[ { "rogueId": "customers.gross_revenue_retention", "slug": "gross_revenue_retention", "domain": "customers", "defaultLabel": "Gross Revenue Retention (GRR)", "description": "Recurring revenue retained from the cohort of customers present at the start of the period, excluding expansion — so the metric captures only churn and contraction. Per the SaaS Metrics Standards Board (SMSB) GRR standard. GRR is bounded at 100% (cannot exceed it) and reads as the \"no-defense-against-churn\" floor on retention. The board reads GRR alongside NRR (`customers.net_revenue_retention`) — the gap between them is the expansion contribution. Common pitfall: treating GRR and NRR as substitutes — they answer fundamentally different questions, and a healthy NRR with sliding GRR signals churn masked by upsell.", "fieldType": "percentage", "unit": "%", "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Sales" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "SaaS Metrics Standards Board", "sourceUrl": "https://www.saasmetricsboard.com/gross-revenue-retention", "sectionRef": "GRR", "publicationDate": "2023-01-01", "attributionNotice": "Metric definitions reference standards published by the SaaS Metrics Standards Board (saasmetricsboard.com). imboard is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a member of SMSB." }, "benchmark": { "p25": 82, "median": 91, "p75": 95, "unit": "%", "sourceName": "KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 (15th Annual)", "sourceYear": "2024", "higherIsBetter": true }, "formula": "GRR = (Starting ARR − Contraction − Churn) ÷ Starting ARR, on the cohort active at period start. Excludes expansion. Capped at 100% by definition. Per SMSB GRR standard.", "whyItMatters": "Isolates the \"do customers stay and not shrink\" signal from expansion noise. GRR is the true downside floor on retention — boards use it to spot product or onboarding deterioration that NRR can hide.", "interpretationGuidance": "Per KBCM/Sapphire Private SaaS Company Survey 2024 (§ \"Gross Dollar Retention\"), private SaaS GRR medians typically sit in the high-80s to low-90s, with top-quartile in the mid-90s — distributions vary by ACV cohort and vintage, so pull the current edition. The NRR − GRR gap quantifies expansion contribution; a widening gap with declining GRR is a yellow flag (expansion masking churn). Trend it quarterly — a single-period drop with steady NRR usually means a one-off contraction; persistent decline with flat NRR is a product issue.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "customers.net_revenue_retention", "customers.logo_retention_rate", "customers.logo_churn_rate", "customers.churn_risks", "sales.arr" ] }, { "rogueId": "customers.logo_churn_rate", "slug": "logo_churn_rate", "domain": "customers", "defaultLabel": "Logo Churn Rate", "description": "Share of customer logos lost during the period — the inverse of logo retention. Numerator is logos that churned during the period; denominator is logos present at period start. Per the KBCM/Sapphire Private SaaS Company Survey definition (treated as the de-facto private-SaaS reporting convention). The board reads this as the simplest churn signal — independent of revenue-weighting. Common pitfall: confusing annualized vs. period-rate (monthly churn × 12 ≠ annualized churn for a compounding base) — be explicit about the time window and annualization method.", "fieldType": "percentage", "unit": "%", "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Sales" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 (15th Annual)", "sourceUrl": "https://www.cfodesk.co.il/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024_kbcm_sapphire_saas_survey.pdf", "sectionRef": "Logo Churn", "publicationDate": "2024-09-01", "attributionNotice": null }, "benchmark": { "p25": 5, "median": 13, "p75": 20, "unit": "%", "sourceName": "KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 (15th Annual)", "sourceYear": "2024", "higherIsBetter": false }, "formula": "logo_churn_rate = customers_churned ÷ (customers active at period start). Mathematically: 1 − logo_retention_rate. Annualization for monthly/quarterly rates should be explicit (e.g. (1 − monthly_retention)^12, not monthly_churn × 12).", "whyItMatters": "Direct read on whether customers are walking away. Independent of revenue-weighting, so it cannot be masked by a few large expansions.", "interpretationGuidance": "Per KBCM/Sapphire Private SaaS Company Survey 2024 (§ \"Customer Churn\"), private SaaS logo churn typically sits in the high single digits annually, with top-quartile below 5% — but distributions are highly sensitive to ACV cohort (low-ACV SMB SaaS routinely sees 20%+ annual logo churn; six-figure enterprise contracts often see <3%). Pull the current vintage rather than citing a stale point estimate. Pair with `customers_churned` (absolute count) and `gross_revenue_retention` (revenue-weighted view).", "relatedKpiIds": [ "customers.logo_retention_rate", "customers.customers_churned", "customers.gross_revenue_retention", "customers.net_revenue_retention", "customers.churn_risks" ] }, { "rogueId": "customers.logo_retention_rate", "slug": "logo_retention_rate", "domain": "customers", "defaultLabel": "Logo Retention Rate", "description": "Share of customer logos retained from the prior period, counted by logo (not by revenue). Per the SaaS Metrics Standards Board (SMSB) Logo Retention standard: numerator is logos present at both period start and period end; denominator is logos present at period start. New logos acquired during the period are excluded from both. The board reads this as a \"stickiness\" signal independent of ACV: high logo retention with weak NRR points to flat/contracting expansion; weak logo retention with strong NRR points to high concentration risk. Common pitfall: conflating logo retention with revenue retention — they answer different questions and routinely diverge.", "fieldType": "percentage", "unit": "%", "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Sales" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "SaaS Metrics Standards Board", "sourceUrl": "https://www.saasmetricsboard.com/logo-retention", "sectionRef": "Logo Retention", "publicationDate": "2023-01-01", "attributionNotice": "Metric definitions reference standards published by the SaaS Metrics Standards Board (saasmetricsboard.com). imboard is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a member of SMSB." }, "formula": "logo_retention_rate = (logos active at period start AND active at period end) ÷ (logos active at period start). Excludes net-new logos acquired in-period. Per SMSB Logo Retention standard.", "whyItMatters": "Isolates retention quality from revenue-weighting effects. A handful of large expansions can mask high logo churn in NRR — logo retention surfaces it directly.", "interpretationGuidance": "Per KBCM/Sapphire Private SaaS Company Survey 2024, private SaaS logo retention concentrates in the high-80s to mid-90s (median around 90% for the broad sample, higher for enterprise contract ACVs). Treat distributional ranges as period- and segment-specific; pull the current vintage of the source rather than relying on a memorized number. Pair every value with `logo_churn_rate` (1 − this) for the inverse view and `customers_churned` for the absolute count.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "customers.logo_churn_rate", "customers.customers_churned", "customers.gross_revenue_retention", "customers.net_revenue_retention" ] }, { "rogueId": "customers.net_revenue_retention", "slug": "net_revenue_retention", "domain": "customers", "defaultLabel": "Net Revenue Retention (NRR)", "description": "Recurring revenue retained from the cohort of customers present at the start of the period, including expansion (upsell, cross-sell, price increases) and net of churn and contraction — but excluding revenue from net-new logos acquired in-period. Per the SaaS Metrics Standards Board (SMSB) NRR standard. NRR above 100% means the cohort grew faster than it lost — a hallmark of strong product-led expansion. The board reads NRR alongside GRR (`customers.gross_revenue_retention`) to separate the \"keep + expand\" signal from the \"just keep\" signal. Common pitfall: mixing GAAP revenue and ARR in numerator vs. denominator, or letting net-new logo revenue leak in — both inflate the number; SMSB is explicit that the cohort is closed at period start.", "fieldType": "percentage", "unit": "%", "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Finance", "Sales" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "core", "public": "core" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "SaaS Metrics Standards Board", "sourceUrl": "https://www.saasmetricsboard.com/net-revenue-retention", "sectionRef": "NRR", "publicationDate": "2023-01-01", "attributionNotice": "Metric definitions reference standards published by the SaaS Metrics Standards Board (saasmetricsboard.com). imboard is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a member of SMSB." }, "benchmark": { "p25": 96, "median": 101, "p75": 109, "unit": "%", "sourceName": "KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 (15th Annual)", "sourceYear": "2024", "higherIsBetter": true }, "formula": "NRR = (Starting ARR + Expansion − Contraction − Churn) ÷ Starting ARR, measured on the cohort active at period start. New-logo ARR acquired in-period is excluded from both numerator and denominator. Per SMSB NRR standard.", "whyItMatters": "The single best read on whether existing customers love the product enough to pay more over time. Strong NRR (>100%) compounds — it lets growth come from inside the install base, lowering reliance on new-logo acquisition and improving capital efficiency.", "interpretationGuidance": "Per KBCM/Sapphire Private SaaS Company Survey 2024 (§ \"Net Dollar Retention\"), private SaaS NRR medians have historically clustered around the low-to-mid 100s, with top-quartile in the 110s+ — but cuts vary year-over-year and by ACV segment, so pull the current edition rather than citing a stale point estimate. Top-quartile public SaaS (per typical Bessemer State of the Cloud commentary) cite NRR ≥ ~120% as the benchmark for \"best-in-class\" expansion — treat that thresholds as industry folk-wisdom unless cited to a named edition. Always pair NRR with GRR: a wide gap means expansion is propping up underlying churn.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "customers.gross_revenue_retention", "customers.logo_retention_rate", "customers.logo_churn_rate", "customers.expansion_opportunities", "sales.arr" ] }, { "rogueId": "customers.nps_score", "slug": "nps_score", "domain": "customers", "defaultLabel": "NPS Score", "description": "Net Promoter Score — % of survey respondents who are promoters (score 9–10) minus % detractors (0–6), passives (7–8) excluded. Per the original NPS methodology (Reichheld, Bain & Company, 2003). The score ranges from −100 to +100. The board reads NPS as one read on product-market fit and word-of-mouth potential, not as a precise customer-loyalty measurement — the methodology is well-known for being sensitive to sample bias, response rate, and survey timing. Common pitfall: comparing NPS across companies without normalizing for industry — B2B SaaS NPS distributions sit much higher than consumer-app NPS, and the absolute number means little without a peer cohort.", "fieldType": "number", "unit": null, "maturity": "general", "suggestedForStages": [ "seriesA", "seriesB", "seriesC", "public" ], "defaultOwningFunctions": [ "Product", "Sales" ], "stageRelevance": { "seriesA": "core", "seriesB": "core", "seriesC": "recommended", "public": "recommended" }, "definitionSource": { "tier": "published", "sourceName": "Retently NPS Benchmarks 2025", "sourceUrl": "https://www.retently.com/blog/good-net-promoter-score/", "sectionRef": "NPS Benchmarks", "publicationDate": "2025-01-01", "attributionNotice": null }, "benchmark": { "p25": 20, "median": 36, "p75": 50, "unit": "count", "sourceName": "Retently NPS Benchmarks 2025", "sourceYear": "2025", "higherIsBetter": true }, "formula": "NPS = (% promoters, score 9–10) − (% detractors, score 0–6). Passives (7–8) are excluded from both. Range: −100 to +100. Per Bain & Company / Reichheld NPS methodology (HBR 2003, \"The One Number You Need to Grow\").", "whyItMatters": "A coarse-grained directional read on customer affection and word-of-mouth potential. Sustained movement (especially regressions) is the signal the board should focus on, not absolute values — the methodology is too noisy for fine comparisons across companies.", "interpretationGuidance": "Per Retently NPS Benchmarks 2025, B2B SaaS NPS medians by industry cluster around the +30 to +50 band, with top-quartile +50 to +70. Translate scores to categories: −100 to 0 = needs work, 0–30 = good, 30–70 = great, 70–100 = excellent — these category bands are widely circulated industry folk-wisdom (Bain does not publish strict thresholds). Always pair the score with sample size and response rate; an NPS based on <50 responses or <10% response rate should be flagged as low-confidence.", "relatedKpiIds": [ "customers.nps_trend", "customers.retention_insights", "customers.churn_risks", "customers.key_initiatives" ] } ]