[
  {
    "rogueId": "sales.arr",
    "slug": "arr",
    "domain": "sales",
    "defaultLabel": "ARR",
    "description": "Annual Recurring Revenue — the value of all recurring subscription revenue normalized to a one-year run-rate as of the period close. The headline operating metric for a subscription business; every growth and efficiency ratio (NRR, GRR, magic number, CAC payback, Rule of 40) is calibrated against it. Excludes one-time fees, professional services, and non-contractual usage. Common pitfall: confusing ARR (contracted recurring) with revenue (recognized) or with CARR (contracted incl. not-yet-live) — the SMSB standard draws sharp lines between them, and boards expect the same discipline. The KpiVarianceTable widget surfaces forecast / actual / variance / status / future-forecast columns against the same field.",
    "fieldType": "currency",
    "unit": null,
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "preSeed",
      "seed",
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "Finance",
      "Sales"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "preSeed": "core",
      "seed": "core",
      "seriesA": "core",
      "seriesB": "core",
      "seriesC": "core",
      "public": "core"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "published",
      "sourceName": "SaaS Metrics Standards Board",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.saasmetricsboard.com/annual-recurring-revenue",
      "sectionRef": "ARR",
      "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": "ARR = Sum of annualized value of all active recurring subscription contracts at period close. Per SMSB: includes only the recurring portion of contracts that are live (delivered / in production). Excludes one-time fees, professional services, and usage that is not contractually committed. For multi-year contracts, ARR is the contract value divided by the term in years.",
    "whyItMatters": "Headline operating number that every other SaaS metric calibrates against — growth rate, efficiency ratios (CAC ratio, magic number, Rule of 40), retention math (NRR, GRR), and valuation multiples all read off ARR. Boards use the period-over-period ARR delta as the first-pass health check for the business.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Per KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 §Growth Rate, public-SaaS-comparable private companies in the $5–25M ARR band typically grow ARR 40–60% YoY, falling toward 20–30% by $100M+ ARR; well-below-band growth at any ARR scale is the first thing a board interrogates. Always read ARR alongside Net New ARR (sales.new_business + sales.expansion − sales.churn_arr − sales.downgrades) — flat ARR can mask churn offset by upsell.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "sales.carr",
      "sales.new_business",
      "sales.expansion",
      "sales.churn_arr",
      "sales.downgrades",
      "sales.growth_rate_yoy",
      "sales.starting_arr",
      "customers.net_revenue_retention",
      "operations.rule_of_40"
    ]
  },
  {
    "rogueId": "sales.avg_contract_value",
    "slug": "avg_contract_value",
    "domain": "sales",
    "defaultLabel": "Average Contract Value",
    "description": "Average annualized contract value across new-customer deals signed during the period (ACV). Defines where the company plays on the SaaS deal-size spectrum and dictates the operating model — high-ACV businesses tolerate longer sales cycles and direct sales motions; low-ACV businesses must run product-led or inside-sales motions to keep CAC payback short. Common pitfall: blending new and expansion ACV obscures the new-logo deal-size trend that boards actually want to see. Anchored to KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 §Average Contract Value for cross-company benchmarking.",
    "fieldType": "currency",
    "unit": null,
    "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": "Average Contract Value",
      "publicationDate": "2024-09-01",
      "attributionNotice": null
    },
    "benchmark": {
      "p25": 25000,
      "median": 62000,
      "p75": 100000,
      "unit": "$",
      "sourceName": "KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 (15th Annual)",
      "sourceYear": "2024",
      "higherIsBetter": true
    },
    "formula": "Average Contract Value = New Business ARR / New Customers Added (for the same period). For multi-year contracts, use the annualized ACV (TCV / contract term in years), not Total Contract Value (TCV). Restrict to new-logo deals to keep the trend interpretable; track Expansion ACV separately if material.",
    "whyItMatters": "Sets the cost ceiling for the sales motion — at $5k ACV the company cannot afford a field sales team; at $250k ACV inside sales alone usually leaves money on the table. The board uses ACV trend to validate up-market or down-market strategy bets.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Per KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 §Average Contract Value, segmentation bands: SMB ≤ $5k, Mid-Market $5k–$50k, Enterprise > $50k (often $100k+ for true enterprise). ACV doubling over four quarters is a clear up-market motion — make sure CAC and sales-cycle changes are reflected in plan. Flat ACV with rising volume = scaling the existing motion; rising ACV with flat volume = a deliberate up-market bet that needs explicit board buy-in.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "sales.new_business",
      "sales.new_customers_added",
      "sales.median_deal_size",
      "sales.average_deal_size",
      "sales.avg_sales_cycle_days",
      "sales.cac"
    ]
  },
  {
    "rogueId": "sales.blended_cac_ratio",
    "slug": "blended_cac_ratio",
    "domain": "sales",
    "defaultLabel": "Blended CAC Ratio",
    "description": "Total fully-loaded S&M spend in the period divided by the dollars of new CARR generated in the period (new-customer + expansion CARR combined). Per the SMSB standard, the headline efficiency ratio for the full sales-and-marketing motion — answers \"how many cents do we spend on S&M to add one dollar of contracted ARR.\" Common pitfall: blending without separately reporting New CAC Ratio and Expansion CAC Ratio hides which side of the motion is driving efficiency — for a healthy SaaS company expansion CAC is usually 3–5× cheaper per dollar than new-logo CAC.",
    "fieldType": "number",
    "unit": null,
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "Sales",
      "Finance"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "seriesA": "recommended",
      "seriesB": "recommended",
      "seriesC": "recommended",
      "public": "recommended"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "published",
      "sourceName": "SaaS Metrics Standards Board",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.saasmetricsboard.com/blended-cac-ratio",
      "sectionRef": "Blended CAC Ratio",
      "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": "Blended CAC Ratio = Total S&M Spend (period) / (New CARR + Expansion CARR generated in period). Per SMSB §Blended CAC Ratio: spend uses the same fully-loaded definition as CAC; CARR-based denominator (not ARR) reflects committed contract value at the point of sign.",
    "whyItMatters": "The portfolio-level efficiency number — one ratio that summarizes the full S&M engine. Boards use it to track quarter-over-quarter efficiency improvement as the motion matures.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Per SMSB convention, a Blended CAC Ratio < 1.0 means the company is acquiring more contracted ARR than it spends on S&M — capital-efficient growth. 1.0–1.5 is acceptable while the motion is scaling; > 2.0 sustained signals either a motion or pricing problem. Always pair with the New and Expansion CAC Ratio split to localize the issue.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "sales.new_cac_ratio",
      "sales.expansion_cac_ratio",
      "sales.cac",
      "sales.cac_payback_period",
      "sales.new_business",
      "sales.expansion",
      "sales.carr"
    ]
  },
  {
    "rogueId": "sales.cac",
    "slug": "cac",
    "domain": "sales",
    "defaultLabel": "Customer Acquisition Cost",
    "description": "Fully-loaded sales-and-marketing (S&M) expense incurred to acquire one new customer during the period. Per the SMSB standard, the CAC numerator includes salaries + commissions + benefits + travel + marketing programs + tooling — i.e. all S&M costs, not just direct-attribution paid acquisition. The denominator is new logos, not deals. Common pitfall: omitting fully-loaded comp (especially BDR/SDR base salary and CS-team cost-of-sale where they participate in expansion) understates CAC and inflates every downstream efficiency metric. The board cares about CAC alongside CAC Payback and the CAC Ratio family — single-number CAC is a building block, not a verdict.",
    "fieldType": "currency",
    "unit": null,
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "Sales",
      "Finance"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "seriesA": "core",
      "seriesB": "core",
      "seriesC": "core",
      "public": "core"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "published",
      "sourceName": "SaaS Metrics Standards Board",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.saasmetricsboard.com/customer-acquisition-cost",
      "sectionRef": "CAC",
      "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": "CAC = Total fully-loaded S&M expense for the period / New Customers Added in the period. Per SMSB §CAC: numerator includes all S&M spend (compensation, benefits, programs, tooling, allocated overhead); denominator counts net-new logos only (not expansion deals).",
    "whyItMatters": "The cost side of the customer-unit economics ledger — paired with ACV and gross margin, determines whether each customer is a profitable transaction over a reasonable horizon. Boards read CAC alongside payback period before debating S&M investment levels.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Absolute CAC values vary by ACV band — what matters is the ratio CAC / first-year-ARR (= New CAC Ratio) and CAC Payback. Per public SaaS comps, healthy CAC payback is < 24 months gross-margin-adjusted; > 36 months usually means the acquisition motion is either too expensive or the contract terms too short.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "sales.cac_payback_period",
      "sales.new_cac_ratio",
      "sales.blended_cac_ratio",
      "sales.expansion_cac_ratio",
      "sales.new_business",
      "sales.new_customers_added"
    ]
  },
  {
    "rogueId": "sales.cac_payback_period",
    "slug": "cac_payback_period",
    "domain": "sales",
    "defaultLabel": "CAC Payback Period",
    "description": "Number of months required for the gross profit generated from a new customer's ARR to recover the fully-loaded S&M spend used to acquire them. The single most decision-useful efficiency metric at the board level — it directly connects acquisition cost, ACV, and gross margin into one \"how long until we break even on this customer\" answer. Per the SMSB standard, the calculation must use gross-margin-adjusted ARR in the denominator (not raw ARR) to be cross-company comparable. Common pitfall: using raw ARR understates payback by ~25–30 percentage points and breaks comparability with peer benchmarks.",
    "fieldType": "number",
    "unit": "months",
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "Sales",
      "Finance"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "seriesA": "core",
      "seriesB": "core",
      "seriesC": "core",
      "public": "core"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "published",
      "sourceName": "SaaS Metrics Standards Board",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.saasmetricsboard.com/cac-payback-period",
      "sectionRef": "CAC Payback Period",
      "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": "CAC Payback (months) = CAC / (Monthly New ARR × Gross Margin %). Per SMSB §CAC Payback Period: numerator is fully-loaded CAC (same definition as the CAC line), denominator uses gross-margin-adjusted monthly new ARR so the metric is comparable across companies with different cost structures.",
    "whyItMatters": "The decision-relevant single number for \"is the acquisition motion working\" — sub-24 months signals capital-efficient growth; > 36 months means each dollar of S&M is locking up cash for too long to justify scaling spend.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Per the SaaS-investor convention reflected in KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 benchmarking: < 24 months gross-margin-adjusted payback is healthy; 24–36 months is acceptable for early-stage / up-market motions; > 36 months requires either an explicit path to compress (motion change) or a strategic rationale (e.g. multi-year deferred-revenue contracts with strong retention).",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "sales.cac",
      "sales.new_cac_ratio",
      "sales.blended_cac_ratio",
      "sales.gross_margin",
      "sales.new_business",
      "sales.arr"
    ]
  },
  {
    "rogueId": "sales.carr",
    "slug": "carr",
    "domain": "sales",
    "defaultLabel": "CARR",
    "description": "Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue — recognized MRR × 12 plus the annualized value of contracts that are signed but not yet live (i.e. implementation, ramp, deferred-start). Per the SMSB standard, CARR sits between ARR (live only) and pipeline (unsigned) on the revenue-certainty spectrum: contractually committed but not yet delivered. Boards reading CARR > ARR gap can quantify the in-flight implementation backlog and the leading indicator of next-period ARR. Common pitfall: counting verbal commitments or LOIs as CARR — only signed contracts qualify under the SMSB definition.",
    "fieldType": "currency",
    "unit": null,
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "preSeed",
      "seed",
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "Finance",
      "Sales"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "preSeed": "recommended",
      "seed": "core",
      "seriesA": "core",
      "seriesB": "core",
      "seriesC": "core",
      "public": "core"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "published",
      "sourceName": "SaaS Metrics Standards Board",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.saasmetricsboard.com/contracted-annual-recurring-revenue",
      "sectionRef": "CARR",
      "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": "CARR = ARR (live, recognized contracts annualized) + Annualized value of signed contracts not yet in production. Per SMSB §CARR: requires a signed contract; excludes verbal commitments, letters of intent, and pipeline. The (CARR − ARR) gap = in-flight ARR awaiting go-live.",
    "whyItMatters": "A leading indicator that ARR alone misses — if CARR is growing faster than ARR, an implementation backlog is building and ARR will accelerate as those contracts go live. Boards use the CARR-to-ARR ratio to interrogate the implementation engine.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "A CARR / ARR ratio of 1.00 means everything signed is already live (no implementation backlog); 1.10–1.20 is typical for enterprise SaaS with multi-month implementation timelines; > 1.30 may signal either an implementation bottleneck (operational risk) or a deliberate backlog-build before a known activation event (intentional). Always cross-reference with the implementation team's capacity plan.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "sales.arr",
      "sales.new_business",
      "sales.blended_cac_ratio",
      "sales.new_cac_ratio",
      "sales.bookings_backlog_total"
    ]
  },
  {
    "rogueId": "sales.expansion_cac_ratio",
    "slug": "expansion_cac_ratio",
    "domain": "sales",
    "defaultLabel": "Expansion CAC Ratio",
    "description": "Fully-loaded S&M plus Customer Success expense attributable to expansion divided by expansion CARR generated in the period. Per SMSB, the efficiency read on the upsell / cross-sell / land-and-expand motion. Distinct from the new-logo CAC ratio because the cost base often includes CSMs whose primary metric is retention but whose secondary metric is expansion — boards expect to see that allocation called out. Common pitfall: excluding CS comp entirely understates the true cost of expansion; including all of CS overstates it. The SMSB standard prescribes a documented allocation rule (typically tied to expansion-quota OTE share).",
    "fieldType": "number",
    "unit": null,
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "Sales",
      "Finance"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "seriesA": "recommended",
      "seriesB": "recommended",
      "seriesC": "recommended",
      "public": "recommended"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "published",
      "sourceName": "SaaS Metrics Standards Board",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.saasmetricsboard.com/expansion-cac-ratio",
      "sectionRef": "Expansion CAC Ratio",
      "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": "Expansion CAC Ratio = (S&M + CS spend allocated to expansion in period) / (Expansion CARR generated in period). Per SMSB §Expansion CAC Ratio: allocation rule for cross-functional comp (typically split by quota share of OTE) must be documented and consistent.",
    "whyItMatters": "Validates the financial logic of \"expansion is cheaper than acquisition\" — when this is healthy, the company should bias growth investment toward post-sale; when it inverts (Expansion CAC ≥ New CAC), the expansion motion is broken and acquisition is the only available lever.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Per SMSB convention, healthy Expansion CAC Ratio is typically 3–5× cheaper than New CAC Ratio — i.e. 0.2–0.5 when New CAC Ratio is ~1.5. Expansion CAC Ratio > 1.0 is a yellow flag (expansion costs as much as it earns); inversion vs New CAC Ratio is a red flag warranting a CS / sales-team org review.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "sales.blended_cac_ratio",
      "sales.new_cac_ratio",
      "sales.expansion",
      "customers.net_revenue_retention",
      "sales.carr"
    ]
  },
  {
    "rogueId": "sales.gross_margin",
    "slug": "gross_margin",
    "domain": "sales",
    "defaultLabel": "Gross Margin",
    "description": "Recognized revenue minus cost of goods sold (COGS), divided by recognized revenue, expressed as a percentage. The single best read on whether the business model can ever generate operating leverage — a low gross margin caps every downstream efficiency metric (CAC payback, LTV/CAC, Rule of 40). For SaaS, COGS includes hosting, third-party software, customer support, and customer-success cost-of-service. Common pitfall: omitting customer success from COGS inflates the margin and breaks comparability with peer benchmarks. Anchored to KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 §Gross Margin.",
    "fieldType": "percentage",
    "unit": "%",
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "Finance"
    ],
    "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": "Gross Margin",
      "publicationDate": "2024-09-01",
      "attributionNotice": null
    },
    "benchmark": {
      "p25": 65,
      "median": 72,
      "p75": 81,
      "unit": "%",
      "sourceName": "KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 (15th Annual)",
      "sourceYear": "2024",
      "higherIsBetter": true
    },
    "formula": "Gross Margin = ((Recognized Revenue − COGS) / Recognized Revenue) × 100. COGS for a SaaS business: cloud / hosting infrastructure, third-party data and APIs called for delivery, customer support, customer success cost-of-service, and any directly-attributable delivery personnel. Excludes R&D, S&M, and G&A.",
    "whyItMatters": "Caps every long-term efficiency metric — Rule of 40, LTV/CAC, CAC payback all run off contribution margin which derives from gross margin. Board uses it to verify the unit economics are real before debating S&M investment levels.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Per KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 §Gross Margin, healthy SaaS gross margin is 70–80%; > 80% is best-in-class infrastructure leverage; < 65% usually signals heavy services revenue or inefficient COGS (often customer-success scaling linearly with customer count). Sub-70% companies must show a credible path to 70%+ by next funding milestone or face valuation pressure.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "sales.total_revenue",
      "sales.arr",
      "sales.cac_payback_period",
      "operations.rule_of_40",
      "sales.growth_rate_yoy"
    ]
  },
  {
    "rogueId": "sales.growth_rate_yoy",
    "slug": "growth_rate_yoy",
    "domain": "sales",
    "defaultLabel": "Growth Rate (YoY)",
    "description": "Year-over-year percentage growth in ARR (or recognized revenue, if explicitly anchored) — comparing the current period to the equivalent period 12 months prior. The single most-watched investor metric and the largest single driver of SaaS valuation multiples. Common pitfall: comparing to the prior quarter (QoQ) and reporting it as \"growth rate\" — boards and investors mean YoY unless explicitly noted otherwise. Anchored to KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 §YoY ARR Growth for cross-company benchmarking.",
    "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": "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": "YoY ARR Growth",
      "publicationDate": "2024-09-01",
      "attributionNotice": null
    },
    "benchmark": {
      "p25": 12,
      "median": 19,
      "p75": 27,
      "unit": "%",
      "sourceName": "KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 (15th Annual)",
      "sourceYear": "2024",
      "higherIsBetter": true
    },
    "formula": "YoY Growth Rate = ((ARR at period close − ARR 12 months prior) / ARR 12 months prior) × 100. State the underlying metric explicitly (ARR vs Recognized Revenue) — they diverge meaningfully for sub-scale businesses. For quarters, use end-of-quarter ARR vs end-of-same-quarter-prior-year.",
    "whyItMatters": "Direct input to public-comparable valuation multiples (EV / NTM ARR multiples are sliced by growth band). Boards use it to triangulate stage-appropriate pace and to flag deceleration early.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Per KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 §YoY ARR Growth, median private-SaaS growth bands by ARR scale: $5–10M ARR median ~55–70%, $10–25M ARR ~40–55%, $25–50M ARR ~35–45%, $50M+ ARR ~25–35%. Growth decelerating > 30 percentage points YoY at any ARR scale is the most actionable board warning signal — usually requires either pipeline-coverage diagnosis or product-investment reallocation.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "sales.arr",
      "sales.new_business",
      "sales.expansion",
      "sales.churn_arr",
      "operations.rule_of_40",
      "sales.gross_margin"
    ]
  },
  {
    "rogueId": "sales.new_cac_ratio",
    "slug": "new_cac_ratio",
    "domain": "sales",
    "defaultLabel": "New CAC Ratio",
    "description": "S&M expense attributable to new-customer acquisition divided by the new-customer CARR generated in the period. Per SMSB, the cleanest read on the new-logo acquisition engine's efficiency — strips out the expansion motion which has materially different unit economics. Common pitfall: failing to split AE comp time correctly between new and expansion activities — when the same AE owns both motions, an allocation rule (often the % of OTE tied to new-vs-expansion quota) is required and must be applied consistently quarter-over-quarter.",
    "fieldType": "number",
    "unit": null,
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "Sales",
      "Finance"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "seriesA": "recommended",
      "seriesB": "recommended",
      "seriesC": "recommended",
      "public": "recommended"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "published",
      "sourceName": "SaaS Metrics Standards Board",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.saasmetricsboard.com/new-cac-ratio",
      "sectionRef": "New CAC Ratio",
      "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": "New CAC Ratio = (S&M spend allocated to new-customer acquisition in period) / (New-customer CARR generated in period). Per SMSB §New CAC Ratio: spend allocation must follow a documented rule (e.g. fraction of S&M headcount tied to new-business quota) applied consistently.",
    "whyItMatters": "Isolates the new-logo engine — when blended CAC Ratio is moving, this is the first line of split-out diagnosis. Boards use it to evaluate whether to invest more in acquisition or shift weight toward expansion.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Per SMSB convention, New CAC Ratio of 1.0–2.0 is the typical mid-stage SaaS band; > 2.5 sustained signals the new-logo motion is structurally expensive (often a fit problem with target segment). Should be ≥ Blended CAC Ratio (new-logo is always more expensive than expansion); if New CAC Ratio < Blended, the spend allocation between new and expansion is mis-tagged.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "sales.blended_cac_ratio",
      "sales.expansion_cac_ratio",
      "sales.cac",
      "sales.cac_payback_period",
      "sales.new_business",
      "sales.carr"
    ]
  }
]