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

In episode #297, Ben Murray tackles a common SaaS metrics question: How should reactivations be treated when calculating gross and net revenue retention (GRR & NRR)?

Key takeaways:

• Reactivated customers (e.g., those who churned quickly but later update payment info) should not be included in new revenue — doing so skews CAC and CAC payback metrics.

• Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) only accounts for contraction and churn — reactivations don’t belong here.

• Net Revenue Retention (NRR) is where reactivations should be recorded — they’re essentially recovered revenue from existing customers.

• SaaS companies with high first-month churn (e.g., due to onboarding issues) may consider calculating an adjusted retention metric.

Ben also highlights his new AI chatbot on TheSaaSCFO.com — trained on his blog content for instant SaaS finance answers.

Level up your SaaS knowledge here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/

Have you ever seen a public company restate its ARR? In episode #296, Ben Murray dives into a real-world example from the London Stock Exchange—Celebrus Technologies—and unpacks why and how they updated their Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) definition.

Key Highlights:

• Financial restatements ≠ just GAAP: ARR, a non-GAAP metric, is increasingly being scrutinized as pricing and revenue models evolve.

• Case Study: Celebrus Technologies

  • Old ARR definition: Included license revenue, cloud, support & maintenance, third-party software licenses, and project revenue (i.e. services).

  • New ARR definition: Focuses solely on Celebrus software licenses and managed services—excluding third-party licenses and project revenue.

• Why the change?

  • To better align with how peers in their sector define ARR.

  • To give investors a “cleaner” view of core recurring software revenue.

• Impact of the change: ARR restated downward and now reported at 18.8M (FY25).

• Ben’s take: This is a positive trend. While managed services are still debatable as “recurring,” overall transparency in ARR definitions is improving across public SaaS companies.

Bonus Insight:
ARR restatements, especially when they lower reported revenue, are rare—but this signals a maturing investor focus on true recurring revenue quality.

Upcoming Webinar:
Join Ben Murray and Ray Rike on July 17 as they explore how public SaaS companies are defining and calculating ARR.

>> https://thesaascfo.webinarninja.com/live-webinars/10693368/register

🙏 If you found this episode valuable, please rate & review the show!

In episode #295 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray breaks down how to benchmark your CAC Payback Period accurately—and why generic social media posts can lead you astray.

Too many founders rely on simplified benchmark numbers, such as “12 months or less is good,” without understanding the nuances behind the data. Ben explains why ACV segmentation is critical, how top-quartile companies perform across different contract sizes, and where you can obtain customized benchmarks for your SaaS business.

Key topics include:

• Why aggregate CAC Payback benchmarks are dangerous to follow blindly

• How CAC Payback performance varies by Annual Contract Value (ACV)

• Top quartile benchmarks from (Ray Rike’s database)

• CAC Payback ranges

• Why product segmentation matters—don’t combine CAC across SMB and enterprise lines

• How to get free, custom benchmarks to evaluate your own performance

Remember: You can’t optimize what you don’t benchmark correctly.

Get free custom SaaS benchmarks: Benchmarkit.ai

Download my CAC Payback Period template: https://www.thesaascfo.com/how-to-calculate-cac-payback-period-with-variable-revenue/

In episode #294 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray dives into one of the most important metrics for SaaS operators and investors: CAC Payback Period—with a focus on adapting it for usage-based pricing models.

Whether you’re B2B, B2C, or AI-focused, CAC Payback is a must-have metric when you're investing heavily in go-to-market strategies. But how do you accurately calculate it when your business has subscription + usage revenue?

Ben walks through:

• The standard CAC Payback formula and why it matters

• How to define "customer" accurately to calculate CAC

• How to adjust the denominator of the formula to include usage-based revenue

• How to estimate usage revenue when there’s no clear minimum

• Public company trends in reporting ARR in usage-based models

• Practical judgment calls that SaaS CFOs must make when incorporating usage data

If you're only including subscription ARR in your CAC Payback, but you're generating significant usage revenue—you’re underestimating your efficiency.

Learn more: https://www.thesaascfo.com/how-to-calculate-cac-payback-period-with-variable-revenue/

Coming Up Next:

CAC Payback Period Benchmarks—why you can't just trust the averages you see online.

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