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.

Enjoying the show? Leave a 5-star review and stay tuned for more SaaS finance insights.

Gross profit is a core metric in SaaS—and 80% is the benchmark often thrown around. But is that still realistic in today’s landscape? In episode #292 of SaaS Metric School, Ben Murray walks through real benchmarking data from Ray Rike’s benchmarks at Benchmarkit.ai and explains how gross profit should evolve as your business scales. He also dives into how to set up your SaaS P&L correctly and what to include in COGS vs. OpEx.

What You’ll Learn:

• What gross profit benchmarks actually look like today

• What is our north star GP%?

• How gross profit changes as you scale

• Common COGS setup mistakes in SaaS businesses

• What to do if your gross profit is trending in the wrong direction

Benchmarks Mentioned:

• Bottom quartile

• Median

• Top performers

Key Insight:
Don’t blindly shoot for 80% at every stage. Under $2M ARR? It’s okay to be lower. But once you’re in the $10–20M+ range, that 80% benchmark becomes more important—and achievable.

Resources:
👉 Learn how to properly set up your SaaS P&L and COGS categories at: https://TheSaaSAcademy.com

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

How to Calculate ARR: https://www.thesaascfo.com/how-to-define-and-calculate-arr/

In episode #291 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray breaks down one of the most important—and often debated—questions in SaaS finance:

💰 How much should we invest in sales and marketing this year?

Ben explores how to frame your sales and marketing spend using two key concepts:

• Sales & Marketing as a % of Revenue (OpEx Profile)

• Cost of ARR (Net New Annual Recurring Revenue Cost)

You'll hear current SaaS benchmarks from Ray Rike’s latest data set, which shows how spending evolves from early-stage startups to companies with $100M+ in revenue. Ben explains why high spend isn't bad—as long as there's ROI—and how to use GTM efficiency metrics to stress-test your budget and forecasts.

Key Topics Covered:

• Sales & marketing spend benchmarks by revenue tier

• Understanding your OPEX profile: R&D, S&M, and G&A as % of revenue

• Why spend ratios alone don’t tell the full story

• How to use the Cost of ARR to validate GTM efficiency

• Why growing is NOT scaling, and why that matters for every SaaS operator

• The two-metric combo every SaaS CFO should use

🎯 Takeaway: Don’t fly blind. Use these benchmarks and efficiency metrics to create informed, ROI-driven sales and marketing budgets.

📬 Join the Community: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/dzSx6W32

Stay updated on new SaaS finance episodes, templates, benchmarks, and industry events by joining Ben’s newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

⭐ Enjoying the show?
Leave a 5-star review and help spread the word to more SaaS founders, CFOs, and GTM leaders.

How much R&D spend is too much—or not enough? In episode #290 of SaaS Metric School, Ben Murray breaks down R&D spend benchmarks by company revenue size, based on data from Ray Rike’s Benchmarkit.ai. Whether you’re a founder, CFO, CTO, or finance leader, understanding how your R&D investment compares is crucial for building operational leverage and scaling sustainably.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why R&D spend can feel like a black box—especially for CFOs

• Top vs. lean R&D spending benchmarks by revenue tiers:

• How R&D spend typically scales down as companies grow

• Why controlling opex and creating operating leverage is key to cash flow and EBITDA

Resources & Links:

• 🔗 Benchmark your metrics for free at Benchmark.ai

• 📩 Join Ben’s SaaS community for templates, training, and upcoming events:

  https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/dzSx6W32

• Join Ben's SaaS newsletter:

  https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

Enjoyed the episode?
Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating or review to help others discover SaaS Metric School.

In episode #289, Ben dives into one of his favorite SaaS metrics: Cost of ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue), also known as the SaaS CAC Ratio. This powerful go-to-market metric helps operators and investors evaluate how efficiently a company acquires recurring revenue. Ben breaks down how to calculate it, segment it, and benchmark it using the latest data from Ray Rike at Benchmarkit.ai.

What You’ll Learn:

• What is Cost of ARR and why it matters for SaaS operators and investors
• The formula
• How to calculate blended, new, and expansion Cost of ARR
• Latest benchmark data by ACV from Benchmarkit.ai
• Why aggregate benchmarks are risky and how to segment by ACV size
• How to use this metric to validate your bookings forecast and GTM budget
• When to adopt this metric

Resources Mentioned

• Benchmark your SaaS business: Benchmarkit.ai (give-to-get model)
• Ben’s blog, templates, and courses at TheSaaSCFO.com
• Join the SaaS Community: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/dzSx6W32
• Stay in the loop with exclusive SaaS content: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

In episode #288 of SaaS Metrics School, Ben Murray tackles a frequent mistake SaaS operators make when calculating Lifetime Value (LTV) — treating it as an aggregate rather than the point-in-time metric. Ben breaks down the correct formula, shares how to align it with gross revenue retention, and explains when LTV (and LTV to CAC) should be used SaaS businesses.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why LTV is a point-in-time estimate, not a company-wide average

• The correct formula for LTV in SaaS: Cohort ARPA × Gross Margin ÷ Churn

• How to choose the right churn input using gross revenue retention

• When LTV to CAC is reliable vs. misleading based on your sales motion (SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise)

• Common pitfalls when using LTV in low-volume enterprise models

Key SaaS Metrics Covered:

• LTV (Lifetime Value)

• LTV to CAC Ratio

• Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)

• Cohort ARPA / ACV

• Churn measurement strategy (trailing 3 vs. 6 months)

Who Should Listen:
SaaS CFOs, founders, marketers, and RevOps professionals looking to improve financial modeling and SaaS efficiency metrics — especially if you rely on paid acquisition or track LTV to CAC closely.

Resources Mentioned:

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

• Free SaaS Metrics Tools: TheSaaSCFO.com

• Subscribe to Ben's SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

Like What You Hear?
Please leave a rating and review to help this podcast reach more SaaS professionals who want to build metrics-driven businesses.

In this episode of SaaS Metric School, Ben Murray dives deep into the often-confusing world of Subscription ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue). After analyzing over 160 public tech company filings, Ben shares the three most common ways companies define and calculate ARR—and why these differences matter for SaaS operators, investors, and finance teams. If you’ve ever struggled with benchmarking ARR or explaining it to stakeholders, this episode will give you clarity and context.

• The three standard definitions of Subscription ARR:

  1. Run-Rate MRR

  2. Annualized Contract Value

  3. Committed/Contracted ARR (CARR)

• The difference between ARR and CARR and why it matters

• Why even “pure subscription” businesses report ARR differently

• How public companies present ARR in earnings reports and filings

• The pitfalls of using AI tools (like ChatGPT) for ARR extraction

This episode is a must-listen if you are:
✅ A SaaS CFO or finance leader looking to align ARR reporting with industry norms
✅ A founder or CEO trying to understand what ARR numbers mean (and don’t mean)
✅ A SaaS investor or advisor comparing metrics across multiple portfolio companies
✅ Anyone responsible for forecasting, benchmarking, or reporting SaaS revenue metrics

• 📬 Join Ben’s SaaS Metrics Newsletter (85,000+ operators): https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page

• 📚 SaaS Community for templates, events, and training: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/dzSx6W32

• 🔁 Coming soon: A database of ARR disclosures from public tech companies

• 🎧 Leave a rating or review to help grow the podcast!