{
  "version": "1.3.0",
  "releasedAt": "2026-05-20",
  "kpi": {
    "rogueId": "customers.total_customers",
    "slug": "total_customers",
    "domain": "customers",
    "defaultLabel": "Total Customers",
    "description": "Count of active paying customer logos at the end of the period. \"Active\" means the customer has a live paid subscription or contract on the reporting date — not trial, not cancelled, not zero-revenue. The board reads this alongside ARR to triangulate whether growth is logo-driven (more customers at similar ACV) or expansion-driven (existing customers paying more). Common pitfall: definitions of \"customer\" drift over time as the company sells to subsidiaries, parent accounts, or self-serve users — settle the counting unit (parent vs. account vs. seat) and document it in `customer_definition_note` so cross-period comparisons stay honest.",
    "fieldType": "number",
    "unit": null,
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "preSeed",
      "seed",
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "Sales"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "preSeed": "core",
      "seed": "core",
      "seriesA": "core",
      "seriesB": "core",
      "seriesC": "core",
      "public": "core"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "editorial",
      "sourceName": "imboard Editorial",
      "sourceUrl": null,
      "sectionRef": null,
      "publicationDate": "2026-04-01",
      "attributionNotice": null
    },
    "formula": "Count of customer logos with an active paid subscription/contract on the reporting date. Excludes trials, paused accounts, and $0 contracts. Counting unit (parent vs. account vs. seat) must be documented and held constant period-over-period.",
    "whyItMatters": "The denominator beneath every retention, churn, and concentration metric — and the simplest read on whether the company is winning new logos at the headline level. Boards use it to disambiguate logo-led vs. ARR-led growth.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Net change = new logos − churned logos; pair with `customers_churned` and ARR delta. Stage-typical absolute counts vary so widely (B2B enterprise vs. SMB SaaS) that an absolute count is industry folk-wisdom, not citation-grade — compare instead to the company's own trailing 4-quarter trend. A definitional change to \"customer\" must be flagged on the chart, not absorbed silently.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "customers.customers_churned",
      "customers.logo_retention_rate",
      "customers.logo_churn_rate",
      "customers.top_customer_concentration",
      "sales.arr"
    ],
    "metricBasis": {
      "timeBasis": "point_in_time",
      "production": "primary"
    }
  }
}