Efficiency
Efficiency Metrics
A ratio of how well inputs convert to outputs: the kind of number you benchmark against peers.
Test: "Is this a ratio where both numerator and denominator matter independently?"
68 metrics across 13 departments.
Core (7)
Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
The percentage of revenue retained from existing customers over a period, including expansion, contraction and churn. Also known as Net Dollar Retention (NDR).
Primary: Outcome
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
The total cost to acquire a new customer.
LTV (Customer Lifetime Value)
The gross profit expected from a customer over their lifetime. Also known as CLV (Customer Lifetime Value) or CLTV.
LTV:CAC Ratio
The ratio of customer lifetime value to acquisition cost. Measures the return on investment from sales and marketing spend.
CAC Payback Period
The number of months required to recover the cost of acquiring a customer. Also called "Months to Recover CAC" or "Time to Recover CAC."
Gross Margin
Revenue minus cost of goods sold (COGS), as a percentage of revenue. Measures profitability after direct delivery costs.
Primary: Outcome
Rule of 40
A heuristic that balances growth and profitability. A healthy SaaS company's growth rate plus profit margin should equal 40% or more.
Primary: Outcome
Customer Success (4)
Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
The percentage of revenue retained from existing customers over a period, including expansion, contraction and churn. Also known as Net Dollar Retention (NDR).
Primary: Outcome
Upsell Rate
The percentage of customers eligible for an upgrade at period start who upgraded in the period.
Cross-sell Rate
The percentage of customers active at period start who bought an additional product in the period.
ARR per CSM
Total ARR managed by each CSM.
Engineering (2)
Finance (12)
Revenue per Employee
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) divided by total headcount.
Primary: Outcome
Gross Margin
Revenue minus cost of goods sold (COGS), as a percentage of revenue. Measures profitability after direct delivery costs.
Primary: Outcome
Rule of 40
A heuristic that balances growth and profitability. A healthy SaaS company's growth rate plus profit margin should equal 40% or more.
Primary: Outcome
CAC Payback Period
The number of months required to recover the cost of acquiring a customer. Also called "Months to Recover CAC" or "Time to Recover CAC."
LTV:CAC Ratio
The ratio of customer lifetime value to acquisition cost. Measures the return on investment from sales and marketing spend.
Magic Number
Sales efficiency metric measuring revenue generated per dollar of sales and marketing spend.
Burn Multiple
Net burn divided by net new ARR. Popularized by David Sacks.
Opex Ratio
Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue.
S&M as % of Revenue
Sales and marketing spend as percentage of revenue.
R&D as % of Revenue
Research and development spend as percentage of revenue.
G&A as % of Revenue
General and administrative spend as percentage of revenue.
Collection Rate
Percentage of invoiced amounts collected.
Marketing (10)
Visitor-to-Lead Rate
Percentage of website visitors who become leads.
Lead-to-MQL Rate
Percentage of leads that become MQLs.
MQL-to-SQL Rate
Percentage of MQLs accepted by sales as qualified.
SQL-to-Opportunity Rate
Percentage of SQLs that become pipeline opportunities.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
The total cost to acquire a new customer.
Marketing CAC
Marketing-only portion of acquisition cost: go-to-market cost booked to the marketing cost centre, divided by all new customers in the period.
CAC by Channel
Customer acquisition cost broken down by marketing channel.
Cost per Lead (CPL)
Cost to acquire a lead.
Cost per MQL
Cost to acquire a marketing qualified lead.
Paid Media Efficiency (ROAS)
Return on ad spend: closed won revenue from the paid ads channel in the period, divided by paid ad spend.
Onboarding (2)
Partnerships (8)
Partner Activation Rate
Percentage of recruited partners who become productive.
Deal Registration-to-Close Rate
Percentage of registered deals that close.
Partner Win Rate
Win rate on partner-involved opportunities.
Partner Margin / Commission
Compensation paid to partners.
Cost of Partner Acquisition
Cost to recruit and onboard a new partner.
Partner Lifetime Value
Expected revenue from a partner over its lifetime.
Partner ROI
Return on investment in partner program.
Marketplace as % of Revenue
Marketplace contribution to total revenue.
People (3)
Professional Services (8)
Services as % of Total Revenue
Professional services contribution to total revenue.
Services Attach Rate
Percentage of product deals that include services.
Project Margin
Gross margin on individual projects.
Realization Rate
Actual revenue realized vs potential revenue at standard rates.
Billable Utilization
Percentage of available time spent on billable work.
Capacity Utilization
Billable hours sold vs available. Hours booked are the budgeted hours on sold projects.
Revenue per Consultant
Services revenue per delivery resource.
Services Win Rate
Percentage of services opportunities won.
RevOps (4)
Stage Conversion Rates
Conversion rate between each pipeline stage.
Quote-to-Order Rate
Percentage of quotes that convert to orders.
Collection Effectiveness Index (CEI)
The share of collectible receivables actually collected in the period. Billings stand in for credit sales. Current AR is receivables aged 30 days or less.
Auto-Renewal Rate
Percentage of renewals processed automatically.
Sales (4)
Win Rate
The percentage of qualified opportunities closed in the period that were won.
Lead-to-Opportunity Rate
The percentage of leads that become qualified opportunities.
Opportunity-to-Close Rate
The percentage of qualified opportunities that close as won. Also called Close Rate.
Revenue per Rep
New revenue closed in the period divided by the number of quota-carrying reps.