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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

3:18

What Gross Margin Should I Use in CAC Payback Period

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/08/20

The CAC payback period is one of the most important SaaS metrics — and a top investor metric used in boardrooms, fundraising, and valuation discussions. But here’s the nuance: which gross profit should you use when calculating it?In episode #307, Ben Murray explains why CAC payback must be gross margin adjusted and why using your company’s total blended gross margin is a mistake. Instead, you’ll learn how to align ARR, MRR, and revenue streams with their specific gross profit to get an

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2:36

Are AI Companies Out Funding Pure-Play SaaS?

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/08/14

Is the AI funding boom overshadowing traditional SaaS? In episode #306, Ben Murray shares fresh fundraising data from over 8,000 tracked funding events to see how AI-native companies compare to pure-play SaaS in investor activity.Analyzing the first week of August, Ben breaks down the percentage of companies that are AI-first and how many SaaS products now include AI features or LLM integrations. If you’re a SaaS operator, founder, or investor, this is a quick pulse check on where capital

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4:42

Top SaaS Metrics When Scaling to $1M ARR

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/08/12

What SaaS metrics and financial metrics really matter when you’re scaling toward your first $1 million in ARR? In episode #305, Ben Murray breaks down the essential numbers to track using his Five Pillar SaaS Metrics Framework. From building a strong accounting foundation to tracking investor metrics like retention, bookings, and gross profit, this episode gives you the tools to set your business model up for scale and eventual company valuation growth.Whether you’re a founder, CFO, or

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4:44

The Top 3 SaaS Metrics That Drive Your SaaS Valuation

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/08/08

What SaaS metrics actually move the needle on your company valuation? In episode #304, Ben Murray shares his “Power 3” SaaS metrics — the three investor metrics that consistently signal scalable growth and increase SaaS valuations. While many articles list “top metrics” without context, these three have proven to be the most impactful in boardrooms, investor meetings, and due diligence. If you want to attract investors, strengthen your business model, and maximize your valuation, start by

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3:32

How to Code Executive Expenses in Your SaaS P&L for...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/08/05

Accurate expense coding is critical to building a clean SaaS P&L that drives investor confidence, valuation discussions, and clarity in internal metrics. In episode #303, Ben Murray explains exactly where SaaS operators should code executive-level expenses (CMO, CRO, VP of Services, CFO, etc.) and why coding accuracy is a non-negotiable for both SaaS metrics and investor metrics. Ben also highlights the common mistake of letting G&A become a dumping ground, which can distort key

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2:58

How to Align ARR Growth with Sales & Marketing Spend

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/07/30

You’ve added new ARR—but are you spending too much to get it? In episode #302, Ben Murray walks through two practical ways to align your ARR growth with your sales and marketing spend. If you're unsure whether you're underinvesting, overspending, or just inefficient, this episode will help you benchmark your GTM motion using real data and operator-friendly metrics. What You’ll Learn Two ways to triangulate S&M spend relative to ARR OpEx profile: Sales & Marketing spend as a % of

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3:41

Is Revenue Recognition Messing Up Your Retention...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/07/29

Does your retention data feel off—or even meaningless—because of catch-up invoices, credit notes, or daily revenue recognition? In episode #301, Ben Murray explains how proper revenue recognition practices can sometimes interfere with clear retention reporting and what SaaS operators can do about it.Learn how to build a pro forma MRR schedule that strips out accounting noise and gives you clean, consistent retention metrics you can actually rely on. What You’ll Learn Why revenue

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3:15

RPO Explained: The Overlooked SaaS Metric That...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/07/23

RPO—Remaining Performance Obligations—might not be a term you hear often in private SaaS, but public companies are required to disclose it, and it’s becoming a critical forward-looking metric. In episode #300, Ben Murray breaks down the RPO concept, how it's calculated, and why it matters in understanding your future revenue.Whether you’re preparing for due diligence or just want a stronger grip on your revenue story, understanding RPO can give you an edge. What You’ll Learn What

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4:22

How SaaS Companies Turn Usage Revenue into ARR

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/07/18

How do usage-based SaaS companies convert transactional or variable revenue into Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)? Episode #299 gives you a practical framework for presenting usage-based ARR to your Board, investors, and internal teams with clarity and confidence.After manually reviewing hundreds of public filings and investor materials, Ben Murray breaks down the real-world methods used by companies like Confluent and Datadog to turn usage into ARR. What You’ll Learn The most common

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4:23

Want a Private Equity Exit? Start Tracking This Metric

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/07/16

In episode #298 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray dives deep into one of his favorite metrics: ROSE – Return on SaaS Employees. If you’re aiming to build a durable SaaS business or position your company for a private equity exit, this episode is a must-listen.Ben explains why ROSE is far more insightful than traditional Revenue per FTE and how it helps evaluate organizational efficiency by factoring in the actual investment made in your people—including fully burdened employee and

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2:32

How to Handle Reactivation MRR in GRR vs NRR

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/07/12

In episode #297, Ben Murray tackles a common SaaS metrics question: How should reactivations be treated when calculating gross and net revenue retention (GRR & NRR)?Key takeaways: Reactivated customers (e.g., those who churned quickly but later update payment info) should not be included in new revenue — doing so skews CAC and CAC payback metrics. Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) only accounts for contraction and churn — reactivations don’t belong here. Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

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4:28

This Public Company Restated Its Headline ARR Number

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/07/10

Have you ever seen a public company restate its ARR? In episode #296, Ben Murray dives into a real-world example from the London Stock Exchange—Celebrus Technologies—and unpacks why and how they updated their Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) definition.Key Highlights: Financial restatements ≠ just GAAP: ARR, a non-GAAP metric, is increasingly being scrutinized as pricing and revenue models evolve. Case Study: Celebrus Technologies Old ARR definition: Included license revenue, cloud,

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4:32

Benchmarking Your CAC Payback: How Do You Compare to...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/07/07

In episode #295 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray breaks down how to benchmark your CAC Payback Period accurately—and why generic social media posts can lead you astray.Too many founders rely on simplified benchmark numbers, such as “12 months or less is good,” without understanding the nuances behind the data. Ben explains why ACV segmentation is critical, how top-quartile companies perform across different contract sizes, and where you can obtaincustomized benchmarks for your SaaS

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4:25

Adapting CAC Payback Period for Usage-Based SaaS Models

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/07/05

In episode #294 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray dives into one of the most important metrics for SaaS operators and investors: CAC Payback Period—with a focus on adapting it for usage-based pricing models.Whether you’re B2B, B2C, or AI-focused, CAC Payback is a must-have metric when you're investing heavily in go-to-market strategies. But how do you accurately calculate it when your business has subscription + usage revenue? Ben walks through: The standard CAC Payback formula and why

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4:22

CARR Is the New ARR? A SaaS Operator's Guide to This...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/07/02

In episode #293, Ben dives into Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue (CARR)—a once obscure metric that's now becoming a standard in financial dashboards and valuation discussions. Ben explains how CARR differs from ARR, breaks down the formula, and shares how it’s being used in real-world enterprise SaaS settings. He also shares why defining ARR is more complicated than it seems—especially with variable and usage-based revenue models.Key Topics Covered What is CARR (Contracted ARR) and

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3:23

Should You Target 80% Gross Profit in SaaS? Let’s...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/06/27

Gross profit is a core metric in SaaS—and 80% is the benchmark often thrown around. But is that still realistic in today’s landscape? In episode #292 of SaaS Metric School, Ben Murray walks through real benchmarking data from Ray Rike’s benchmarks at Benchmarkit.ai and explains how gross profit should evolve as your business scales. He also dives into how to set up your SaaS P&L correctly and what to include in COGS vs. OpEx.What You’ll Learn: What gross profit benchmarks actually

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4:24

How Much Should You Invest in Sales and Marketing...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/06/26

In episode #291 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray breaks down one of the most important—and often debated—questions in SaaS finance:💰 How much should we invest in sales and marketing this year? Ben explores how to frame your sales and marketing spend using two key concepts: Sales & Marketing as a % of Revenue (OpEx Profile) Cost of ARR (Net New Annual Recurring Revenue Cost) You'll hear current SaaS benchmarks from Ray Rike’s latest data set, which shows how spending evolves

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2:37

61% R&D Spend?! What SaaS Benchmarks Reveal by...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/06/21

How much R&D spend is too much—or not enough? In episode #290 of SaaS Metric School, Ben Murray breaks down R&D spend benchmarks by company revenue size, based on data from Ray Rike’s Benchmarkit.ai. Whether you’re a founder, CFO, CTO, or finance leader, understanding how your R&D investment compares is crucial for building operational leverage and scaling sustainably.What You’ll Learn: Why R&D spend can feel like a black box—especially for CFOs Top vs. lean R&D

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5:16

What Top SaaS Performers Spend to Acquire a Dollar of...

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/06/19

In episode #289, Ben dives into one of his favorite SaaS metrics: Cost of ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue), also known as the SaaS CAC Ratio. This powerful go-to-market metric helps operators and investors evaluate how efficiently a company acquires recurring revenue. Ben breaks down how to calculate it, segment it, and benchmark it using the latest data from Ray Rike at Benchmarkit.ai.What You’ll Learn: What is Cost of ARR and why it matters for SaaS operators and investors The formula How

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5:08

Don't Make this LTV Mistake

SaaS Metrics School ·

2025/06/17

In episode #288 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray tackles a frequent mistake SaaS operators make when calculating Lifetime Value (LTV) — treating it as an aggregate rather than the point-in-time metric. Ben breaks down the correct formula, shares how to align it with gross revenue retention, and explains when LTV (and LTV to CAC)should be used SaaS businesses.What You’ll Learn: Why LTV is a point-in-time estimate, not a company-wide average The correct formula for LTV in SaaS: Cohort

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367 results

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