Retention Reporting Method
Whether the company TRACKS cohort retention (NRR/GRR) or does NOT yet track it — the explicit signal the bespoke customers retention grid reads to choose between the tracked 4-card retention view and the not-tracked empty state. Value is `tracked` or `not_tracked`. Without this canonical field the card has to INFER "tracked" and can never honestly render the not-tracked state. Common pitfall: leaving NRR/GRR blank to mean "not tracked" — that is ambiguous with "tracked but zero"; this explicit enum removes the ambiguity. — Customers KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier)
No public third-party standard anchors this KPI yet, so I'mBoard authors and maintains the definition — transparently labeled as editorial tier. See the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system and the back-attribution workstream.
Rogue ID: customers.reporting_method
Type: Text
Domain: Customers
Definition
Whether the company TRACKS cohort retention (NRR/GRR) or does NOT yet track it — the explicit signal the bespoke customers retention grid reads to choose between the tracked 4-card retention view and the not-tracked empty state. Value is tracked or not_tracked. Without this canonical field the card has to INFER "tracked" and can never honestly render the not-tracked state. Common pitfall: leaving NRR/GRR blank to mean "not tracked" — that is ambiguous with "tracked but zero"; this explicit enum removes the ambiguity.
Formula
Enum: 'tracked' (the company computes cohort NRR/GRR) or 'not_tracked' (it does not yet). Drives whether the retention grid renders values or its not-tracked state.Why it matters
Lets the board distinguish "retention is bad" from "retention is not yet measured" — two very different early-stage situations that a blank NRR cannot tell apart.
How to interpret
When 'not_tracked', the absence of NRR/GRR is expected (not a red flag); the board's ask is to start tracking. When 'tracked', read the NRR/GRR values normally.
Related KPIs
customers.net_revenue_retentioncustomers.gross_revenue_retention
Source
I'mBoard editorial — authored and maintained by I'mBoard, first published 2026-04-01. No third-party standard is cited for this KPI; when one emerges, the definition is back-attributed and promoted to the published tier (a minor version bump). Read the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system, attribution rules, and dispute process.
Stage relevance
| Company stage | Priority |
|---|---|
| Series A | Recommended |
| Series B | Recommended |
| Series C+ | Recommended |
| Public | Recommended |
Suggested for stages: Series A, Series B, Series C+, Public.
Default owning functions
- Finance
- Sales
Machine-readable
- This KPI as JSON:
/api/ontology/customers/reporting_method.json - All Customers KPIs:
/api/ontology/customers.json - Full catalog:
/api/ontology/index.json
Prior-Quarter Total Customers
The total active customer-logo count at the END of the prior reporting period — the opening balance for the current period's logo bridge. The board reads this so the bespoke customers card can show beginning vs. ending logos and the net change without having to re-derive the opening balance from `total_customers − new + churned`. Common pitfall: silently re-stating the prior total after a definitional change to "customer" — hold the counting unit constant or footnote the restatement. — Customers KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
Retention Insights
Free-form commentary from the CS / Sales leadership on retention trends, cohort behavior, and underlying drivers of loyalty (or its absence). Pairs with the quantitative retention KPIs (NRR, GRR, logo retention) and gives the board the "why" behind the numbers — which cohorts are strong, which are weak, what feature engagement correlates with retention, what onboarding changes are landing. Common pitfall: filler prose that restates the numbers without adding causal insight — a board reader should learn something here they could not infer from the metrics page alone. — Customers KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).