SaaS Metrics School

In episode #230, I’m talking CAC, the ubiquitous SaaS metrics. Seems so simple but there is a big assumption lurking in your spreadsheets that you can’t overlook. - Gross CAC - Unit Cost CAC - CAC feeds these metrics - The big assumption My SaaS metrics course begins September 17th. Click here to learn more!

In episode #229, I’m testing your knowledge of GTM SaaS metrics. I help a lot of SaaS companies and see a lot of situations. What do you think of this GTM profile? - ACV = $4K - Cost of ARR = $2.00 - CAC Payback = 20 months - What metric would also be helpful? - Take metrics into your operations Level up your SaaS metrics knowledge here!

In episode #228, I address invoicing. What software should I use? Based on a recent LinkedIn post (below), this is a hotly debated topic. The landscape might be shifting. - Should I invoice out of my CRM? - Should I invoice out of my Accounting software? - Should I use a point solution? - Who owns billings and collections? LinkedIn Post: the next hot space in CFO tech...Billing LinkedInPost: where...

In episode #227, I address billings and collections. An experienced SaaS colleague asked this question, and here are my strong thoughts on it. - Does your CRO own collections? - Does your CFO own collections? - This is how it should work If you need help with collections, check out my app at TryExtend.com.

In episode 226, I address churn and retention rates. What is good? What is bad? and how do we source these benchmarks? - What is a good customer retention or churn rate? - What metric do we use? - How to correctly benchmark your churn Grab your customer benchmarks at: Benchmarkit.ai Join my SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout

In episode #225, I address churn and retention rates. What is good? What is bad? And how we source these benchmarks. - What is a good customer churn rate? - How to correctly benchmark your churn Grab your customer benchmarks at: Benchmarkit.ai Join my SaaS community here:  https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout

In episode #224, I address a common problem in SaaS companies. Finance data. I see this over and over. You not only need this data to properly scale your business, but you also need for a fundraise or exit. - HRIS - Financial - Bookings - Customer / revenue To learn more:  https://www.thesaascfo.com/the-4-key-saas-finance-data-sources/ Join my September cohort for more support:  https://...

In episode #223, I address a metric that I rarely see tracked. It’s called Renewal Rate. If you sell annual or multi-year customer contracts, this is a must-have metric. - What is renewal rate? - Renewal rate inputs - Why it’s leading edge? Join Ben's SaaS community:  https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout

In episode #222, I address churn, retention, and LTV. Like any metric, LTV can be made very subjective if we use the wrong inputs. We must the correct churn rate and gross margin percentage. - LTV components - What churn do I use? - What is I have a SaaS+ model? Join my SaaS community here for events, templates, and training.

In episode #221, I address expense coding for tradeshows. This is a great question from a SaaS Metrics School podcast listener. - What departments are in COGS? - COGS vs. OpEx - Fully-burdened cost centers

In episode #220, I address expense coding for tradeshows. This is a great question from a SaaS Metrics School podcast listener. - Scenario: we attend tradeshows for lead gen. Multiple staff attend the tradeshow. - Where do we code tradeshow expenses? - Where do we code staff expenses who attend the tradeshow? - Where do we code everyone else?

In episode #219, I address preparing for an exit. You must prepare ahead of time for an exit. I hosted guest expert Omeed Tabiei, an attorney for SaaS companies. His tactics were golden. They must be followed so you don’t have a failed exit. - Have strong vendor contracts - Identify potential legal risks - Learn how to navigate complex deals Grab the replay and slides here: https://www.thesaasacad...

In episode #218, I address preparing for an exit. You must prepare ahead of time for an exit. I hosted guest expert Omeed Tabiei, an attorney for SaaS companies. His tactics were golden. They must be followed so you don’t have a failed exit. - Manage your IP - Keep your corporate governance clean - Have strong customer contracts Grab the replay and slides here:  https://www.thesaasacademy.com...

In episode #217, I address preparing for an exit. You must prepare ahead of time for an exit. I hosted guest expert Omeed Tabiei, an attorney for SaaS companies. His tactics were golden. They must be followed so you don’t have a failed exit. - The right deal structure - Manage your equity - Manage your employees Grab the replay and slides here:  https://www.thesaasacademy.com/pl/2148384654 Om...

In episode #216, I address poor accounting data. This is SO common in early-stage SaaS, even later stage. But it can easily be avoided. - The pillars of your accounting foundation - Revenue categories - Department structure - COGS vs. OpEx - Non-operating - Client example Sample chart of accounts:  https://www.thesaascfo.com/sample-chart-of-accounts-saas/

In episode #215, I address bookings data from our CRM. This is one of the four key finance data sources. And one that we get wrong. - What is a booking? - How do we use bookings data? - What are the key fields that I need to capture? - Tips Grab my bookings template here:  https://www.thesaascfo.com/the-saas-bookings-report/

In episode #214, I address cash flow. Plain and simple. Don’t collect on your open invoices and you’ll soon be out of business. - What is AR? - What is AR aging? - My plan of attack to collect on invoices Check out TryExtend.com to automate your cash collections. Better yet, set up a quick demo call with here:  https://book.thesaascfo.com/tryextend  if you use QBO or Xero.

In episode #213, I address a student question from my SaaS metrics community. As a CFO, this question is near and dear to my finance heart. - What is considered late? - Does invoice size amount matter? - My maximum late grace period - Automating your cash collections Put your cash collections on autopilot at TryExtend.com

In episode #212, I address Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue (CARR). This can get really tricky when everyone is defining ARR differently. And CARR is often used in SaaS valuation discussions. - What is CARR? - SaaS valuations - Not created equally - Attach retention to CARR CARR blog post:  https://www.thesaascfo.com/committed-monthly-recurring-revenue/

In episode #211, I address your accounting foundation. Like it or not, accounting data is so important and feeds the SaaS finance process. - SaaS accounting foundation - SaaSify your chart of accounts - Clean close process Close checklist: https://www.thesaascfo.com/downloads/monthly-close-calendar/

In episode #210, I address the parent-child relationship—and I’m not talking about the relationship with your teenager. If not done right, it can wreak havoc on your financial analysis and metrics. - What is the parent-child relationship? - Tracking retention at each level - Create a cross-walk

In episode #209, I address fundraising tips and tricks. This tip is one that is always mentioned when I interview SaaS founders about their fundraising experience. - What is founder / investor fit - Vet your investors - Be courteous

In episode #208, I address social media posts that attack LTV to CAC. Don’t believe the blanket statements that you read about SaaS metrics. - What is LTV to CAC? - When does Ben use LTV to CAC? CAC Class:  https://www.thesaasacademy.com/pl/2148384654

In episode #207, I address retention in a multi-year contract environment. Should we use only classic retention analysis? - The 3 retention metrics - When to apply the renewal rate? - What is renewal rate?

In episode #206, I address a non-financial metric that I love. That is NPS or CSAT. But you see a lot of folks who would rather pass on NPS. - Any feedback is good feedback - NPS - Try my NPS tool Join my SaaS community: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout