SaaS Metrics Comprehensive SaaS metrics analysis covering MRR, ARR, Churn, LTV, CAC, cohort analysis, and investor reporting. Essential for SaaS founders, finance teams, and investors. Overview This skill enables: Revenue metrics calculation (MRR, ARR, NRR) Churn and retention analysis Unit economics (LTV, CAC, LTV:CAC) Cohort analysis and forecasting Investor-ready reporting Core Metrics Framework 1. Revenue Metrics ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ MRR WATERFALL │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ Starting MRR $100,000 │ │ + New MRR (new customers) +$15,000 │ │ + Expansion MRR (upgrades) +$8,000 │ │ + Reactivation MRR +$2,000 │ │ - Contraction MRR (downgrades) -$3,000 │ │ - Churn MRR (cancellations) -$7,000 │ │ ───────────────────────────────────────────── │ │ = Ending MRR $115,000 │ │ │ │ Net New MRR = $15,000 │ │ MRR Growth Rate = 15% │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Calculations : mrr_metrics :
Monthly Recurring Revenue
MRR : sum(all_active_subscriptions.monthly_value)
Annual Recurring Revenue
ARR : MRR × 12
MRR Components
new_mrr : sum(new_subscriptions_this_month) expansion_mrr : sum(upgrades_this_month) contraction_mrr : sum(downgrades_this_month) churn_mrr : sum(cancelled_subscriptions_mrr) reactivation_mrr : sum(reactivated_subscriptions)
Net New MRR
net_new_mrr : new_mrr + expansion_mrr + reactivation_mrr - contraction_mrr - churn_mrr
Growth Rates
mrr_growth_rate : (ending_mrr - starting_mrr) / starting_mrr × 100 mom_growth : (current_mrr - previous_mrr) / previous_mrr × 100 2. Churn Metrics churn_metrics :
Logo Churn (Customer Count)
logo_churn_rate : formula : customers_lost / customers_start_of_period × 100 benchmark : <5% monthly for SMB , <2% for Enterprise
Revenue Churn (MRR)
gross_revenue_churn : formula : churned_mrr / starting_mrr × 100 benchmark : <3% monthly
Net Revenue Churn (includes expansion)
net_revenue_churn : formula : (churned_mrr - expansion_mrr) / starting_mrr × 100 target : negative (net expansion)
Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
nrr : formula : (starting_mrr - churn + expansion) / starting_mrr × 100 benchmark : good : 100 - 110% great : 110 - 120% best_in_class :
120% Churn Analysis Template :
Churn Analysis - {Month}
Summary | Metric | Value | Benchmark | Status | |
|
|
|
| | Logo Churn | 3.2% | <5% | ✅ | | Gross Revenue Churn | 2.8% | <3% | ✅ | | Net Revenue Retention | 108% |
100% | ✅ |
Churn Breakdown | Reason | Customers | MRR Lost | % of Total | |
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|
|
| | Price | 5 | $2,500 | 35% | | Competitor | 3 | $1,800 | 25% | | No longer needed | 4 | $1,500 | 21% | | Product issues | 2 | $800 | 11% | | Other | 2 | $600 | 8% |
Cohort Performance
Q1 2025 cohort: 95% retention at month 6
Q4 2024 cohort: 88% retention at month 9
Enterprise segment: 97% retention (best) 3. Unit Economics ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ UNIT ECONOMICS │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) │ │ ──────────────────────────── │ │ ARPU × Gross Margin % │ │ ─────────────────────── = LTV │ │ Churn Rate │ │ │ │ Example: │ │ $100 ARPU × 80% margin / 3% churn = $2,667 LTV │ │ │ │ ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) │ │ ──────────────────────────────── │ │ Sales & Marketing Spend │ │ ─────────────────────────── = CAC │ │ New Customers Acquired │ │ │ │ Example: │ │ $50,000 S&M / 50 customers = $1,000 CAC │ │ │ │ ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ LTV:CAC Ratio = $2,667 / $1,000 = 2.67x │ │ CAC Payback = $1,000 / ($100 × 80%) = 12.5 months │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Benchmarks : unit_economics_benchmarks : ltv_cac_ratio : poor : <1x acceptable : 1 - 2x good : 2 - 3x great : 3 - 5x excellent :
5x cac_payback_months : enterprise : <18 mid_market : <12 smb : <6 consumer : <3 gross_margin : saas_typical : 70 - 85% infrastructure : 50 - 70% services_heavy : 40 - 60% 4. Cohort Analysis cohort_analysis :
Define cohorts by signup month
cohort_definition : signup_month
Track retention over time
retention_matrix : columns : [ Month_0 , Month_1 , Month_2 , ... , Month_12 ] rows : [ Jan_cohort , Feb_cohort , Mar_cohort , ... ] values : active_customers / initial_customers × 100
Track revenue retention
revenue_cohort : values : current_mrr / initial_mrr × 100
Cohort LTV calculation
cohort_ltv : formula : sum(all_revenue_from_cohort) / initial_cohort_size Cohort Table Example : Retention by Cohort (% of customers still active) Month 0 Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 6 Month 12 Jan '25 100% 92% 87% 84% 78% 65% Feb '25 100% 94% 89% 86% 80% - Mar '25 100% 93% 88% 85% - - Apr '25 100% 95% 90% - - - May '25 100% 94% - - - - Jun '25 100% - - - - - Average 100% 94% 89% 85% 79% 65% Quick Ratio quick_ratio : formula : (new_mrr + expansion_mrr) / (contraction_mrr + churn_mrr) interpretation : "<1" : Shrinking (losing more than gaining) "1-2" : Sustainable growth "2-4" : Good growth efficiency ">4" : Excellent (hypergrowth potential) example : new_mrr : 15000 expansion_mrr : 8000 contraction_mrr : 3000 churn_mrr : 7000 quick_ratio : (15000 + 8000) / (3000 + 7000) = 2.3 Investor Reporting Template Monthly Metrics Dashboard
{Company} - Monthly Metrics Report
{Month Year}
Key Metrics Summary | Metric | Current | Previous | Change | Benchmark | |
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|
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| | ARR | $1.38M | $1.20M | +15% | - | | MRR | $115K | $100K | +15% | - | | Net New MRR | $15K | $12K | +25% | - | | NRR | 108% | 105% | +3pp |
100% ✅ | | Logo Churn | 3.2% | 3.5% | -0.3pp | <5% ✅ | | LTV:CAC | 2.7x | 2.5x | +0.2x | 3x ⚠️ | | CAC Payback | 12.5mo | 13mo | -0.5mo | <12mo ⚠️ |
MRR Waterfall Starting MRR: $100,000 New: +$15,000 (12 customers) Expansion: +$8,000 (25 upgrades) Reactivation: +$2,000 (5 returns) Contraction: -$3,000 (15 downgrades) Churn: -$7,000 (18 cancellations) ═════════════════════════════ Ending MRR: $115,000
Customer Metrics
| Segment | Customers | MRR | ARPU | Churn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | 45 | $45K | $1,000 | 1.5% |
| Mid-Market | 120 | $36K | $300 | 2.8% |
| SMB | 350 | $34K | $97 | 4.5% |
| Total | 515 | $115K | $223 | 3.2% |
| ### Runway & Burn | ||||
| - Cash Balance: $2.5M | ||||
| - Monthly Burn: $85K | ||||
| - Runway: 29 months | ||||
| - Revenue/Burn Ratio: 1.35x | ||||
| ### Goals vs Actuals | ||||
| Goal | Target | Actual | Status | |
| ------ | -------- | -------- | -------- | |
| New Customers | 15 | 12 | 🔴 80% | |
| Net New MRR | $12K | $15K | 🟢 125% | |
| NRR | 105% | 108% | 🟢 103% | |
| CAC Payback | 12mo | 12.5mo | 🟡 96% | |
| ### Next Month Outlook | ||||
| - Pipeline: $45K in qualified opportunities | ||||
| - Expected closes: 8-10 customers | ||||
| - Projected MRR: $125-130K | ||||
| - Key risks: Enterprise deal slip, holiday slowdown | ||||
| Forecasting Model | ||||
| Bottom-Up Revenue Forecast | ||||
| forecast_model | ||||
| : | ||||
| # Starting point | ||||
| base_mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| 115000 | ||||
| # Growth assumptions | ||||
| assumptions | ||||
| : | ||||
| new_customers_monthly | ||||
| : | ||||
| 15 | ||||
| avg_new_customer_mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| 1250 | ||||
| expansion_rate | ||||
| : | ||||
| 2% | ||||
| # of existing MRR | ||||
| contraction_rate | ||||
| : | ||||
| 0.5% | ||||
| logo_churn_rate | ||||
| : | ||||
| 3% | ||||
| # Monthly calculation | ||||
| monthly_forecast | ||||
| : | ||||
| new_mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| new_customers × avg_mrr | ||||
| expansion_mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| existing_mrr × expansion_rate | ||||
| contraction_mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| existing_mrr × contraction_rate | ||||
| churn_mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| existing_mrr × churn_rate | ||||
| ending_mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| starting_mrr | ||||
| + new_mrr | ||||
| + expansion_mrr | ||||
| - contraction_mrr | ||||
| - churn_mrr | ||||
| 12-Month Projection | ||||
| Month Starting New Expansion Churn Ending Growth | ||||
| Jan $115,000 $18,750 $2,300 $3,450 $132,600 15.3% | ||||
| Feb $132,600 $18,750 $2,652 $3,978 $150,024 13.1% | ||||
| Mar $150,024 $18,750 $3,000 $4,501 $167,274 11.5% | ||||
| ... | ||||
| Dec $285,000 $18,750 $5,700 $8,550 $300,900 5.6% | ||||
| Annual Summary: | ||||
| - Starting ARR: $1.38M | ||||
| - Ending ARR: $3.61M | ||||
| - Growth: 162% | ||||
| Segmentation Analysis | ||||
| segment_analysis | ||||
| : | ||||
| by_plan | ||||
| : | ||||
| - | ||||
| name | ||||
| : | ||||
| Starter | ||||
| mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| 20000 | ||||
| customers | ||||
| : | ||||
| 300 | ||||
| arpu | ||||
| : | ||||
| 67 | ||||
| churn | ||||
| : | ||||
| 6% | ||||
| - | ||||
| name | ||||
| : | ||||
| Professional | ||||
| mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| 45000 | ||||
| customers | ||||
| : | ||||
| 150 | ||||
| arpu | ||||
| : | ||||
| 300 | ||||
| churn | ||||
| : | ||||
| 3% | ||||
| - | ||||
| name | ||||
| : | ||||
| Enterprise | ||||
| mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| 50000 | ||||
| customers | ||||
| : | ||||
| 50 | ||||
| arpu | ||||
| : | ||||
| 1000 | ||||
| churn | ||||
| : | ||||
| 1.5% | ||||
| by_industry | ||||
| : | ||||
| - | ||||
| tech | ||||
| : | ||||
| { | ||||
| mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| 60000 | ||||
| , | ||||
| churn | ||||
| : | ||||
| 2.5% | ||||
| } | ||||
| - | ||||
| finance | ||||
| : | ||||
| { | ||||
| mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| 30000 | ||||
| , | ||||
| churn | ||||
| : | ||||
| 2% | ||||
| } | ||||
| - | ||||
| retail | ||||
| : | ||||
| { | ||||
| mrr | ||||
| : | ||||
| 25000 | ||||
| , | ||||
| churn | ||||
| : | ||||
| 5% | ||||
| } | ||||
| by_company_size | ||||
| : | ||||
| - | ||||
| 1-50 | ||||
| : | ||||
| { | ||||
| arpu | ||||
| : | ||||
| 100 | ||||
| , | ||||
| churn | ||||
| : | ||||
| 5% | ||||
| } | ||||
| - | ||||
| 51-200 | ||||
| : | ||||
| { | ||||
| arpu | ||||
| : | ||||
| 350 | ||||
| , | ||||
| churn | ||||
| : | ||||
| 3% | ||||
| } | ||||
| - | ||||
| 201+ | ||||
| : | ||||
| { | ||||
| arpu | ||||
| : | ||||
| 1200 | ||||
| , | ||||
| churn | ||||
| : | ||||
| 1.5% | ||||
| } | ||||
| Output Example | ||||
| Request | ||||
| : "Calculate SaaS metrics for my company" | ||||
| Output | ||||
| : | ||||
| # | ||||
| SaaS Metrics Analysis | ||||
| ## | ||||
| Executive Summary | ||||
| Your SaaS business is showing healthy growth with some areas for optimization. | ||||
| ### | ||||
| Strengths ✅ | ||||
| - | ||||
| Net Revenue Retention of 108% (above 100% benchmark) | ||||
| - | ||||
| Quick Ratio of 2.3x (good growth efficiency) | ||||
| - | ||||
| Enterprise segment showing 97% retention | ||||
| ### | ||||
| Areas to Improve ⚠️ | ||||
| - | ||||
| LTV:CAC ratio at 2.7x (target: >3x) | ||||
| - | ||||
| CAC payback at 12.5 months (target: <12 months) | ||||
| - | ||||
| SMB segment churn at 4.5% (target: <4%) | ||||
| ### | ||||
| Recommendations | ||||
| 1. | ||||
| ** | ||||
| Reduce CAC | ||||
| ** | ||||
| : Focus on lower-cost acquisition channels | ||||
| 2. | ||||
| ** | ||||
| Improve SMB retention | ||||
| ** | ||||
| : Add onboarding sequences | ||||
| 3. | ||||
| ** | ||||
| Expand enterprise | ||||
| ** | ||||
| : Higher ARPU, lower churn | ||||
| 4. | ||||
| ** | ||||
| Increase expansion revenue | ||||
| ** | ||||
| : Upsell/cross-sell programs | ||||
| ### | ||||
| Key Metrics at a Glance | ||||
| Metric | ||||
| Value | ||||
| Status | ||||
| -------- | ||||
| ------- | ||||
| -------- | ||||
| ARR | ||||
| $1.38M | ||||
| 📈 +15% MoM | ||||
| NRR | ||||
| 108% | ||||
| ✅ Healthy | ||||
| LTV:CAC | ||||
| 2.7x | ||||
| ⚠️ Improve | ||||
| Runway | ||||
| 29 months | ||||
| ✅ Safe | ||||
| SaaS Metrics Skill - Part of Claude Office Skills |