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PODCAST

SaaS Metrics School

Ben Murray brings you actionable SaaS metrics lessons that he has learned through years of being in the SaaS CFO trenches. Whether you are new to SaaS or a SaaS veteran, learn the latest SaaS and AI metrics, finance, and accounting tactics that drive financial transparency and improved decision-making. Ben’s SaaS metrics blog consistently rates a 70+ NPS, and his templates have been downloaded over 100,000 times. There is always something to learn about SaaS and AI metrics.

business management

All Episodes

4:56

The Dirty Secrets Behind SaaS Gross Margins

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/11/11

Your gross margin might not be telling the truth. In episode #327, Ben Murray exposes the seven “dirty secrets” that distort SaaS gross margins — from incorrect COGS coding to missing allocations for shared resources and misclassified expenses. Whether you’re a CFO, finance lead, or operator, you’ll learn how to clean up your P&L and get accurate unit economics that reflect your true performance and valuation. What You’ll Learn The 7 big offenders that make SaaS gross margins

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5:04

Legal Readiness Can Make or Break Your SaaS Exit

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/11/08

Thinking about raising capital or selling your SaaS company? Your legal readiness can make or break the deal.In episode #326, Ben Murray breaks down what investors and acquirers look for during due diligence — and why preparing your cap table, contracts, IP, and financial systems at least six months in advance is essential to protect your company's valuation and ensure a smooth process. What You’ll Learn Cap Table Management: Why tracking every issued share, option, and agreement matters —

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2:55

Are SaaS Metrics Really Dead?

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/11/04

“SaaS metrics are dead.” You’ve probably seen that post on LinkedIn or X lately. In episode #325, Ben Murray cuts through the noise to explain why SaaS metrics aren’t broken — they’re just evolving to match modern recurring revenue business models. Whether you’re running a SaaS, AI, software, or managed services company, the same financial principles apply. The key is understanding your revenue types — subscription, usage, consumption, or transaction — and applying the right metrics

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4:25

Your Implementation Team Could Be Killing Your Gross...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/11/01

Your implementation and professional services teams could be quietly eroding your gross profit margin — and most SaaS leaders don’t even realize it.In episode #324, Ben Murray explains how unclear COGS structure, mispriced services, and untracked internal resources can distort your unit economics and lower your overall SaaS valuation. If your service margins are negative or your gross profit doesn’t match expectations, this episode shows you exactly where to look — and how to fix it. What

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5:43

Should Your Implementation Team Be Coded to COGS or...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/10/30

Where do professional services belong on a SaaS P&L—COGS or OPEX? In episode #323, Ben clarifies how to code implementation, onboarding, custom integrations, and the tricky custom development work that sometimes blurs the line with R&D. You’ll learn how correct classification protects gross profit, keeps investor metrics credible, and supports a higher company valuation. - What You’ll Learn What counts as Professional Services When custom dev is OPEX (R&D) vs. COGS How to

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6:28

Essential SaaS Metrics for a Series A Raise

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/10/28

Raising a Series A? Your story matters—but your SaaS metrics may close the deal. In episode #322, Ben outlines the investor-ready metrics founders must prepare. You’ll learn what each metric signals to investors, how it ties to valuation, and where founders slip on accounting and financial systems. Why It Matters (Investor Lens) Investor metrics translate your story and traction into company valuation (multiples tied to growth + retention quality). Clean financial modeling depends on

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5:10

Is LTV Flawed with Multi-year Contracts?

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/10/21

Is the traditional LTV formula giving you misleading results when you have multi-year SaaS contracts?In episode #321, Ben Murray unpacks a listener’s question about how Lifetime Value (LTV) should be calculated when customers sign multi-year agreements. Using real-world finance and accounting logic, he breaks down how multi-year contracts can inflate your aggregate revenue retention (GRR) and distort LTV:CAC ratios — and how to fix it. You’ll learn when to adjust your LTV calculation to

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3:47

Aggregate Metrics Are Dangerous to Your SaaS Health

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/10/14

At what stage should SaaS companies start segmenting their metrics? In episode #320, Ben Murray breaks down when and how to segment your SaaS metrics — from revenue segmentation to go-to-market efficiency metrics — so your data actually reflects how your business operates.Ben explains how segmentation becomes essential as you scale past $10M ARR or diversify product lines (for example, enterprise vs. SMB or PLG vs. sales-led models). He also shares how finance and ops teams can collaborate

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3:44

How Does Net Revenue Retention Impact Your Valuation?

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/10/12

Does Net Revenue Retention (NRR) really move your company’s valuation multiple? Absolutely — and the difference can be worth tens of millions of dollars.In episode #319, Ben Murray breaks down new data from Meritech Capital and Benchmarkit.ai to show exactly how changes in your NRR directly impact your revenue multiple and SaaS valuation. You’ll also learn why ACV segmentation matters when benchmarking NRR and Gross Revenue Retention (GRR), and how top-performing SaaS companies are using

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5:01

Gaps in Your MRR Schedule Wreak Havoc on Retention

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/10/09

Even small errors in your MRR schedule can have a massive impact on your retention metrics, and in due diligence, that can destroy investor confidence. In episode #318, Ben Murray explains why gaps in your monthly recurring revenue (MRR) schedule create inaccurate gross revenue retention (GRR) and net revenue retention (NRR) results — and how poor invoicing and renewal practices are often the root cause. You’ll learn how to identify, fix, and prevent these gaps so your SaaS financial

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4:18

Great SaaS FP&A Requires These 4 Data Sources

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/10/07

To build a world-class FP&A process in a SaaS or AI business, you need more than great dashboards—you need clean, reliable data from the right sources. In episode #317, Ben Murray shares the four foundational SaaS finance data sources that power accurate forecasts, meaningful metrics, and board-ready financial models. Drawing on his experience in FP&A across airlines and software, Ben explains how to integrate data from accounting, CRM, subscription management, and HR systems to

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2:59

Renewal Rate vs. Retention: What SaaS Leaders Must Know

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/10/03

Is renewal rate just another way of saying retention? Not exactly. In episode #316, Ben Murray breaks down the difference between renewal rate and the classic retention metrics—gross revenue retention (GRR), net revenue retention (NRR), and customer/logo retention.Ben explains why the renewal rate is the leading indicator of retention, especially when running annual or multi-year contracts, and why investors, private equity buyers, and your board will want to see this number alongside your

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4:42

Defining AI ARR to Your Board and Investors

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/09/21

Every Board, investor, and potential acquirer is asking the same question: How are AI initiatives driving revenue? In episode #315, Ben Murray shares insights from his research into public tech companies and how they’re defining and disclosing AI ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue).Using Verint as a case study, Ben explains how companies are leveraging AI-driven ARR, tying it to measurable outcomes, and communicating adoption in a way that resonates with both Wall Street and buyers. You’ll also

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4:36

Top Financial Metrics Tracked by Usage-based Companies

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/09/18

Many usage-based companies like Twilio don’t disclose ARR as their North Star metric. So, what do they track instead to communicate growth and efficiency to investors? In episode #314, Ben Murray shares his research from 10-Q filings, press releases, and earnings calls to uncover the seven most common financial metrics that usage-based companies highlight. From revenue growth and gross margin improvements to AI adoption and RPO (Remaining Performance Obligations), you’ll learn what matters

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4:39

5 Metrics Every SaaS Leader Must Master

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/09/16

There are hundreds of SaaS metrics, but which ones truly matter for SaaS leaders who want to scale, raise capital, and maximize company valuation? In episode #313, Ben Murray breaks down the five essential metrics every SaaS executive must understand — whether you’re a founder, CFO, or operator. From bookings to retention, gross profit, OpEx, and the ROSE efficiency metric, you’ll learn how to read your SaaS P&L like atop operator, and why these metrics are critical to driving durable

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3:53

Oracle Stock Jumps Over 30% Based On This One Metric

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/09/11

Oracle’s stock recently jumped 37% — and the driver wasn’t just revenue growth or earnings per share. The market reacted to one SaaS metric: RPO (Remaining Performance Obligations), which surged 359% year-over-year.In episode #312, Ben Murray explains the RPO metric, how it’s calculated, and why investors are paying close attention to it. From Oracle’s $455B backlog to Snowflake’s disclosure practices, you’ll learn why this metric is becoming more important for both public and private SaaS

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4:48

SaaS COGS Explained: Get Gross Profit Right

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/09/07

Your SaaS COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) is one of the most important foundations in your SaaS P&L — and getting it wrong can distort your gross profit margins, forecasts, SaaS metrics, investor metrics, and ultimately your valuation. In this episode, Ben Murray breaks down exactly what belongs in SaaS COGS, how to handle multi-hat employees, and why clean financial reporting is critical for scaling.If you’re a SaaS founder, CFO, or operator,episode #311 will help you properly structure

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5:42

Understanding the SaaS Magic Number — Benchmarks,...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/09/03

The SaaS Magic Number is one of the most Googled SaaS metric posts — but it’s also one of the most misunderstood. In episode #310, Ben Murray explains what the SaaS Magic Number really measures, why investors care about it, and the benchmarks you should use to evaluate your own business model. From the formula (revenue growth vs. sales & marketing spend) to the nuances (why churn and expansion impact the metric), Ben shows SaaS operators how to avoid common pitfalls. You’ll also hear

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5:31

7 Metrics a Strategic Acquirer Wants to See in Your...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/08/28

When a strategic acquirer or private equity firm comes knocking, they’ll ask for more than your headline ARR number. In episode #309, Ben Murray shares the seven critical numbers that buyers want to see before moving forward with a deal. These SaaS metrics and investor metrics are not only central to due diligence but also directly impact your company's valuation.From ARR and contracted ARR to retention and RevRec policies, you’ll learn what to prepare now so you’re ready for the call —

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2:27

Customer Concentration Risk Will Kill Your Fundraise...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/08/23

When preparing for fundraising or an exit to private equity, one overlooked metric can derail your deal: customer concentration risk. In episode #308, Ben Murray explains what customer concentration is, why it matters to investors, and how it can directly impact your SaaS valuation.If too much of your revenue comes from just one or two customers, that risk may scare off private equity buyers or lower your valuation. Ben breaks down how to measure concentration, when it becomes a problem,

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367 results

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