RPO—Remaining Performance Obligations—might not be a term you hear often in private SaaS, but public companies are required to disclose it, and it’s becoming a critical forward-looking metric. In episode #300, Ben Murray breaks down the RPO concept, how it's calculated, and why it matters in understanding your future revenue.

Whether you’re preparing for due diligence or just want a stronger grip on your revenue story, understanding RPO can give you an edge.

• What “Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO)” means in SaaS

• How RPO connects to deferred revenue and unbilled contract amounts

• Why RPO is considered a forward-looking visibility metric

• Real-world RPO definition from Snowflake

• When RPO might apply to private SaaS companies — especially with multi-year deals

• A rising RPO often signals strong future revenue durability

• Adds context to your SaaS metrics

• Valuable in due diligence, PE conversations, and strategic exits

• Blog Post: Deep dive on RPO with real-world examples and use cases: https://www.thesaascfo.com/understanding-remaining-performance-obligations-in-saas/

How do usage-based SaaS companies convert transactional or variable revenue into Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)? Episode #299 gives you a practical framework for presenting usage-based ARR to your Board, investors, and internal teams with clarity and confidence.

After manually reviewing hundreds of public filings and investor materials, Ben Murray breaks down the real-world methods used by companies like Confluent and Datadog to turn usage into ARR.

• The most common method for usage-based ARR

• The second most common method

• How these methods compare to traditional MRR x 12 for subscription models

• Why ARR is often used as a North Star Metric and how transparency is improving across SaaS companies.

• Webinar Replay & Slide Deck (~59 slides):
  Get definitions, examples, and real ARR formulas from leading SaaS companies: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/zz3ZR2WL

“Over 100 hours of manual research. I tried using AI—OpenAI couldn’t handle it. I had to read the filings myself. These ARR methods are backed by real-world data from public SaaS companies.”

In episode #298 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray dives deep into one of his favorite metrics: ROSE – Return on SaaS Employees. If you’re aiming to build a durable SaaS business or position your company for a private equity exit, this episode is a must-listen.

Ben explains why ROSE is far more insightful than traditional Revenue per FTE and how it helps evaluate organizational efficiency by factoring in the actual investment made in your people—including fully burdened employee and contractor costs.

• What the ROSE metric is and how to calculate it

• Why ROSE is better than Revenue per FTE for SaaS businesses

• What a “good” ROSE looks like

• Real-world example of a SaaS company that exited to private equity

• How ROSE contributes to achieving the Rule of 40

• Why you need to track and forecast ROSE monthly

Call to Action!

Grab my ROSE Metric template and the high-performance example here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/pl/2148690725