KPI definitions, formulas and benchmarks

KPI & Metrics Library

Browse practical KPI guides by category. Each guide includes the definition, formula, calculation notes, benchmark context, examples and common pitfalls.

123KPIs
11categories
123examples
Explore by keyword or taxonomy

Showing 123 of 123 KPIs

All KPI guides

Sales

Sales Revenue

Total income generated from goods or services sold in a given period.

Formula

Sum of all sales in period

Example

A SaaS startup closes 40 deals at an average of $6,000 each in Q1 -> $240,000 in sales revenue. Recognize it over the contract term, not all upfront.

CurrencyView guide
Sales

New Bookings

Total value of new contracts signed in a period, before revenue is recognized.

Formula

Sum of newly signed contract value

Example

You sign 10 annual contracts worth $12,000 each in March -> $120,000 in new bookings, even though revenue is recognized monthly.

CurrencyView guide
Sales

Average Deal Size

The mean value of a closed deal over a period.

Formula

Total revenue / Number of deals closed

Example

$240,000 revenue across 40 deals = $6,000 average deal size. If enterprise deals push this to $25,000, your motion is moving upmarket.

CurrencyView guide
Sales

Win Rate

Share of qualified opportunities that convert into closed-won deals.

Formula

Deals won / Total deals (won + lost) × 100

Example

Out of 80 qualified opportunities you close 20 -> 25% win rate. Raising it to 30% adds revenue with no extra pipeline.

PercentageView guide
Sales

Lead-to-Close Rate

Share of all leads that ultimately become paying customers.

Formula

Closed-won deals / Total leads × 100

Example

1,000 leads produce 30 customers -> 3% lead-to-close. Inbound demo requests might close at 15% while cold lists close at 1%.

PercentageView guide
Sales

Demo-to-Close Rate

Share of product demos that result in a closed-won deal.

Formula

Closed-won deals / Demos held × 100

Example

You run 80 demos and close 24 -> 30% demo-to-close. A low rate often means demos aren't being qualified well enough.

PercentageView guide
Sales

Sales Closed-Won Rate

Share of closed deals that ended in a win rather than a loss.

Formula

Closed-won deals / Total closed deals × 100

Example

Of 50 deals that reached a decision, 18 were won -> 36% closed-won rate (no-decision deals excluded).

PercentageView guide
Sales

Sales Cycle Length

Average time it takes to move a deal from creation to close.

Formula

Avg days from opportunity created to closed-won

Example

A deal created Jan 5 and closed Feb 20 took 46 days. If your average is 45 days, forecast Q2 closes from pipeline created by mid-May.

DaysView guide
Sales

Sales Velocity

How much revenue the pipeline generates per day.

Formula

(Opportunities × Win Rate × Deal Size) / Cycle Length

Example

120 opps x 25% win x $6,000 / 45 days = ~$4,000/day. Shortening the cycle to 36 days lifts it to ~$5,000/day.

Currency per dayView guide
Sales

Pipeline Coverage Ratio

Open pipeline relative to the quota for the period.

Formula

Open pipeline value / Sales target

Example

Quota is $500k and open pipeline is $1.8M -> 3.6x coverage, comfortably above the 3x rule of thumb.

RatioView guide
Sales

Quota Attainment

Percentage of assigned quota a rep or team achieves.

Formula

Actual sales / Quota × 100

Example

A rep with a $400k quota closes $340k -> 85% attainment. If only 40% of reps clear quota, targets may be too high.

PercentageView guide
Sales

Lead-to-Opportunity Rate

Share of leads that become qualified opportunities.

Formula

Opportunities / Leads × 100

Example

1,000 leads produce 120 opportunities -> 12%. Inbound demo requests may convert at 40% while cold lists convert at 3%.

PercentageView guide
Sales

Sales Rep Ramp Time

Time a new rep takes to reach expected quota productivity.

Formula

Avg time for new rep to reach full productivity

Example

New reps hit full quota productivity in month 5 on average. Factor this in when modeling revenue from Q1 hires.

MonthsView guide
Marketing

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Average cost to acquire one new customer.

Formula

Total sales & marketing spend / New customers acquired

Example

Spend $50,000 on sales & marketing in a quarter and acquire 100 customers -> $500 CAC. Include salaries and tools, not just ad spend.

CurrencyView guide
Marketing

LTV:CAC Ratio

Lifetime value of a customer relative to the cost of acquiring them.

Formula

Customer Lifetime Value / Customer Acquisition Cost

Example

$2,000 LTV / $500 CAC = 4:1, which is healthy. Below 1:1 means you lose money on every customer.

RatioView guide
Marketing

CAC Payback Period

Time to recover the cost of acquiring a customer.

Formula

CAC / (Monthly gross margin per customer)

Example

$500 CAC / $80 monthly gross margin per customer = ~6.3 months to break even on acquisition.

MonthsView guide
Marketing

Marketing Qualified Leads

Leads judged likely to become customers based on engagement or fit.

Formula

Count of leads meeting MQL criteria

Example

1,200 visitors download a pricing guide and pass your lead score -> 1,200 MQLs. Watch how many sales actually accepts.

CountView guide
Marketing

MQL to SQL Conversion Rate

Share of marketing-qualified leads accepted as sales-qualified.

Formula

SQLs / MQLs × 100

Example

300 of 1,200 MQLs become SQLs -> 25%. A falling rate signals lead-quality or scoring problems.

PercentageView guide
Marketing

Return on Ad Spend

Revenue generated for each unit of advertising spend.

Formula

Revenue from ads / Ad spend

Example

$20,000 ad spend drives $90,000 revenue -> 4.5:1 ROAS. Check it against margin, not just revenue.

RatioView guide
Marketing

Conversion Rate

Share of visitors or users who complete a desired action.

Formula

Conversions / Total visitors × 100

Example

2,000 landing-page visits produce 60 sign-ups -> 3% conversion. Separate macro (sign-up) from micro (email capture) conversions.

PercentageView guide
Marketing

Cost Per Lead

Average cost to generate one lead.

Formula

Total campaign spend / Number of leads

Example

A $10,000 campaign generating 400 leads -> $25 per lead. Cheap leads that never convert aren't actually cheap.

CurrencyView guide
Marketing

Email Open Rate

Share of delivered emails that were opened.

Formula

Emails opened / Emails delivered × 100

Example

5,000 delivered, 1,400 opens -> 28%. Apple Mail inflates opens, so pair this with click-through rate.

PercentageView guide
Marketing

Click-Through Rate

Share of recipients or viewers who click a link.

Formula

Clicks / Impressions (or delivered) × 100

Example

10,000 impressions and 250 clicks -> 2.5% CTR. Email typically runs 2-5%; display ads under 1%.

PercentageView guide
Marketing

Marketing ROI

Net return generated by marketing investment.

Formula

(Revenue attributable to marketing − Cost) / Cost × 100

Example

Marketing drives $300,000 attributable revenue on $60,000 spend -> 400% ROI (5:1 revenue-to-cost).

PercentageView guide
Marketing

Website Traffic

Volume of visits to a website over a period.

Formula

Count of sessions or users in period

Example

Monthly sessions grow from 18,000 to 24,000 (+33%). Only meaningful if conversion holds as traffic scales.

CountView guide
Marketing

Organic Traffic Share

Proportion of traffic from unpaid search.

Formula

Organic sessions / Total sessions × 100

Example

14,000 of 24,000 sessions are organic -> 58%, reducing reliance on paid acquisition.

PercentageView guide
Marketing

Social Engagement Rate

Share of audience interacting with social content.

Formula

Engagements / Impressions (or followers) × 100

Example

A post reaching 10,000 with 300 likes/comments/shares -> 3% engagement, solid for most platforms.

PercentageView guide
Marketing

Net Promoter Score

Likelihood that customers recommend the brand.

Formula

% Promoters − % Detractors

Example

60% promoters minus 15% detractors = NPS of 45, a strong loyalty signal.

Score (−100 to 100)View guide
Finance

Gross Profit Margin

Share of revenue left after direct costs of goods sold.

Formula

(Revenue − COGS) / Revenue × 100

Example

$1M revenue with $200k COGS -> 80% gross margin, typical for SaaS.

PercentageView guide
Finance

Net Profit Margin

Share of revenue remaining after all expenses and taxes.

Formula

Net income / Revenue × 100

Example

$1M revenue and $100k net income -> 10% net margin.

PercentageView guide
Finance

Operating Margin

Profitability from core operations before interest and tax.

Formula

Operating income / Revenue × 100

Example

$1M revenue and $150k operating income -> 15% operating margin, isolating core operations.

PercentageView guide
Finance

EBITDA

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Formula

Net income + Interest + Taxes + Depreciation + Amortization

Example

Net income $100k + interest $20k + taxes $30k + D&A $50k = $200k EBITDA.

CurrencyView guide
Finance

Free Cash Flow

Cash generated after capital investment.

Formula

Operating cash flow − Capital expenditures

Example

$300k operating cash flow minus $80k capex -> $220k free cash flow to reinvest.

CurrencyView guide
Finance

Current Ratio

Ability to cover short-term obligations with short-term assets.

Formula

Current assets / Current liabilities

Example

$600k current assets / $300k current liabilities = 2.0, comfortable short-term liquidity.

RatioView guide
Finance

Quick Ratio

Liquidity excluding less-liquid inventory.

Formula

(Current assets − Inventory) / Current liabilities

Example

($600k assets - $100k inventory) / $300k liabilities = 1.67, a stricter liquidity test.

RatioView guide
Finance

Accounts Receivable Turnover

How often receivables are collected in a period.

Formula

Net credit sales / Average accounts receivable

Example

$1.2M credit sales / $150k average receivables = 8x; you collect receivables eight times a year.

RatioView guide
Finance

Days Sales Outstanding

Average days to collect payment after a sale.

Formula

(Accounts receivable / Revenue) × Days in period

Example

$150k receivables / $1.2M revenue x 365 = 46 days to collect. Aim near your terms (e.g. net-30).

DaysView guide
Finance

Cash Conversion Cycle

Time to convert investments in inventory and other resources into cash.

Formula

DSO + DIO − DPO

Example

DSO 46 + DIO 30 - DPO 40 = 36-day cycle. A negative cycle means suppliers effectively fund your growth.

DaysView guide
Finance

Burn Rate

Rate at which a company consumes cash reserves.

Formula

Cash spent per month (net)

Example

You start with $1.2M and end the month at $1.05M -> $150k net monthly burn.

Currency per monthView guide
Finance

Cash Runway

Months of operation remaining at current burn.

Formula

Cash balance / Monthly net burn

Example

$1.05M cash / $150k monthly burn = 7 months runway -- time to plan a raise.

MonthsView guide
Finance

Return on Equity

Profit generated per unit of shareholder equity.

Formula

Net income / Shareholder equity × 100

Example

$100k net income / $500k equity = 20% return on equity.

PercentageView guide
Finance

Return on Assets

Profit generated per unit of assets.

Formula

Net income / Total assets × 100

Example

$100k net income / $2M assets = 5% return on assets.

PercentageView guide
Finance

Debt-to-Equity Ratio

Leverage relative to equity financing.

Formula

Total liabilities / Shareholder equity

Example

$600k liabilities / $500k equity = 1.2, moderate leverage.

RatioView guide
Finance

Budget Variance

Difference between actual and budgeted figures.

Formula

(Actual − Budget) / Budget × 100

Example

You budgeted $200k for marketing and spent $230k -> +15% variance; investigate the overspend.

PercentageView guide
SaaS

Monthly Recurring Revenue

Predictable subscription revenue normalized to a month.

Formula

Sum of monthly recurring subscription revenue

Example

200 customers paying $100/month -> $20,000 MRR. Exclude one-time onboarding fees.

Currency per monthView guide
SaaS

Annual Recurring Revenue

Annualized value of recurring subscription revenue.

Formula

MRR × 12

Example

$20,000 MRR x 12 = $240,000 ARR.

Currency per yearView guide
SaaS

Net Revenue Retention

Revenue retained from existing customers including expansion.

Formula

(Starting MRR + Expansion − Contraction − Churn) / Starting MRR × 100

Example

Start at $100k MRR; +$15k expansion, -$3k contraction, -$5k churn -> $107k -> 107% NRR (growth without new logos).

PercentageView guide
SaaS

Gross Revenue Retention

Revenue retained excluding expansion, capped at 100%.

Formula

(Starting MRR − Contraction − Churn) / Starting MRR × 100

Example

$100k start, -$3k contraction, -$5k churn (no expansion counted) -> $92k -> 92% GRR.

PercentageView guide
SaaS

Customer Churn Rate

Share of customers who cancel in a period.

Formula

Customers lost / Customers at start × 100

Example

Start with 500 customers and lose 15 in the month -> 3% monthly churn.

PercentageView guide
SaaS

Revenue Churn Rate

Share of recurring revenue lost in a period.

Formula

MRR lost to churn & downgrades / Starting MRR × 100

Example

$5k of $100k MRR lost to cancellations and downgrades -> 5% revenue churn.

PercentageView guide
SaaS

Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

Total profit expected from a customer relationship.

Formula

Avg revenue per account × Gross margin × Avg lifespan

Example

$1,200 annual revenue x 80% margin x 3-year lifespan = $2,880 LTV.

CurrencyView guide
SaaS

Expansion MRR

Additional recurring revenue from existing customers.

Formula

MRR gained from upsells & cross-sells

Example

Existing customers upgrade, adding $4,000 MRR this month -- high-margin growth with no new acquisition.

Currency per monthView guide
SaaS

Average Revenue Per User

Average revenue generated per user or account.

Formula

Total revenue / Number of users (or accounts)

Example

$20,000 MRR / 200 users = $100 ARPU.

CurrencyView guide
SaaS

Trial-to-Paid Conversion Rate

Share of free trials that convert to paid plans.

Formula

Paid conversions / Trials started × 100

Example

300 trials start and 60 convert -> 20% trial-to-paid (typical for opt-in trials).

PercentageView guide
SaaS

Activation Rate

Share of new users hitting a key value milestone.

Formula

Users reaching activation event / Signups × 100

Example

350 of 500 new sign-ups complete their first project (the 'aha' moment) -> 70% activation.

PercentageView guide
Product

DAU/MAU Ratio (Stickiness)

How often monthly users engage daily.

Formula

Daily active users / Monthly active users × 100

Example

8,000 DAU / 30,000 MAU = 27% stickiness, solid daily habit formation.

PercentageView guide
Customer Support

Customer Satisfaction Score

Share of customers satisfied with an interaction or product.

Formula

(Satisfied responses / Total responses) × 100

Example

420 of 500 survey responses are positive -> 84% CSAT.

PercentageView guide
Customer Support

Customer Effort Score

How easy it was for a customer to get an issue resolved.

Formula

Avg rating of effort to resolve issue

Example

Customers rate resolution effort 2.1 on a 1-7 scale (low effort), a strong loyalty signal.

ScoreView guide
Customer Support

First Contact Resolution

Share of issues resolved in a single interaction.

Formula

Issues resolved on first contact / Total issues × 100

Example

350 of 500 tickets are solved on first contact -> 70% FCR.

PercentageView guide
Customer Support

Average Handle Time

Average duration to handle a customer contact.

Formula

Total handling time / Number of contacts

Example

1,000 contacts handled in 7,500 minutes -> 7.5-minute AHT; don't cut it at the cost of resolution.

MinutesView guide
Customer Support

First Response Time

How quickly support first responds to a request.

Formula

Avg time from ticket open to first reply

Example

Average first reply lands in 45 minutes; priority tickets target under 1 hour.

Hours/MinutesView guide
Customer Support

Average Resolution Time

Average time to fully resolve a ticket.

Formula

Total time to resolve / Number of resolved tickets

Example

Tickets resolve in 6 hours on average against an 8-hour SLA.

HoursView guide
Customer Support

Ticket Backlog

Number of open, unresolved support tickets.

Formula

Count of unresolved tickets at period end

Example

320 tickets remain open at month end, up from 250 -- a capacity-strain warning.

CountView guide
Customer Support

SLA Compliance Rate

Share of tickets meeting service-level targets.

Formula

Tickets within SLA / Total tickets × 100

Example

950 of 1,000 tickets met SLA -> 95% compliance.

PercentageView guide
Customer Success

Customer Retention Rate

Share of customers retained over a period.

Formula

((End customers − New) / Start customers) × 100

Example

Start with 480 customers, end with 500 including 40 new -> ((500-40)/480) = 96% retention.

PercentageView guide
Customer Success

Customer Health Score

Composite signal of a customer's likelihood to renew.

Formula

Weighted index of usage, support & sentiment

Example

A blend of usage, support tickets and sentiment scores an account 'green' at 80/100, predicting renewal.

ScoreView guide
Customer Success

Product Adoption Rate

Share of users adopting a product or feature.

Formula

Users using a feature / Total users × 100

Example

6,000 of 30,000 users adopt the new integration -> 20% adoption.

PercentageView guide
Product

Daily Active Users

Number of unique users engaging daily.

Formula

Count of unique users active per day

Example

12,500 unique users logged in today. Define 'active' as a meaningful action, not just opening the app.

CountView guide
Product

Monthly Active Users

Number of unique users engaging monthly.

Formula

Count of unique users active per month

Example

30,000 unique users active this month -- your reach metric, paired with stickiness.

CountView guide
Product

User Retention Rate

Share of a cohort still active after N days.

Formula

Users active in period N / Users in cohort × 100

Example

Of a 1,000-user cohort, 350 are still active on day 30 -> 35% D30 retention; watch the curve flatten.

PercentageView guide
Product

Feature Usage Rate

Share of active users using a specific feature.

Formula

Users of feature / Active users × 100

Example

4,500 of 30,000 active users use the new dashboard -> 15% feature usage.

PercentageView guide
Product

Net Promoter Score (Product)

Likelihood users recommend the product.

Formula

% Promoters − % Detractors

Example

55% promoters - 10% detractors = 45 product NPS across the latest release.

Score (−100 to 100)View guide
Product

Time to Value

How long until a user first experiences core value.

Formula

Avg time from signup to first value moment

Example

New users reach their first generated report in 18 minutes on average; shortening this lifts activation.

Hours/DaysView guide
Engineering

Bug Escape Rate

Share of defects reaching production undetected.

Formula

Bugs found in production / Total bugs × 100

Example

12 of 200 bugs are found in production rather than testing -> 6% escape rate.

PercentageView guide
Engineering

Deployment Frequency

How often code is shipped to production.

Formula

Number of production deployments per period

Example

The team ships to production 14 times this week -- multiple deploys per day (elite).

CountView guide
Engineering

Lead Time for Changes

Time for a code change to reach production.

Formula

Avg time from commit to production

Example

A commit reaches production in 6 hours on average; under a day is elite.

Hours/DaysView guide
Engineering

Change Failure Rate

Share of deployments causing a failure in production.

Formula

Failed deployments / Total deployments × 100

Example

3 of 60 deploys cause an incident -> 5% change failure rate.

PercentageView guide
Engineering

Mean Time to Recovery

Average time to restore service after an incident.

Formula

Total downtime / Number of incidents

Example

120 minutes total downtime across 4 incidents -> 30-minute MTTR.

HoursView guide
Engineering

System Uptime

Share of time a system is available.

Formula

Uptime / Total time × 100

Example

43,200 minutes available, 43 down -> 99.9% uptime ('three nines').

PercentageView guide
Engineering

Sprint Velocity

Work a team completes per sprint.

Formula

Story points completed per sprint

Example

The team completes 32, 28 and 34 points over three sprints -> plan ~31 points next sprint.

PointsView guide
Web

Bounce Rate

Share of sessions with no further interaction.

Formula

Single-page sessions / Total sessions × 100

Example

1,000 sessions, 320 leave without a second interaction -> 32% bounce rate.

PercentageView guide
Web

Average Session Duration

Average time visitors spend per session.

Formula

Total session time / Number of sessions

Example

Total 3,000 minutes / 1,000 sessions = 3-minute average session.

MinutesView guide
Web

Pages per Session

Average pages viewed per session.

Formula

Pageviews / Sessions

Example

4,000 pageviews / 1,000 sessions = 4 pages per session.

CountView guide
HR

Employee Turnover Rate

Share of employees who leave in a period.

Formula

Departures / Average headcount × 100

Example

12 departures / 120 average headcount = 10% annual turnover.

PercentageView guide
HR

Employee Retention Rate

Share of employees retained over a period.

Formula

(Employees stayed / Employees at start) × 100

Example

108 of 120 starting employees stay -> 90% retention.

PercentageView guide
HR

Time to Hire

Time to fill an open role end to end.

Formula

Avg days from job posting to offer accepted

Example

A role posted Jan 1 with an accepted offer Feb 5 -> 35 days to hire.

DaysView guide
HR

Cost per Hire

Average cost to fill a position.

Formula

Total recruiting cost / Number of hires

Example

$40,000 total recruiting cost / 10 hires = $4,000 per hire.

CurrencyView guide
HR

Offer Acceptance Rate

Share of job offers candidates accept.

Formula

Offers accepted / Offers extended × 100

Example

17 of 20 offers accepted -> 85% acceptance.

PercentageView guide
HR

Employee Net Promoter Score

Likelihood employees recommend the company as a place to work.

Formula

% Promoter employees − % Detractor employees

Example

40% promoter employees - 15% detractors = 25 eNPS.

Score (−100 to 100)View guide
HR

Absenteeism Rate

Share of scheduled time lost to unplanned absence.

Formula

Days absent / Total available workdays × 100

Example

150 unplanned absence days / 12,000 available workdays = 1.25%.

PercentageView guide
HR

Diversity Ratio

Representation of a demographic group in the workforce.

Formula

Headcount of group / Total headcount × 100

Example

36 of 120 employees are from an underrepresented group -> 30%; check leadership levels too.

PercentageView guide
Project Management

On-Time Completion Rate

Share of projects completed by deadline.

Formula

Projects on time / Total projects × 100

Example

18 of 20 projects shipped by deadline -> 90% on-time completion.

PercentageView guide
Project Management

Schedule Variance

Difference between planned and actual progress.

Formula

Earned value − Planned value

Example

Earned value $90k - planned value $100k = -$10k, the project is behind schedule.

Currency/TimeView guide
Project Management

Cost Variance

Difference between budgeted and actual cost of work done.

Formula

Earned value − Actual cost

Example

Earned value $90k - actual cost $85k = +$5k, under budget for work done.

CurrencyView guide
Project Management

Resource Utilization Rate

Share of capacity spent on productive work.

Formula

Billable (or productive) hours / Available hours × 100

Example

Billable 30 hrs / 40 available = 75% utilization, productive without burnout.

PercentageView guide
Project Management

Scope Creep Rate

Growth in project scope beyond the original plan.

Formula

(Added scope / Original scope) × 100

Example

Scope grew from 100 to 118 story points -> 18% scope creep; tighten change control.

PercentageView guide
Finance

Return on Investment

Net return relative to the amount invested.

Formula

(Gain − Cost) / Cost × 100

Example

Invest $50k in a tool that yields $120k of value -> (120-50)/50 = 140% ROI.

PercentageView guide
Marketing

Customer Lifetime Value to CAC (Blended)

Lifetime value vs acquisition cost across all channels.

Formula

Blended LTV / Blended CAC

Example

Blended LTV $1,800 / blended CAC $600 = 3:1. Check each channel too -- blending can hide an unprofitable one.

RatioView guide
Finance

Forecast Accuracy

How close forecasts are to actual results.

Formula

1 − |Actual − Forecast| / Actual × 100

Example

Forecast $480k, actual $500k -> 96% accuracy.

PercentageView guide
Marketing

Market Share

Company's share of total market sales.

Formula

Company sales / Total market sales × 100

Example

Your $5M revenue in a $100M market = 5% share. Track the trend against your two closest competitors.

PercentageView guide
Finance

Revenue Growth Rate

Pace of revenue increase over a period.

Formula

(Current revenue − Prior) / Prior × 100

Example

Revenue rises from $800k to $1M -> 25% growth.

PercentageView guide
SaaS

Churn-Adjusted Payback

CAC payback adjusted for churn risk.

Formula

CAC / (Gross margin per month × (1 − monthly churn))

Example

$500 CAC / ($80 margin x (1 - 2% churn)) = ~6.4 months, slightly longer than naive payback.

MonthsView guide
Finance

Customer Concentration

Share of revenue from the largest customers.

Formula

Revenue from top N customers / Total revenue × 100

Example

Top 3 customers are $300k of $1M revenue -> 30% concentration, a notable dependency risk.

PercentageView guide
Finance

Gross Margin per Unit

Profit margin on each unit sold.

Formula

(Price − Variable cost) / Price × 100

Example

Price $100, variable cost $30 -> 70% unit gross margin.

PercentageView guide
Finance

Contribution Margin

Revenue left to cover fixed costs after variable costs.

Formula

(Revenue − Variable costs) / Revenue × 100

Example

$1M revenue minus $300k variable costs -> 70% contribution margin to cover fixed costs.

PercentageView guide
Finance

Break-Even Point

Sales level at which total revenue equals total cost.

Formula

Fixed costs / Contribution margin per unit

Example

$350k fixed costs / $70 contribution per unit = 5,000 units to break even.

Units/CurrencyView guide
SaaS

Net Dollar Retention by Cohort

Revenue retained and expanded within a signup cohort.

Formula

Cohort revenue now / Cohort revenue at start × 100

Example

The Jan-2025 cohort started at $50k and is now $58k -> 116%; that vintage is expanding.

PercentageView guide
Sales

Lead Response Time

How fast sales follows up with a new lead.

Formula

Avg time from lead creation to first sales touch

Example

A demo request arrives at 10:00 and a rep calls at 10:04 -> 4-minute response. Responding within 5 minutes can multiply contact rates vs an hour later.

MinutesView guide
Sales

Pipeline Velocity by Stage

Time deals dwell in each pipeline stage.

Formula

Avg days deals spend in each stage

Example

Deals sit 8 days in Discovery but 22 in Procurement -> focus enablement on the procurement bottleneck.

DaysView guide
Finance

Net Burn Multiple

Cash burned to generate each unit of new ARR.

Formula

Net burn / Net new ARR

Example

$1.5M net burn / $1M net new ARR = 1.5, good capital efficiency (under 2).

RatioView guide
SaaS

Magic Number

Sales efficiency: ARR added per dollar of S&M.

Formula

Net new ARR / Prior-period S&M spend

Example

$300k net new ARR / $400k prior-quarter S&M = 0.75, efficient enough to invest more in growth.

RatioView guide
SaaS

Rule of 40

Combined growth and profitability score.

Formula

Revenue growth rate % + Profit margin %

Example

60% growth + (-15%) margin = 45, above 40 -- a healthy growth-vs-profit balance.

PercentageView guide
Sales

Annual Contract Value

Average annualized value of a customer contract.

Formula

Total contract value / Contract years

Example

A 2-year, $60,000 contract = $30,000 ACV. Use ACV to compare deals of different lengths on equal footing.

Currency per yearView guide
Sales

Total Contract Value

Full value of a contract over its lifetime.

Formula

Sum of all revenue over the contract term

Example

A 3-year deal at $30,000/year plus a $5,000 setup fee = $95,000 TCV.

CurrencyView guide
Finance

Net Income

Bottom-line profit after all costs and taxes.

Formula

Total revenue − Total expenses

Example

$1M revenue minus $900k total expenses -> $100k net income.

CurrencyView guide
Finance

Operating Cash Flow

Cash produced by normal business operations.

Formula

Cash generated from core operations

Example

Operations generated $300k cash this quarter even though net income was $100k, thanks to deferred revenue.

CurrencyView guide
Finance

Days Payable Outstanding

Average days taken to pay suppliers.

Formula

(Accounts payable / COGS) × Days in period

Example

$100k payables / $1.2M COGS x 365 = 30 days to pay suppliers.

DaysView guide
Finance

Gross Revenue

Total revenue before returns, discounts and allowances.

Formula

Total sales before deductions

Example

$1.05M billed before $50k of refunds and discounts -> $1.05M gross revenue.

CurrencyView guide
Finance

Net Revenue

Revenue after deductions from gross sales.

Formula

Gross revenue − Returns − Discounts − Allowances

Example

$1.05M gross minus $50k refunds and discounts -> $1M net revenue.

CurrencyView guide
Marketing

Customer Acquisition Cost Payback (Blended)

Months to recover blended acquisition cost.

Formula

Blended CAC / Monthly gross margin per customer

Example

Blended CAC $600 / $75 monthly gross margin = 8 months. Under 12 months is healthy for SaaS.

MonthsView guide
Product

Customer Engagement Score

Composite measure of how engaged a user is.

Formula

Weighted index of usage signals

Example

A weighted index of logins, key actions and feature breadth flags accounts scoring under 40 as at-risk.

ScoreView guide
Finance

Net Sales Growth (YoY)

Year-over-year change in net sales.

Formula

(This year net sales − Last year) / Last year × 100

Example

Net sales rise from $4M last year to $5M this year -> 25% YoY growth.

PercentageView guide
Customer Success

Net Promoter Score Trend

Direction and pace of NPS change.

Formula

Change in NPS over time

Example

NPS moved from 38 last quarter to 45 this quarter (+7), improving loyalty.

Score deltaView guide