Finance Metrics Quickref
Look up SaaS finance metrics, formulas, and benchmarks fast. Use when you need a quick metric definition, formula, or benchmark during analysis.
- Skill ID
- deanpeters/product-manager-skills/finance-metrics-quickref
- Publisher
- deanpeters
- Repository
- product-manager-skills
- Installs
- 0
- Files
- 2
- Synced
- Sep 24, 2026
Open any RiverX project, open the Skills panel in the chat, and search for this identifier. The files are fetched from the source repository at install time.
deanpeters/product-manager-skills/finance-metrics-quickrefInstalls these files- SKILL.md
- template.md
What this skill tells the agent
Purpose
Quick reference for any SaaS finance metric without deep teaching. Use this when you need a fast formula lookup, benchmark check, or decision framework reminder. For detailed explanations, calculations, and examples, see the related deep-dive skills.
This is not a teaching tool—it's a cheat sheet optimized for speed. Scan, find, apply.
Input
Works best with: The metric you need — name it and get the formula, benchmark, and decision context. Also useful: Your numbers, if you want the formula applied on the spot.
Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask.
Arriving empty-handed? That works too. Ask for the metric family you're working in (revenue, retention, efficiency, capital) and scan from there.
Example invocation: Quick ref: burn multiple — formula, benchmark, and whether 1.7 is bad for Series B.
Key Concepts
Metric Categories
Metrics are organized into four families:
- Revenue & Growth — Top-line money (revenue, ARPU, ARPA, MRR/ARR, churn, NRR, expansion)
- Unit Economics — Customer-level profitability (CAC, LTV, payback, margins)
- Capital Efficiency — Cash management (burn rate, runway, OpEx, net income)
- Efficiency Ratios — Growth vs. profitability balance (Rule of 40, magic number)
When to Use This Skill
Use this when:
- You need a quick formula or benchmark
- You're preparing for a board meeting or investor call
- You're evaluating a decision and need to check which metrics matter
- You want to identify red flags quickly
Don't use this when:
- You need detailed calculation guidance (use
saas-revenue-growth-metricsorsaas-economics-efficiency-metrics) - You're learning these metrics for the first time (start with deep-dive skills)
- You need examples and common pitfalls (covered in related skills)
Application
All Metrics Reference Table
| Metric | Formula | What It Measures | Good Benchmark | Red Flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Total sales before expenses | Top-line money earned | Growth rate >20% YoY (varies by stage) | Revenue growing slower than costs |
| ARPU | Total Revenue / Total Users | Revenue per individual user | Varies by model; track trend | ARPU declining cohort-over-cohort |
| ARPA | MRR / Active Accounts | Revenue per customer account | SMB: $100-$1K; Mid: $1K-$10K; Ent: $10K+ | High ARPA + low ARPU (undermonetized seats) |
| ACV | Annual Recurring Revenue per Contract | Annualized contract value | SMB: $5K-$25K; Mid: $25K-$100K; Ent: $100K+ | ACV declining (moving downmarket unintentionally) |
| MRR/ARR | MRR × 12 = ARR | Predictable recurring revenue | Growth + quality matter; track components | New MRR declining while churn stable/growing |
| Churn Rate | Customers Lost / Starting Customers | % of customers who cancel | Monthly <2% great, <5% ok; Annual <10% great | Churn increasing cohort-over-cohort |
| NRR | (Start ARR + Expansion - Churn - Contraction) / Start ARR × 100 | Revenue retention + expansion | >120% excellent; 100-120% good; 90-100% ok | NRR <100% (base is contracting) |
| Expansion Revenue | Upsells + Cross-sells + Usage Growth | Additional revenue from existing customers | 20-30% of total revenue | Expansion <10% of MRR |
| Quick Ratio | (New MRR + Expansion MRR) / (Churned MRR + Contraction) | Revenue gains vs. losses | >4 excellent; 2-4 healthy; <2 leaky bucket | Quick Ratio <2 (leaky bucket) |
| Gross Margin | (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue × 100 | % of revenue after direct costs | SaaS: 70-85% good; <60% concerning | Gross margin <60% or declining |
| CAC | Total S&M Spend / New Customers | Cost to acquire one customer | Varies: Ent $10K+ ok; SMB <$500 | CAC increasing while LTV flat |
| LTV | ARPU × Gross Margin % / Churn Rate | Total revenue from one customer | Must be 3x+ CAC; varies by segment | LTV declining cohort-over-cohort |
| LTV:CAC | LTV / CAC | Unit economics efficiency | 3:1 healthy; <1:1 unsustainable; >5:1 underinvesting | LTV:CAC <1.5:1 |
| Payback Period | CAC / (Monthly ARPU × Gross Margin %) | Months to recover CAC | <12 months great; 12-18 ok; >24 concerning | Payback >24 months (cash trap) |
| Contribution Margin | (Revenue - All Variable Costs) / Revenue × 100 | True contribution after variable costs | 60-80% good for SaaS; <40% concerning | Contribution margin <40% |
| Burn Rate | Monthly Cash Spent - Revenue | Cash consumed per month | Net burn <$200K manageable early; <$500K growth | Net burn accelerating |
| Runway | Cash Balance / Monthly Net Burn | Months until money runs out | 12+ months good; 6-12 ok; <6 crisis | Runway <6 months |
| OpEx | S&M + R&D + G&A | Costs to run the business | Should grow slower than revenue | OpEx growing faster than revenue |
| Net Income | Revenue - All Expenses | Actual profit/loss | Early negative ok; mature 10-20%+ margin | Losses accelerating without growth |
| Rule of 40 | Revenue Growth % + Profit Margin % | Balance of growth vs. efficiency | >40 healthy; 25-40 ok; <25 concerning | Rule of 40 <25 |
| Magic Number | (Q Revenue - Prev Q Revenue) × 4 / Prev Q S&M | S&M efficiency | >0.75 efficient; 0.5-0.75 ok; <0.5 fix GTM | Magic Number <0.5 |
| Operating Leverage | Revenue Growth vs. OpEx Growth | Scaling efficiency | Revenue growth > OpEx growth | OpEx growing faster than revenue |
| Gross vs. Net Revenue | Net = Gross - Discounts - Refunds - Credits | What you actually keep | Refunds <10%; discounts <20% | Refunds >10% (product problem) |
| Revenue Concentration | Top N Customers / Total Revenue | Dependency on largest customers | Top customer <10%; Top 10 <40% | Top customer >25% (existential risk) |
| Revenue Mix | Product/Segment Revenue / Total Revenue | Portfolio composition | No single product >60% ideal | Single product >80% (no diversification) |
| Cohort Analysis | Group customers by join date; track behavior | Whether business improving or degrading | Recent cohorts same/better than old | Newer cohorts perform worse |
| CAC Payback by Channel | CAC / Monthly Contribution (by channel) | Payback by acquisition channel | Compare across channels | One channel far worse than others |
| Gross Margin Payback | CAC / (Monthly ARPU × Gross Margin %) | Payback using actual profit | Typically 1.5-2x simple payback | Payback using margin >36 months |
| Unit Economics | Revenue per unit - Cost per unit | Profitability of each "unit" | Positive contribution required | Negative contribution margin |
| Segment Payback | CAC / Monthly Contribution (by segment) | Payback by customer segment | Compare to allocate resources | One segment unprofitable |
| Incrementality | Revenue caused by action - Baseline | True impact of marketing/promo | Measure with holdout tests | Celebrating revenue that would've happened anyway |
| Working Capital | Cash timing between revenue and collection | Cash vs. revenue timing | Annual upfront > monthly billing | Long payment terms killing runway |
Quick Decision Frameworks
Use these frameworks to combine metrics for common PM decisions.
Framework 1: Should We Build This Feature?
Ask:
- Revenue impact? Direct (pricing, add-on) or indirect (retention, conversion)?
- Margin impact? What's the COGS? Does it dilute margins?
- ROI? Revenue impact / Development cost
Build if:
- ROI >3x in year one (direct monetization), OR
- LTV impact >10x development cost (retention), OR
- Strategic value overrides short-term ROI
Don't build if:
- Negative contribution margin even with optimistic adoption
- Payback period exceeds average customer lifetime
More from deanpeters
Use this skill in a project
Open any RiverX project, search the Skills panel for deanpeters/product-manager-skills/finance-metrics-quickref, and install it in one click.