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saas-economics-efficiency-metrics

Evaluate SaaS unit economics and capital efficiency. Use when deciding whether the business can scale efficiently or needs correction.

personAuthor: jakexiaohubgithub
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Purpose

Determine whether your SaaS business model is fundamentally viable and capital-efficient. Use this to calculate unit economics, assess profitability, manage cash runway, and decide when to scale vs. optimize. Essential for fundraising, board reporting, and making smart investment trade-offs.

This is not a finance reporting tool—it's a framework for PMs to understand whether the business can sustain growth, when to prioritize efficiency over growth, and which investments have positive returns.

Input

Works best with: The question you're answering (can we scale? raise? extend runway?) or the metrics you want evaluated. Also useful: Your numbers — CAC, gross margin, burn, runway, magic number — partial data is workable.

Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask.

Arriving empty-handed? That works too. Use it as a reference: read the metric sections relevant to your stage and decision.

Example invocation: Are we efficient enough to scale? CAC $9K, gross margin 72%, burn multiple 2.1, magic number 0.6.

Key Concepts

Unit Economics Family

Metrics that measure profitability at the customer level—the foundation of sustainable SaaS.

Gross Margin — Percentage of revenue remaining after direct costs (COGS).

  • Why PMs care: A feature that generates $1M revenue at 80% margin is worth far more than $1M at 30% margin. Margin determines which features to prioritize.
  • Formula: (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue × 100
  • COGS includes: Hosting, infrastructure, payment processing, customer onboarding costs
  • Benchmark: SaaS 70-85% good; <60% concerning

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) — Total cost to acquire one customer.

  • Why PMs care: Shapes entire go-to-market strategy. Determines which channels are viable and how much you can invest in product-led growth.
  • Formula: Total Sales & Marketing Spend / New Customers Acquired
  • Benchmark: Varies by model—Enterprise $10K+ ok; SMB <$500 target
  • Include: Marketing spend, sales salaries, tools, commissions

LTV (Lifetime Value) — Total revenue expected from one customer over their lifetime.

  • Why PMs care: Tells you what you can afford to spend on acquisition. Higher LTV enables premium channels and longer payback periods.
  • Formula (simple): ARPU × Average Customer Lifetime (months)
  • Formula (better): ARPU × Gross Margin % / Churn Rate
  • Formula (advanced): Account for expansion, discount rates, cohort-specific retention
  • Benchmark: Must be 3x+ CAC; varies by segment

LTV:CAC Ratio — Efficiency of customer acquisition spending.

  • Why PMs care: Is growth sustainable or are you buying revenue at a loss? Determines when to scale vs. optimize.
  • Formula: LTV / CAC
  • Benchmark: 3:1 healthy; <1:1 unsustainable; >5:1 might be underinvesting
  • Note: This ratio alone doesn't tell the full story—also need payback period

Payback Period — Months to recover CAC from customer revenue.

  • Why PMs care: Cash efficiency. Faster payback = reinvest sooner. Slow payback can kill growth even with good LTV:CAC.
  • Formula: CAC / (Monthly ARPU × Gross Margin %)
  • Benchmark: <12 months great; 12-18 ok; >24 months concerning
  • Critical: Must have cash to sustain payback period

Contribution Margin — Revenue remaining after ALL variable costs (not just COGS).

  • Why PMs care: True unit profitability. Includes support, processing fees, variable OpEx.
  • Formula: (Revenue - All Variable Costs) / Revenue × 100
  • Variable costs: COGS + support + payment processing + variable customer success
  • Benchmark: 60-80% good for SaaS; <40% concerning

Gross Margin Payback — Payback period using actual profit, not revenue.

  • Why PMs care: More accurate than simple payback. Shows true cash recovery time.
  • Formula: CAC / (Monthly ARPU × Gross Margin %)
  • Benchmark: Typically 1.5-2x longer than simple revenue payback

CAC Payback by Channel — Compare payback across acquisition channels.

  • Why PMs care: Not all channels are created equal. Optimize channel mix based on payback efficiency.
  • Formula: Calculate CAC and payback separately for each channel
  • Use: Allocate budget to faster-payback channels when cash-constrained

Capital Efficiency Family

Metrics that measure how efficiently you use cash to grow the business.

Burn Rate — Cash consumed per month.

  • Why PMs care: Determines what you can build and when you need funding. High burn requires aggressive revenue growth.
  • Formula (Gross Burn): Monthly Cash Spent (all expenses)
  • Formula (Net Burn): Monthly Cash Spent - Monthly Revenue
  • Benchmark: Net burn <$200K manageable for early stage; >$500K needs clear path to revenue

Runway — Months until cash runs out.

  • Why PMs care: Literal survival metric. Dictates timeline for milestones, fundraising, profitability.
  • Formula: Cash Balance / Monthly Net Burn
  • Benchmark: 12+ months good; 6-12 manageable; <6 months crisis mode
  • Rule: Raise when you have 6-9 months runway, not 3 months

OpEx (Operating Expenses) — Costs to run the business (excluding COGS).

  • Why PMs care: Your team's salaries live here. Where "efficiency" cuts happen during downturns.
  • Categories: Sales & Marketing (S&M), Research & Development (R&D), General & Administrative (G&A)
  • Benchmark: Should grow slower than revenue as you scale (operating leverage)

Net Income (Profit Margin) — Actual profit or loss after all expenses.

  • Why PMs care: True bottom line. Are you making money? Can you self-fund growth?
  • Formula: Revenue - All Expenses (COGS + OpEx)
  • Benchmark: Early SaaS often negative (growth mode); mature should be 10-20%+ margin

Working Capital Impact — Cash timing differences between revenue recognition and cash collection.

  • Why PMs care: Annual contracts paid upfront boost cash. Monthly billing delays cash. Affects runway calculations.
  • Example: $1M annual contract paid upfront = $1M cash now, not $83K/month
  • Use: Understand cash vs. revenue timing when planning runway

Efficiency Ratios Family

Composite metrics that measure growth vs. profitability trade-offs.

Rule of 40 — Growth rate + profit margin should exceed 40%.

  • Why PMs care: Framework for balancing growth vs. efficiency. Guides when to prioritize profitability over growth.
  • Formula: Revenue Growth Rate % + Profit Margin %
  • Benchmark: >40 healthy; 25-40 acceptable; <25 concerning
  • Example: 60% growth + (-20%) margin = 40 (healthy growth-mode SaaS)
  • Example: 20% growth + 25% margin = 45 (healthy mature SaaS)

Magic Number — Sales & marketing efficiency.

  • Why PMs care: Is your GTM engine working? Should you scale spend or optimize first?
  • Formula: (Current Quarter Revenue - Previous Quarter Revenue) × 4 / Previous Quarter S&M Spend
  • Benchmark: >0.75 efficient; 0.5-0.75 ok; <0.5 fix before scaling
  • Note: "× 4" annualizes quarterly revenue change

Operating Leverage — How revenue growth compares to cost growth.

  • Why PMs care: Are you scaling efficiently? Revenue should grow faster than costs.
  • Measure: Revenue growth rate vs. OpEx growth rate over time
  • Good: Revenue growth 50%, OpEx growth 30% (positive leverage)
  • Bad: Revenue growth 20%, OpEx growth 40% (negative leverage)

Unit Economics — General term for profitability of each "unit" (customer, seat, transaction).

  • Why PMs care: Is the business model fundamentally viable at the unit level?
  • Calculate: Revenue per unit - Cost per unit
  • Requirement: Positive contribution required; aim for >$0 after all variable costs

Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)

  • Not vanity metrics: High LTV means nothing if payback takes 4 years and customers churn at 3 years.
  • Not static benchmarks: "Good" CAC varies wildly by business model (PLG vs. enterprise sales).
  • Not isolated numbers: LTV:CAC ratio without payback period can mislead (great ratio, terrible cash efficiency).
  • Not just finance's problem: PMs must own unit economics—every feature decision impacts margins and CAC.

When to Use These Metrics

Use these when:

  • Evaluating whether to scale acquisition (LTV:CAC, payback, magic number)
  • Deciding feature investments (margin impact, contribution to LTV)
  • Planning runway and fundraising (burn rate, runway, Rule of 40)
  • Comparing customer segments or channels (unit economics by segment)
  • Board/investor reporting (Rule of 40, magic number, LTV:CAC)
  • Choosing between growth and profitability (Rule of 40 trade-offs)

Don't use these when:

  • Making decisions without revenue context (pair with saas-revenue-growth-metrics)
  • Comparing across wildly different business models without normalization
  • Early product discovery (pre-revenue focus on PMF, not unit economics)
  • Short-term tactical decisions (use engagement metrics, not LTV)

Application

Step 1: Calculate Unit Economics

Use the templates in template.md to calculate your unit economics metrics.

Gross Margin

Gross Margin = (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue × 100

COGS includes:
- Hosting & infrastructure costs
- Payment processing fees
- Customer onboarding costs
- Direct delivery costs

Example:

  • Revenue: $1,000,000
  • COGS: $200,000 (hosting $120K, processing $50K, onboarding $30K)
  • Gross Margin = ($1M - $200K) / $1M = 80%

Quality checks:

  • Is gross margin improving as you scale? (Should benefit from economies of scale)
  • Which products/features have highest margins? (Prioritize those)
  • Are margins >70%? (SaaS should be high-margin)

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

CAC = Total Sales & Marketing Spend / New Customers Acquired

Include in S&M spend:
- Marketing salaries & tools
- Sales salaries & commissions
- Advertising & paid channels
- SDR/BDR team costs

Example:

  • Sales & Marketing Spend: $500,000/month
  • New Customers: 100/month
  • CAC = $500,000 / 100 = $5,000

Quality checks:

  • Is CAC consistent across channels? (Calculate by channel)
  • Is CAC increasing or decreasing over time? (Should decrease with scale)
  • Does CAC vary by customer segment? (SMB vs. Enterprise)

LTV (Lifetime Value)

LTV (Simple) = ARPU × Average Customer Lifetime (months)

LTV (Better) = ARPU × Gross Margin % / Monthly Churn Rate

LTV (Advanced) = Account for expansion, cohort-specific retention, discount rate

Example (Simple):

  • ARPU: $500/month
  • Average Lifetime: 36 months
  • LTV = $500 × 36 = $18,000

Example (Better):

  • ARPU: $500/month
  • Gross Margin: 80%
  • Monthly Churn: 2%
  • LTV = ($500 × 80%) / 2% = $400 / 0.02 = $20,000

Quality checks:

  • Is LTV growing over time? (From expansion, improved retention)
  • Does LTV vary by cohort? (Are new customers more/less valuable?)
  • Does LTV vary by segment? (Enterprise vs. SMB)

LTV:CAC Ratio

LTV:CAC Ratio = LTV / CAC

Example:

  • LTV: $20,000
  • CAC: $5,000
  • LTV:CAC = $20,000 / $5,000 = 4:1

Quality checks:

  • Is ratio >3:1? (Minimum for sustainable growth)
  • Is ratio >5:1? (Might be underinvesting in growth)
  • Is ratio improving or degrading over time?

Interpretation:

  • <1:1 = Losing money on every customer (unsustainable)
  • 1-3:1 = Marginal economics (optimize before scaling)
  • 3-5:1 = Healthy (scale confidently)
  • >5:1 = Potentially underinvesting (could grow faster)

Payback Period

Payback Period (months) = CAC / (Monthly ARPU × Gross Margin %)

Example:

  • CAC: $5,000
  • Monthly ARPU: $500
  • Gross Margin: 80%
  • Payback = $5,000 / ($500 × 80%) = $5,000 / $400 = 12.5 months

Quality checks:

  • Is payback <12 months? (Excellent)
  • Is payback <18 months? (Acceptable)
  • Do you have cash runway to sustain payback period?

Critical insight: 4:1 LTV:CAC with 36-month payback is a cash trap. 3:1 LTV:CAC with 8-month payback is better for growth.

Contribution Margin

Contribution Margin = (Revenue - All Variable Costs) / Revenue × 100

Variable Costs include:
- COGS
- Support costs (variable component)
- Payment processing
- Variable customer success costs

Example:

  • Revenue: $1,000,000
  • COGS: $200,000
  • Variable Support: $50,000
  • Payment Processing: $30,000
  • Contribution Margin = ($1M - $280K) / $1M = 72%

Quality checks:

  • Is contribution margin >60%? (Good for SaaS)
  • Are certain products/segments lower margin? (Consider sunsetting)
  • Does margin improve with scale?

Step 2: Calculate Capital Efficiency

Burn Rate

Gross Burn Rate = Total Monthly Cash Spent
Net Burn Rate = Total Monthly Cash Spent - Monthly Revenue

Example:

  • Monthly Expenses: $800,000
  • Monthly Revenue: $400,000
  • Gross Burn: $800,000/month
  • Net Burn: $400,000/month

Quality checks:

  • Is net burn decreasing over time? (Path to profitability)
  • Is burn rate sustainable given runway?
  • What's the burn rate relative to revenue? (Burn multiple)

Runway

Runway (months) = Cash Balance / Monthly Net Burn

Example:

  • Cash Balance: $6,000,000
  • Net Burn: $400,000/month
  • Runway = $6M / $400K = 15 months

Quality checks:

  • Do you have >12 months runway? (Healthy)
  • Do you have <6 months runway? (Crisis—raise now or cut burn)
  • Can you reach next milestone before runway ends?

Rule: Start fundraising at 6-9 months runway, not 3 months.

Operating Expenses (OpEx)

OpEx = Sales & Marketing + R&D + General & Administrative

Track as % of Revenue:
S&M as % of Revenue
R&D as % of Revenue
G&A as % of Revenue

Example:

  • Revenue: $10M/year
  • S&M: $5M (50% of revenue)
  • R&D: $3M (30% of revenue)
  • G&A: $1M (10% of revenue)
  • Total OpEx: $9M (90% of revenue)

Quality checks:

  • Are OpEx categories growing slower than revenue? (Operating leverage)
  • Is S&M spend efficient? (Check magic number)
  • Is G&A <15% of revenue? (Should stay low)

Net Income (Profit Margin)

Net Income = Revenue - COGS - OpEx
Profit Margin % = Net Income / Revenue × 100

Example:

  • Revenue: $10M
  • COGS: $2M
  • OpEx: $9M
  • Net Income = $10M - $2M - $9M = -$1M (loss)
  • Profit Margin = -10%

Quality checks:

  • Is profit margin improving over time? (Path to profitability)
  • At current growth rate, when will you break even?
  • Are you investing losses in growth? (Acceptable if LTV:CAC is healthy)

Step 3: Calculate Efficiency Ratios

Rule of 40

Rule of 40 = Revenue Growth Rate % + Profit Margin %

Example 1 (Growth Mode):

  • Revenue Growth: 80% YoY
  • Profit Margin: -30%
  • Rule of 40 = 80% + (-30%) = 50 ✅ Healthy

Example 2 (Mature):

  • Revenue Growth: 25% YoY
  • Profit Margin: 20%
  • Rule of 40 = 25% + 20% = 45 ✅ Healthy

Example 3 (Problem):

  • Revenue Growth: 30% YoY
  • Profit Margin: -35%
  • Rule of 40 = 30% + (-35%) = -5 🚨 Unhealthy

Quality checks:

  • Is Rule of 40 >40? (Healthy balance)
  • Is Rule of 40 >25? (Acceptable)
  • Is Rule of 40 <25? (Burning cash without sufficient growth)

Trade-offs:

  • Early stage: Maximize growth, accept losses (60% growth, -20% margin = 40)
  • Growth stage: Balance (40% growth, 5% margin = 45)
  • Mature: Prioritize profitability (20% growth, 25% margin = 45)

Magic Number

Magic Number = (Current Quarter Revenue - Previous Quarter Revenue) × 4 / Previous Quarter S&M Spend

Example:

  • Q2 Revenue: $2.5M
  • Q1 Revenue: $2.0M
  • Q1 S&M Spend: $800K
  • Magic Number = ($2.5M - $2.0M) × 4 / $800K = $2M / $800K = 2.5

Quality checks:

  • Is magic number >0.75? (Efficient—scale S&M spend)
  • Is magic number 0.5-0.75? (Acceptable—optimize before scaling)
  • Is magic number <0.5? (Inefficient—fix GTM before spending more)

Interpretation:

  • >1.0 = For every $1 in S&M, you get $1+ in new ARR (excellent)
  • 0.75-1.0 = Efficient, scale confidently
  • 0.5-0.75 = Marginal, optimize before scaling
  • <0.5 = Inefficient, fix before investing more

Operating Leverage

Track over time to see if you're scaling efficiently.

Example: | Quarter | Revenue | YoY Growth | OpEx | YoY Growth | Leverage | |---------|---------|------------|------|------------|----------| | Q1 2024 | $8M | - | $6M | - | - | | Q2 2024 | $10M | 25% | $7M | 17% | Positive ✅ | | Q3 2024 | $12M | 20% | $9M | 29% | Negative ⚠️ |

Quality checks:

  • Is revenue growing faster than OpEx? (Positive leverage)
  • Are you scaling OpEx too fast relative to revenue?
  • Which OpEx category is growing fastest? (R&D, S&M, G&A)

Step 4: Analyze by Segment and Channel

Unit economics vary dramatically by segment:

| Segment | CAC | LTV | LTV:CAC | Payback | Gross Margin | |---------|-----|-----|---------|---------|--------------| | SMB | $500 | $2,000 | 4:1 | 8 months | 75% | | Mid-Market | $5,000 | $25,000 | 5:1 | 12 months | 80% | | Enterprise | $50,000 | $300,000 | 6:1 | 24 months | 85% |

Quality checks:

  • Which segment has best unit economics?
  • Which segment has fastest payback? (Prioritize when cash-constrained)
  • Which segment has highest LTV? (Invest in retention/expansion)

Examples

See examples/ folder for detailed scenarios. Mini examples below:

Example 1: Healthy Unit Economics

Company: CloudAnalytics (mid-market analytics SaaS)

Unit Economics:

  • CAC: $8,000
  • LTV: $40,000
  • LTV:CAC: 5:1 ✅
  • Payback Period: 10 months ✅
  • Gross Margin: 82% ✅

Capital Efficiency:

  • Monthly Net Burn: $300K
  • Runway: 18 months ✅
  • Rule of 40: 55 (40% growth + 15% margin) ✅
  • Magic Number: 0.9 ✅

Analysis:

  • Strong unit economics (5:1 LTV:CAC, 10-month payback)
  • Efficient GTM (0.9 magic number)
  • Healthy balance (Rule of 40 = 55)
  • Sufficient runway (18 months)

Action: Scale acquisition aggressively. Economics support growth.

Example 2: Good LTV:CAC, Bad Payback (Cash Trap)

Company: EnterpriseCRM (enterprise sales motion)

Unit Economics:

  • CAC: $80,000
  • LTV: $400,000
  • LTV:CAC: 5:1 ✅ (looks great!)
  • Payback Period: 36 months 🚨 (terrible!)
  • Gross Margin: 85%

Capital Efficiency:

  • Monthly Net Burn: $2M
  • Runway: 9 months 🚨
  • Average Customer Lifetime: 48 months
  • Average Contract: $100K/year

Analysis:

  • ⚠️ Great LTV:CAC ratio (5:1) masks cash problem
  • 🚨 36-month payback with 9-month runway = cash trap
  • 🚨 Takes 3 years to recover CAC, but only 9 months of cash
  • ⚠️ Customers stay 4 years, so economics work IF you have cash

Problem: You'll run out of cash before recovering acquisition costs.

Actions:

  1. Negotiate upfront annual payments (reduce payback to 12 months)
  2. Raise capital to extend runway (need 36+ months to sustain growth)
  3. Reduce CAC (shorten sales cycle, improve conversion)
  4. Target smaller deals with faster payback (mid-market vs. enterprise)

Example 3: Scaling Too Fast (Negative Operating Leverage)

Company: SocialScheduler (SMB social media tool)

Quarter-over-Quarter Trend: | Quarter | Revenue | OpEx | Net Income | Revenue Growth | OpEx Growth | |---------|---------|------|------------|----------------|-------------| | Q1 | $1.0M | $800K | -$800K | - | - | | Q2 | $1.3M | $1.2M | -$1.2M | 30% | 50% 🚨 | | Q3 | $1.6M | $1.8M | -$1.8M | 23% | 50% 🚨 |

Analysis:

  • 🚨 OpEx growing FASTER than revenue (50% vs. 23-30%)
  • 🚨 Losses accelerating ($800K → $1.8M in 2 quarters)
  • 🚨 Negative operating leverage (should be positive)
  • ⚠️ Scaling S&M and R&D without corresponding revenue growth

Problem: Burning cash faster while revenue growth is slowing.

Actions:

  1. Freeze headcount until revenue catches up
  2. Cut inefficient S&M spend (magic number likely <0.5)
  3. Focus on improving unit economics before scaling
  4. Aim for OpEx growth <revenue growth

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Celebrating High LTV Without Checking Payback

Symptom: "Our LTV:CAC is 6:1, amazing!"

Consequence: 6:1 ratio with 48-month payback is a cash trap. You'll run out of money before recovering CAC.

Fix: Always pair LTV:CAC with payback period. 3:1 with 10-month payback beats 6:1 with 36-month payback.

Pitfall 2: Ignoring Gross Margin When Calculating LTV

Symptom: "LTV = $100/month × 36 months = $3,600"

Consequence: You're using revenue, not profit. Actual LTV after 30% COGS = $2,520, not $3,600.

Fix: Always include gross margin in LTV calculations. LTV = ARPU × Margin % / Churn Rate.

Pitfall 3: Scaling S&M with Low Magic Number

Symptom: "We need to grow faster—let's double S&M spend!" (Magic Number = 0.3)

Consequence: You're pouring gas on a broken engine. Doubling spend will just accelerate cash burn without proportional revenue growth.

Fix: Only scale S&M when magic number >0.75. If <0.5, fix GTM efficiency first.

Pitfall 4: Using Simplistic LTV Formulas

Symptom: "LTV = ARPU × Lifetime" (ignoring expansion, discount rates, cohort variance)

Consequence: Overstating LTV for decision-making. Reality: expansion boosts LTV; discounting reduces it; cohorts vary.

Fix: Use sophisticated LTV models for big decisions. Simple LTV ok for directional guidance only.

Pitfall 5: Forgetting Time Value of Money

Symptom: "$10K revenue today = $10K revenue in 5 years"

Consequence: Overstating LTV for long-payback businesses. $10K in 5 years is worth ~$7.8K today (at 5% discount rate).

Fix: Discount future cash flows for LTV periods >24 months. Use NPV (net present value).

Pitfall 6: Comparing CAC Across Different Payback Periods

Symptom: "Channel A has $5K CAC, Channel B has $8K CAC—Channel A is better!"

Consequence: If Channel A has 24-month payback and Channel B has 8-month payback, Channel B is actually better (faster cash recovery).

Fix: Compare CAC + payback together, not CAC in isolation.

Pitfall 7: Celebrating Rule of 40 >40 with Negative Cash Flow

Symptom: "Rule of 40 = 50, we're crushing it!" (60% growth, -10% margin, burning $5M/month)

Consequence: Rule of 40 doesn't account for absolute burn. You might have great balance but only 3 months runway.

Fix: Pair Rule of 40 with burn rate and runway. Balance matters, but survival matters more.

Pitfall 8: Ignoring Segment-Specific Unit Economics

Symptom: "Blended CAC is $2K, blended LTV is $10K, we're good!"

Consequence: SMB segment might have $500 CAC / $2K LTV (great), while Enterprise has $20K CAC / $15K LTV (terrible). Blended metrics hide the problem.

Fix: Calculate unit economics by segment. Optimize each independently.

Pitfall 9: Confusing Gross Margin with Contribution Margin

Symptom: "Gross margin is 80%, our margins are great!"

Consequence: After variable support costs (10%) and payment processing (3%), contribution margin might be 67%—not 80%.

Fix: Track both gross margin (COGS only) AND contribution margin (all variable costs). Use contribution margin for unit economics.

Pitfall 10: Forgetting Working Capital Timing

Symptom: "We have 12 months runway based on burn rate" (but all contracts are paid monthly)

Consequence: Annual contracts paid upfront boost cash temporarily. Monthly contracts delay cash collection. Runway is longer/shorter than burn rate suggests.

Fix: Account for working capital when calculating runway. Cash-based runway ≠ revenue-based runway.

References

Related Skills

  • saas-revenue-growth-metrics — Revenue, retention, and growth metrics that feed into LTV
  • finance-metrics-quickref — Fast lookup for all metrics
  • feature-investment-advisor — Uses margin and contribution calculations for feature ROI
  • acquisition-channel-advisor — Uses CAC, LTV, payback for channel evaluation
  • business-health-diagnostic — Uses efficiency metrics for health checks

External Frameworks

  • David Skok (Matrix Partners): "SaaS Metrics" blog — Definitive guide to CAC, LTV, payback
  • Bessemer Venture Partners: "SaaS Metrics 2.0" — Rule of 40, magic number benchmarks
  • Ben Murray: The SaaS CFO — Advanced unit economics modeling
  • Jason Lemkin (SaaStr): SaaS benchmarking research
  • Brad Feld: Venture Deals — Understanding investor perspective on unit economics

Provenance

  • Adapted from research/finance/Finance for Product Managers.md
  • Consolidated from research/finance/Finance_QuickRef.md
  • Common mistakes from research/finance/Finance_Metrics_Additions_Reference.md