In episode #334, Ben Murray breaks down how leading public SaaS and tech companies are reporting AI-driven value creation across their earnings calls. After analyzing more than 130 public tech earnings transcripts, Ben identifies five consistent themes in how incumbents communicate AI monetization, margin impact, revenue growth, and operational transformation to Wall Street.

These insights are critical for private SaaS and AI founders who want to understand how to position their own AI value story for Boards, investors, and future fundraising. As AI moves beyond the hype cycle, companies must clearly demonstrate monetization, adoption, and financial impact—not just vision and roadmap.

Why It Matters

Understanding how public companies frame AI value creation helps private founders avoid vague positioning and instead adopt investor-grade communication. These themes influence:

As AI transitions from hype to monetization to full transformation, founders must adapt how they report AI’s contribution to performance and financial outcomes.

Resources Mentioned:

Reporting AI ARR: https://www.thesaascfo.com/ai-arr-vs-saas-arr-how-to-define-and-calculate/

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

In episode #333, Ben answers a foundational SaaS metrics question: Should expansion revenue be included in your Lifetime Value (LTV) calculation? Ben walks through the correct LTV formula and highlights how misalignment between LTV and CAC can distort your LTV:CAC ratio. He also covers when expansion should be included.

The episode provides a practical framework for SaaS founders, CFOs, and operators to ensure they calculate LTV accurately, compare it properly to CAC, and model unit economics using consistent, reliable inputs.

Key Topics Covered

Why This Matters

This episode is essential for:

Resources Mentioned

Ben’s deep dive on SaaS+ LTV: https://www.thesaascfo.com/how-to-calculate-ltv-with-variable-revenue/

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

In episode #332, Ben Murray explains why AI companies with high inference costs and lower gross profit margins must scale dramatically faster—up to 6x larger—to match the financial performance of a comparable SaaS business. Using simple financial modeling and the core principles of SaaS economics, Ben breaks down how AI margins, variable COGS, and TAM expansion interact to shape the financial trajectory of AI-native companies.

This episode builds on a recent blog post and downloadable Excel model, both linked in the show notes.

Key Topics Covered

Why This Matters

This episode is critical for:

Resources Mentioned

Full blog post on AI vs. SaaS economics: https://www.thesaascfo.com/the-real-economics-of-saas-versus-ai-companies/

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

In episode #331, Ben breaks down the true financial and economic differences between a SaaS company and an AI company. Inspired by a tweet claiming that “SaaS metrics are broken” and that AI companies generate more absolute profit per customer, Ben puts the theory to the test using real financial modeling.

This episode walks through detailed revenue, gross margin, EBITDA, pricing power, TAM dynamics, and unit economics scenarios to determine whether AI companies actually outperform SaaS businesses.

What This Episode Covers

Why This Matters

Ben emphasizes that the P&L, revenue streams, cost structure, and core KPI’s still apply. What changes are the inputs—gross margin profile, pricing power, TAM, ACV, and scalability assumptions.

Resources Mentioned

In episode #330, Ben explains one of the most common and costly SaaS finance mistakes: failing to allocate CAC between new and existing customers. This oversight leads to misleading KPI’s, inaccurate CAC payback, flawed LTV to CAC ratios, and unreliable unit economics. Ben walks through exactly how to allocate CAC the right way, how to segment sales and marketing expenses, and why this matters for accurate revenue efficiency metrics and due diligence.

Why fully burdened sales and marketing expenses are required for accurate CAC

The danger of pushing all sales and marketing expenses into CAC without allocation

How to allocate CAC between new customer acquisition and expansion

How to segment sales teams (hunters vs. farmers) and avoid co-mingled headcount

Allocating marketing spend based on acquisition channels

Typical allocation benchmarks for sales (60-80% to new) and marketing (80-90% to new)

Why accurate CAC is essential for CAC payback, LTV to CAC, and cost of ARR

How the Cost of ARR provides a blended benchmark without requiring allocation

Using allocation methods for businesses with multiple product lines or motions

How to correctly calculate CAC using fully burdened sales and marketing expenses

How to evaluate marketing economics and sales efficiency with proper allocation

Why unallocated CAC leads to distorted financial strategy and misleading KPI’s

How CAC allocation flows into CAC payback period, LTV to CAC, and ARR efficiency

How to build a repeatable, defensible go-to-market metrics framework that withstands due diligence

SaaS founders scaling beyond early customer acquisition

CFOs, FP&A leaders, and finance teams who own KPI modeling

Operators who need accurate CAC, CAC payback, and LTV calculations

Investors or advisors assessing revenue efficiency and go-to-market economics

SaaS Metrics Foundation course covering CAC, LTV, ARR, and unit economics: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/the-saas-metrics-foundation

Coaching resources on building an accurate, SaaS-specific chart of accounts: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/saas-cfo-coaching

In episode #329, Ben Murray, The SaaS CFO, breaks down the growing debate around SaaS economics versus AI economics. A recent post claimed that “SaaS metrics are broken” and that traditional KPIs no longer apply to AI companies.

Ben challenges this idea and walks through why recurring revenue metrics still matter, how revenue models differ across SaaS and AI, and what CFOs need to understand about gross margin, unit economics, and total addressable market.

Why claims that SaaS metrics are “broken” are inaccurate

The difference between SaaS economics and AI economics

Why recurring revenue metrics still apply to AI companies

How subscription versus usage revenue impacts KPI calculation

Gross margin expectations for SaaS vs. AI companies

Whether AI companies truly generate more profit per customer

The role of absolute profit versus per-customer economics

How AI may expand TAM by targeting labor budgets, not just software budgets

How Agentic AI affects financial modeling and cost structures

Using ROSE (Return on Software Employees) to evaluate AI-driven ROI

Why SaaS metrics still matter for both SaaS and AI companies

How CFOs should evaluate margins, ARR, and revenue quality in AI models

The difference between rate-based economics (ARPA, ACV) and volume-based economics (absolute profit)

How to think about financial strategy when transitioning from a pure SaaS model to an AI-embedded product model

How to assess realistic AI unit economics instead of relying on hype

SaaS CFOs and finance leaders evaluating AI investments

Founders embedding AI into their product and adjusting their financial models

Operators who want a grounded understanding of real AI economics

Investors assessing how AI shifts revenue models and margins

Ben’s upcoming deep-dive blog post on SaaS vs. AI economics: TheSaaSCFO.com

SaaS Metrics Foundation course for mastering KPI’s, ARR, MRR, and unit economics: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/the-saas-metrics-foundation

ROSE metric framework for analyzing AI-driven productivity and financial systems: https://www.thesaascfo.com/saas-rose-metric/

At what point should a founder stop running finance and accounting and hand the numbers to an expert?

In episode #328, Ben Murray walks through the inflection points when SaaS founders should consider hiring a bookkeeper and/or fractional CFO to protect data accuracy, improve forecasting, and strengthen company valuation. You’ll learn the warning signs that your financial systems and reporting are holding back growth—and how to build a finance function that scales with your business.

What You’ll Learn

Why It Matters

Key Takeaways

Resources Mentioned

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

Finance 101 for Founders: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/finance-101-for-saas-founders

Quote from Ben

“Just like I couldn’t go in and code your product, most founders can’t scale as CFO. At some point, finance needs a specialist so the business can keep growing on solid data.”

Your gross margin might not be telling the truth.

In episode #327, Ben Murray exposes the seven “dirty secrets” that distort SaaS gross margins — from incorrect COGS coding to missing allocations for shared resources and misclassified expenses. Whether you’re a CFO, finance lead, or operator, you’ll learn how to clean up your P&L and get accurate unit economics that reflect your true performance and valuation.

What You’ll Learn

Why It Matters

Key Takeaways

Resources Mentioned

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

Quote from Ben

“Your P&L doesn’t lie — but bad coding does. If your COGS and OpEx aren’t clean, your gross margin isn’t either.”

Thinking about raising capital or selling your SaaS company? Your legal readiness can make or break the deal.

In episode #326, Ben Murray breaks down what investors and acquirers look for during due diligence — and why preparing your cap table, contracts, IP, and financial systems at least six months in advance is essential to protect your company's valuation and ensure a smooth process.

What You’ll Learn

Cap Table Management: Why tracking every issued share, option, and agreement matters — and how to avoid “email equity surprises.”

IP Protection: The critical role of signed IP assignment agreements for employees, contractors, and vendors.

Customer & Vendor Contracts: Why detailed MSAs, renewal clauses, and change-of-control provisions are required for investor confidence.

Accounting Readiness: How clean, timely accounting — especially a complete MRR schedule (revenue by customer by month) — helps prove the health of your recurring revenue and ARR growth.

Sales Tax Compliance: Why sales tax exposure can derail your exit process.

Due Diligence Prep: How to build your data room, organize key documents, and present your SaaS business model with clarity.

Why It Matters

For Founders: Legal gaps can reduce your valuation multiple and slow down the exit timeline.

For CFOs: Solid financial systems and clean documentation protect your cash flow and reputation with investors.

For Investors: A well-prepared company signals operational maturity and reduces transaction risk.

For Operators: Legal readiness supports strategic growth and prevents “deal fatigue” during M&A or fundraising.

Resources Mentioned

Ben’s Blog Post: “SaaS Legal Readiness Checklist” : https://www.thesaascfo.com/why-legal-readiness-can-make-or-break-your-saas-exit/

SaaS Metrics Foundation Course – Learn how to align your financial reporting and recurring revenue metrics for due diligence success.

Upcoming Webinar: “Legal Readiness for SaaS Founders — How to Prepare for an Exit or Raise” (details via newsletter)

💬 Quote from Ben

“You can’t fix legal readiness in a week. Start six months early, or you’ll be scrambling during due diligence when investors start asking for data you don’t have.”

“SaaS metrics are dead.” You’ve probably seen that post on LinkedIn or X lately. In episode #325, Ben Murray cuts through the noise to explain why SaaS metrics aren’t broken — they’re just evolving to match modern recurring revenue business models.

Whether you’re running a SaaS, AI, software, or managed services company, the same financial principles apply. The key is understanding your revenue types — subscription, usage, consumption, or transaction — and applying the right metrics framework for each.

What You’ll Learn

Why It Matters

Key Takeaways

Resources Mentioned

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

Quote from Ben

“SaaS metrics aren’t broken — they’ve just outgrown the acronym. These are recurring revenue metrics that apply to most modern business models.”