the paying headcount of your customer base.

Count usage · count · +3
Marketing Headcount

Marketing Headcount

The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in the marketing department at a point in time, spanning demand generation, product marketing, content, brand, marketing operations, and analytics.

Count headcount · marketing · +2
Product Team Headcount

Product Team Headcount

Point-in-time count of all full-time and full-time-equivalent staff whose primary role is product management, product operations, and product strategy.

Count headcount · operating-expenses · +2
R&D FTE

R&D Team Headcount

The number of full-time and full-time-equivalent staff whose primary job is building, improving, and maintaining the product — engineering, platform, infrastructure, QA, and technical research — counted at a point in time.

Count headcount · operating-expenses · +1
Sales Headcount

Sales Headcount

The number of full-time-equivalent sales employees on the team at a point in time, spanning quota-carrying and quota-supporting roles such as Account Executives, Sales Development Representatives, and Sales Engineers.

Count headcount · sales · +2
Headcount

Total Headcount

The total number of full-time and full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees across the entire organization at a point in time.

Count headcount · operating-expenses · +2

Contracted Revenue

6

Pipeline

5

Growth

3

Unit Economics

1