SaaS Metrics School

5 Metrics Every SaaS Leader Must Master

Listen Later

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 a top operator, and why these metrics are critical to driving durable growth, improving investor metrics, and strengthening your business model.

What You’ll Learn

  • Bookings – Signed contracts for ARR commitments, the fuel of your revenue engine.
  • Retention – Gross revenue retention, net revenue retention, and customer retention are the ultimate health checks for recurring revenue.
  • Margins (Gross Profit) – Why accurate COGS vs. OpEx separation matters for forecasting, profitability, and valuation.
  • OpEx Profile – How much you should invest in R&D, sales, marketing, and G&A as a percentage of revenue.
  • ROSE Metric (Return on SaaS Employees) – A powerful measure of organizational efficiency and path to profitability, stronger than revenue per FTE.

    • Why These Metrics Matter

    • Finance & Accounting: They form the backbone of your SaaS P&L and cash flow forecasting.
    • Investor Metrics: Investors use these to evaluate efficiency, scalability, and risk.
    • Valuation: Strong retention, margins, and efficiency drive higher SaaS valuations.
    • Business Leaders: Understanding these numbers enables smarter decisions at both the departmental and company levels.

      • Resources Mentioned

      Free Webinar – Deep dive into these five metrics, plus tips, frameworks, and pro insights: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/pl/2148701264

      Quote from Ben

      “Every SaaS leader doesn’t need to calculate these metrics themselves — but they must understand them. These numbers tell the story of your business.”

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store
      SaaS Metrics SchoolBy Ben Murray
      • 4.6
      • 4.6
      • 4.6
      • 4.6
      • 4.6

      4.6

      11 ratings

      More shows like SaaS Metrics School

      View all
      The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

      The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

      534 Listeners

      The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors by SaaStr

      The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

      172 Listeners

      WSJ What’s News by The Wall Street Journal

      WSJ What’s News

      4,354 Listeners

      a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

      a16z Podcast

      1,086 Listeners

      CFO THOUGHT LEADER by The Future of Finance is Listening

      CFO THOUGHT LEADER

      128 Listeners

      The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship by Omer Khan

      The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship

      184 Listeners

      Founders by David Senra

      Founders

      2,104 Listeners

      Equity by TechCrunch, Rebecca Bellan, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, Max Zeff, Theresa Loconsolo

      Equity

      339 Listeners

      Y Combinator Startup Podcast by Y Combinator

      Y Combinator Startup Podcast

      233 Listeners

      Wall Street Breakfast by Seeking Alpha

      Wall Street Breakfast

      1,032 Listeners

      Morning Brew Daily by Morning Brew

      Morning Brew Daily

      2,998 Listeners

      The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

      The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

      5,467 Listeners

      All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

      All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks Friedberg

      9,807 Listeners

      Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

      Prof G Markets

      1,331 Listeners

      The SaaS CFO by Ben Murray

      The SaaS CFO

      4 Listeners