Subchapter 171.1

Universal And Saas Metrics

references/universal-and-saas-metrics.mdMarkdown4 KBView on GitHub

Universal Startup Metrics

Revenue Metrics

Workflow Orchestration Patterns

Nx Workspace Patterns

SQL Optimization Patterns

Turborepo Caching

Trace To Training Data

Vision Sft

Packaging

Performance Optimization

Web Component Design

MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)

MRR = Σ (Active Subscriptions × Monthly Price)

ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue)

ARR = MRR × 12

Growth Rate

MoM Growth = (This Month MRR - Last Month MRR) / Last Month MRR
YoY Growth = (This Year ARR - Last Year ARR) / Last Year ARR

Target Benchmarks:

Seed stage: 15-20% MoM growth
Series A: 10-15% MoM growth, 3-5x ARR year over year (200-400% YoY growth)
Series B+: 100%+ YoY growth

Unit Economics

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

CAC = Total S&M Spend / New Customers Acquired

Include: Sales salaries, marketing spend, tools, overhead

LTV (Lifetime Value)

LTV = ARPU × Gross Margin% × (1 / Churn Rate)

Simplified:

LTV = ARPU × Average Customer Lifetime × Gross Margin%

LTV:CAC Ratio

LTV:CAC = LTV / CAC

Benchmarks:

LTV:CAC > 3.0 = Healthy
LTV:CAC 1.0-3.0 = Needs improvement
LTV:CAC < 1.0 = Unsustainable

CAC Payback Period

CAC Payback = CAC / (ARPU × Gross Margin%)

Benchmarks:

< 12 months = Excellent
12-18 months = Good
18-24 months = Needs attention
24 months = Concerning

Cash Efficiency Metrics

Burn Rate

Monthly Net Burn = Monthly Expenses - Monthly Revenue

Positive net burn means the business is losing cash (typical early-stage).

Runway

Runway (months) = Cash Balance / Positive Monthly Net Burn

Target: Always maintain 12-18 months runway

When net burn is zero or negative, this formula has no finite burn-based runway; report break-even or cash generation instead of dividing by zero or reporting negative months.

Burn Multiple

Quarterly Burn Multiple = Total Net Burn During Quarter / Net New ARR Added During Quarter

Sum the three monthly net-burn amounts for the numerator. The denominator is the change in annual recurring revenue over that same quarter (ending ARR minus starting ARR); do not substitute monthly revenue or annualize the quarterly burn again. Report the ratio only when net new ARR is positive. See Craft Ventures’ quarterly example (opens in a new tab).

Benchmarks:

< 1.0 = Exceptional efficiency
1.0-1.5 = Good
1.5-2.0 = Acceptable
2.0 = Inefficient

Lower is better (spending less to generate ARR)

SaaS Metrics

Revenue Composition

New MRR New customers × ARPU

Expansion MRR Upsells and cross-sells from existing customers

Contraction MRR Downgrades from existing customers

Churned MRR Lost customers

Net New MRR Formula:

Net New MRR = New MRR + Expansion MRR - Contraction MRR - Churned MRR

Retention Metrics

Logo Retention

Logo Retention = (Customers End - New Customers) / Customers Start

Dollar Retention (NDR - Net Dollar Retention)

NDR = (ARR Start + Expansion - Contraction - Churn) / ARR Start

Benchmarks:

NDR > 120% = Best-in-class
NDR 100-120% = Good
NDR < 100% = Needs work

Gross Retention

Gross Retention = (ARR Start - Churn - Contraction) / ARR Start

Benchmarks:

90% = Excellent
85-90% = Good
< 85% = Concerning

SaaS-Specific Metrics

Magic Number

Magic Number = Net New ARR (quarter) / S&M Spend (prior quarter)

Benchmarks:

0.75 = Efficient, ready to scale
0.5-0.75 = Moderate efficiency
< 0.5 = Inefficient, don’t scale yet

Rule of 40

Rule of 40 = Revenue Growth Rate% + Profit Margin%

Benchmarks:

40% = Excellent
20-40% = Acceptable
< 20% = Needs improvement

Example: 50% growth + (10%) margin = 40% ✓

Quick Ratio

Quick Ratio = (New MRR + Expansion MRR) / (Churned MRR + Contraction MRR)

If Churned MRR + Contraction MRR is zero, report N/A (no losses), including when the numerator is also zero. Do not apply the numeric benchmarks to that period; report new and expansion MRR separately.

Benchmarks:

4.0 = Healthy growth
2.0-4.0 = Moderate
< 2.0 = Churn problem

Raw file

wshobson/agents