SaaS Metrics School

In episode #355, Ben breaks down the top invoicing solutions used by SaaS and AI companies based on his 7th Annual Tech Stack Survey. With 57 different invoicing solutions named in the survey, this category shows far more fragmentation than core accounting. The top five solutions account for 55% of reported usage, but there’s still a long tail of specialized billing and revenue management platform...

In episode #354, Ben shares the results from his 7th Annual SaaS Tech Stack Survey and reveals the top accounting solutions used by software, SaaS, and AI companies today. With participation across 22 software categories, this year’s survey highlights both the consistent market leaders and the rise of newer, AI-first ERP platforms. While legacy players continue to dominate, new entrants are gainin...

Calculating SaaS metrics sounds straightforward—until you actually try to do it. In episode #353, Ben Murray breaks down why SaaS metrics are so difficult to calculate at scale, why spreadsheets eventually break, and what it really takes to produce CFO-grade metrics that stand up in the Boardroom and in due diligence. Drawing on insights from the 7th Annual SaaS Tech Stack Survey, Ben explains why...

In episode #352 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben explains why SaaS and AI founders need to get control of their Stripe data early — before transaction volume and product complexity make it unmanageable. Drawing on years of fractional CFO experience, he explains how messy Stripe data can undermine revenue accuracy, MRR schedules, retention metrics, and due diligence readiness if the data flow isn’t clea...

In episode #351 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben breaks down one of the most misunderstood areas of SaaS finance: the difference between bookings, invoices, and revenue. Using the SaaS revenue cycle as a framework, he explains how a signed contract flows through invoicing, revenue recognition, and ultimately cash collection — and why confusing these concepts leads to bad metrics, poor forecasting, and...

Justifying investment in customer success is far harder than justifying spend in sales and marketing. In episode #350, Ben walks through a practical framework for evaluating the ROI of customer success and retention programs by tying customer success investment directly to ARR, MRR, and revenue retention performance. Instead of relying on vague qualitative benefits, this episode outlines how finan...

Many SaaS teams try to use their CRM to report ARR and MRR, but this creates serious risks—especially in forecasting, retention analysis, and due diligence. In episode #349, Ben explains why your CRM is rarely the correct source of truth for recurring revenue and where ARR should actually come from to ensure financial accuracy and credibility with investors and acquirers. Resources Mentioned...

In episode #348 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray responds to a thoughtful LinkedIn comment that challenged a common assumption: that a well-structured SaaS P&L tells the whole story. While a properly built chart of accounts and SaaS P&L are foundational, Ben explains where hidden risks can still exist beneath clean financial statements. Using real-world examples from SaaS founders and fi...

In episode #347 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray explores the lesser-discussed nuances behind ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) disclosures. Building on the prior two episodes on ARR definitions and common disclosure mistakes, this discussion dives into the assumptions and gray areas that often underlie headline ARR numbers. Drawing on extensive research across public tech company filings, Ben expl...

In episode #346 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray breaks down the most common mistakes SaaS and AI companies make when disclosing their ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue). Building on the prior episode about the five questions every ARR definition must answer, this discussion focuses on where ARR disclosures go wrong—and why unclear definitions can damage credibility with investors, boards, and acqui...

Defining ARR is getting harder—not easier—as SaaS, AI, usage-based pricing, and hybrid business models evolve. In episode #345 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray breaks down the five critical questions every ARR definition must answer to hold up with Boards, investors, and during due diligence. Drawing on extensive research into how public tech companies disclose ARR in press releases and SEC fili...

In episode #344 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray shares insights from his research into how public tech companies define and disclose ARR in press releases and SEC filings. By analyzing U.S. and global public companies, Ben identifies common ARR “buckets” and explains how different revenue models influence what gets included in ARR. Rather than debating whether ARR is “dead,” this episode focuse...

In episode #343 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray demystifies SaaS revenue by breaking down the core revenue types that software, SaaS, and AI companies should be modeling on their P&L. Rather than focusing on labels, Ben explains why pricing models and revenue streams are the real drivers of financial clarity. He walks through the most common revenue categories—subscriptions, variable usage-...

In episode #342 of SaaS Metric School, Ben breaks down the Cost of ARR metric and explains why it’s one of the most practical and revealing go-to-market efficiency metrics for 2026 planning. He covers where the metric originated, how to calculate it correctly, and how to use it to sanity-check forecasts and budgets. Ben walks through the three variations of Cost of ARR (blended, new, and expansion...

In episode #341 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray explains why revenue per FTE is a misleading metric for modern SaaS and AI companies and introduces the ROSE metric (Return on SaaS Employees) as a more accurate way to measure durable scaling. Ben walks through how ROSE removes labor-cost bias, incorporates contractors and Agentic AI spend, and directly connects people investment to recurring rev...

In episode #340 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben breaks down what rising CFO confidence—now at a four-year high—means for SaaS and AI operators planning for the year ahead. Using insights from Deloitte’s latest CFO survey, Ben explains why optimism alone isn’t enough and why companies must pair confidence with strong financial systems, accurate forecasting, and reliable metrics. The conversation center...

In episode #339 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben explains how change of control provisions in customer contracts can quietly derail due diligence, fundraising, or a future company exit. Drawing from real-world CFO experience and a recent webinar with a SaaS-focused tech attorney, Ben breaks down why seemingly standard legal language can introduce major risk into a SaaS company’s recurring revenue profi...

In episode #338 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben explains how to quickly sanity-check your sales and marketing forecast for the upcoming year using one high-signal SaaS metric: the Cost of ARR. As founders and CFOs finalize budgets, Ben shows how mismatches between projected bookings and planned go-to-market spend can reveal unrealistic assumptions before they turn into missed targets. Using simple exa...

In episode #337 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben breaks down why software revenue categorization is a foundational requirement for strong finance, accounting, and SaaS metrics. He explains the core revenue types every SaaS, AI, or software company should separate on their P&L—and why commingling revenue creates downstream issues in MRR tracking, retention metrics, forecasting, and company valuation...

In episode #336, Ben Murray breaks down his top three go-to-market efficiency metrics that every SaaS and AI operator should master. He explains when each metric becomes meaningful, how they differ across go-to-market motions, why ACV-based benchmarking matters, and how these metrics become forward-looking tools through forecasting. Ben also highlights the importance of having fully burdened sales...

In episode #335, Ben answers a common operator question: Should Customer Success be included in the cost of customer acquisition (CAC)? He explains how Customer Success should be coded based on responsibilities, when it belongs in COGS vs. Sales, and when CS expenses should be included in expansion efficiency metrics. What You’ll Learn Why CAC applies only to acquiring new customers. How Customer...

In episode #334, Ben Murray breaks down how leading public SaaS and tech companies are reporting AI-driven value creation across their earnings calls. After analyzing more than 130 public tech earnings transcripts, Ben identifies five consistent themes in how incumbents communicate AI monetization, margin impact, revenue growth, and operational transformation to Wall Street. These insights are cri...

In episode #333, Ben answers a foundational SaaS metrics question: Should expansion revenue be included in your Lifetime Value (LTV) calculation? Ben walks through the correct LTV formula and highlights how misalignment between LTV and CAC can distort your LTV:CAC ratio. He also covers when expansion should be included. The episode provides a practical framework for SaaS founders, CFOs, and operat...

In episode #332, Ben Murray explains why AI companies with high inference costs and lower gross profit margins must scale dramatically faster—up to 6x larger—to match the financial performance of a comparable SaaS business. Using simple financial modeling and the core principles of SaaS economics, Ben breaks down how AI margins, variable COGS, and TAM expansion interact to shape the financial traj...

In episode #331, Ben breaks down the true financial and economic differences between a SaaS company and an AI company. Inspired by a tweet claiming that “SaaS metrics are broken” and that AI companies generate more absolute profit per customer, Ben puts the theory to the test using real financial modeling. This episode walks through detailed revenue, gross margin, EBITDA, pricing power, TAM dynami...