Is AI killing SaaS? Ben argues the opposite.

In episode #357 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray explains why AI isn’t replacing SaaS companies — it’s amplifying subject matter expertise. Drawing on his experience building SoftwareMetrics.ai with AI coding tools, he walks through how he would not be able to create a useful expert without domain knowledge. It doens't just apply to Ben.

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In episode #356, Ben shares the results from the FP&A category of his 7th Annual SaaS Tech Stack Survey, highlighting the top financial planning and analysis solutions used in software companies today.

With 37 FP&A solutions named in the survey, this remains one of the most competitive and fast-moving segments in the back-office tech stack. While spreadsheets still dominate usage—by a wide margin—dedicated FP&A platforms are gaining traction, especially as companies scale past $10M+ ARR and investor reporting requirements increase.

Ben also compares this year’s results to prior years and explains how FP&A tool adoption shifts by ARR size.

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In episode #355, Ben breaks down the top invoicing solutions used by SaaS and AI companies based on his 7th Annual Tech Stack Survey.

With 57 different invoicing solutions named in the survey, this category shows far more fragmentation than core accounting. The top five solutions account for 55% of reported usage, but there’s still a long tail of specialized billing and revenue management platforms.

Ben walks through the most widely used tools and explains how invoicing increasingly overlaps with revenue management, subscription billing, and payment processing.

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In episode #354, Ben shares the results from his 7th Annual SaaS Tech Stack Survey and reveals the top accounting solutions used by software, SaaS, and AI companies today.

With participation across 22 software categories, this year’s survey highlights both the consistent market leaders and the rise of newer, AI-first ERP platforms. While legacy players continue to dominate, new entrants are gaining meaningful traction.

Ben breaks down the “Power Six” accounting platforms and what their market concentration tells us about the current state of financial systems in tech companies.

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Calculating SaaS metrics sounds straightforward—until you actually try to do it. In episode #353, Ben Murray breaks down why SaaS metrics are so difficult to calculate at scale, why spreadsheets eventually break, and what it really takes to produce CFO-grade metrics that stand up in the Boardroom and in due diligence.

Drawing on insights from the 7th Annual SaaS Tech Stack Survey, Ben explains why 58% of companies still rely on spreadsheets and highlights the growing mix of tools aimed at solving the SaaS metrics challenge.

At the core of the issue? SaaS metrics require clean, structured data from four distinct systems—and most companies don’t have that foundation in place.

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In episode #352 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben explains why SaaS and AI founders need to get control of their Stripe data early — before transaction volume and product complexity make it unmanageable. Drawing on years of fractional CFO experience, he explains how messy Stripe data can undermine revenue accuracy, MRR schedules, retention metrics, and due diligence readiness if the data flow isn’t clearly mapped from day one.

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In episode #351 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben breaks down one of the most misunderstood areas of SaaS finance: the difference between bookings, invoices, and revenue. Using the SaaS revenue cycle as a framework, he explains how a signed contract flows through invoicing, revenue recognition, and ultimately cash collection — and why confusing these concepts leads to bad metrics, poor forecasting, and cash flow surprises.

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Justifying investment in customer success is far harder than justifying spend in sales and marketing. In episode #350, Ben walks through a practical framework for evaluating the ROI of customer success and retention programs by tying customer success investment directly to ARR, MRR, and revenue retention performance. Instead of relying on vague qualitative benefits, this episode outlines how finance and SaaS leaders can quantify retention improvements and translate them into real financial impact.

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Blog post on quantifying customer success and retention ROI: https://www.thesaascfo.com/quantifying-investments-in-customer-success-and-retention/

SaaS Metrics Course: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/the-saas-metrics-foundation

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Many SaaS teams try to use their CRM to report ARR and MRR, but this creates serious risks—especially in forecasting, retention analysis, and due diligence. In episode #349, Ben explains why your CRM is rarely the correct source of truth for recurring revenue and where ARR should actually come from to ensure financial accuracy and credibility with investors and acquirers.

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In episode #348 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray responds to a thoughtful LinkedIn comment that challenged a common assumption: that a well-structured SaaS P&L tells the whole story. While a properly built chart of accounts and SaaS P&L are foundational, Ben explains where hidden risks can still exist beneath clean financial statements.

Using real-world examples from SaaS founders and finance teams, this episode explores how revenue commingling, misclassified expenses, role overlap, and customer concentration can quietly distort decision-making—despite an “immaculate” P&L.

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