Finance Metrics Quickref
- 1.7k installs
- 6.3k repo stars
- Updated July 17, 2026
- deanpeters/product-manager-skills
finance-metrics-quickref is an agent skill that look up saas finance metrics, formulas, and benchmarks fast. use when you need a quick metric definition, formula, or benchmark during analysis.
About
finance-metrics-quickref is an agent skill from deanpeters/product-manager-skills that look up saas finance metrics, formulas, and benchmarks fast. use when you need a quick metric definition, formula, or benchmark during analysis. ## Purpose Quick reference for any SaaS finance metric without deep teaching. Use this when you need a fast formula lookup, benchmark check, or decision framework reminder. For detailed explanations, calculations, and examples, see the related deep-dive skills. This is not a teaching tool—it's a cheat sheet optimized for speed. Scan, find, apply. Developers invoke finance-metrics-quickref during validate/scope work for productivity & planning tasks. The skill documents triggers, prerequisites, and step-by-step workflows grounded in SKILL.md. Compatible with Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex agent runtimes that load marketplace skills.
- This is not a teaching tool—it's a cheat sheet optimized for speed. Scan, find, apply.
- Metrics are organized into four families:
- 1. **Revenue & Growth** — Top-line money (revenue, ARPU, ARPA, MRR/ARR, churn, NRR, expansion)
- 2. **Unit Economics** — Customer-level profitability (CAC, LTV, payback, margins)
- 3. **Capital Efficiency** — Cash management (burn rate, runway, OpEx, net income)
Finance Metrics Quickref by the numbers
- 1,674 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- +64 installs in the week ending Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
- Ranked #328 of 3,282 Productivity & Planning skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Security screen: LOW risk (skills.sh audit)
- Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
finance-metrics-quickref capabilities & compatibility
- Capabilities
- this is not a teaching tool—it's a cheat sheet o · metrics are organized into four families: · 1. **revenue & growth** — top line money (revenu · 2. **unit economics** — customer level profitabi · 3. **capital efficiency** — cash management (bur
- Use cases
- orchestration
What finance-metrics-quickref says it does
This is not a teaching tool—it's a cheat sheet optimized for speed. Scan, find, apply.
Metrics are organized into four families:
1. **Revenue & Growth** — Top-line money (revenue, ARPU, ARPA, MRR/ARR, churn, NRR, expansion)
npx skills add https://github.com/deanpeters/product-manager-skills --skill finance-metrics-quickrefAdd your badge
Show developers this skill is listed on Skillselion. Paste this into your README.
| Installs | 1.7k |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 6.3k |
| Security audit | 3 / 3 scanners passed |
| Last updated | July 17, 2026 |
| Repository | deanpeters/product-manager-skills ↗ |
What it does
Look up SaaS finance metrics, formulas, and benchmarks fast. Use when you need a quick metric definition, formula, or benchmark during analysis.
Who is it for?
Developers working on productivity & planning during validate tasks.
Skip if: Tasks outside Productivity & Planning scope described in SKILL.md.
When should I use this skill?
Look up SaaS finance metrics, formulas, and benchmarks fast. Use when you need a quick metric definition, formula, or benchmark during analysis.
What you get
Completed productivity & planning workflow aligned with SKILL.md steps.
- Metric definitions
- Calculation formulas
- Industry benchmark references
Files
Purpose
Quick reference for any SaaS finance metric without deep teaching. Use this when you need a fast formula lookup, benchmark check, or decision framework reminder. For detailed explanations, calculations, and examples, see the related deep-dive skills.
This is not a teaching tool—it's a cheat sheet optimized for speed. Scan, find, apply.
Key Concepts
Metric Categories
Metrics are organized into four families:
1. Revenue & Growth — Top-line money (revenue, ARPU, ARPA, MRR/ARR, churn, NRR, expansion) 2. Unit Economics — Customer-level profitability (CAC, LTV, payback, margins) 3. Capital Efficiency — Cash management (burn rate, runway, OpEx, net income) 4. Efficiency Ratios — Growth vs. profitability balance (Rule of 40, magic number)
When to Use This Skill
Use this when:
- You need a quick formula or benchmark
- You're preparing for a board meeting or investor call
- You're evaluating a decision and need to check which metrics matter
- You want to identify red flags quickly
Don't use this when:
- You need detailed calculation guidance (use
saas-revenue-growth-metricsorsaas-economics-efficiency-metrics) - You're learning these metrics for the first time (start with deep-dive skills)
- You need examples and common pitfalls (covered in related skills)
---
Application
All Metrics Reference Table
| Metric | Formula | What It Measures | Good Benchmark | Red Flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Total sales before expenses | Top-line money earned | Growth rate >20% YoY (varies by stage) | Revenue growing slower than costs |
| ARPU | Total Revenue / Total Users | Revenue per individual user | Varies by model; track trend | ARPU declining cohort-over-cohort |
| ARPA | MRR / Active Accounts | Revenue per customer account | SMB: $100-$1K; Mid: $1K-$10K; Ent: $10K+ | High ARPA + low ARPU (undermonetized seats) |
| ACV | Annual Recurring Revenue per Contract | Annualized contract value | SMB: $5K-$25K; Mid: $25K-$100K; Ent: $100K+ | ACV declining (moving downmarket unintentionally) |
| MRR/ARR | MRR × 12 = ARR | Predictable recurring revenue | Growth + quality matter; track components | New MRR declining while churn stable/growing |
| Churn Rate | Customers Lost / Starting Customers | % of customers who cancel | Monthly <2% great, <5% ok; Annual <10% great | Churn increasing cohort-over-cohort |
| NRR | (Start ARR + Expansion - Churn - Contraction) / Start ARR × 100 | Revenue retention + expansion | >120% excellent; 100-120% good; 90-100% ok | NRR <100% (base is contracting) |
| Expansion Revenue | Upsells + Cross-sells + Usage Growth | Additional revenue from existing customers | 20-30% of total revenue | Expansion <10% of MRR |
| Quick Ratio | (New MRR + Expansion MRR) / (Churned MRR + Contraction) | Revenue gains vs. losses | >4 excellent; 2-4 healthy; <2 leaky bucket | Quick Ratio <2 (leaky bucket) |
| Gross Margin | (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue × 100 | % of revenue after direct costs | SaaS: 70-85% good; <60% concerning | Gross margin <60% or declining |
| CAC | Total S&M Spend / New Customers | Cost to acquire one customer | Varies: Ent $10K+ ok; SMB <$500 | CAC increasing while LTV flat |
| LTV | ARPU × Gross Margin % / Churn Rate | Total revenue from one customer | Must be 3x+ CAC; varies by segment | LTV declining cohort-over-cohort |
| LTV:CAC | LTV / CAC | Unit economics efficiency | 3:1 healthy; <1:1 unsustainable; >5:1 underinvesting | LTV:CAC <1.5:1 |
| Payback Period | CAC / (Monthly ARPU × Gross Margin %) | Months to recover CAC | <12 months great; 12-18 ok; >24 concerning | Payback >24 months (cash trap) |
| Contribution Margin | (Revenue - All Variable Costs) / Revenue × 100 | True contribution after variable costs | 60-80% good for SaaS; <40% concerning | Contribution margin <40% |
| Burn Rate | Monthly Cash Spent - Revenue | Cash consumed per month | Net burn <$200K manageable early; <$500K growth | Net burn accelerating |
| Runway | Cash Balance / Monthly Net Burn | Months until money runs out | 12+ months good; 6-12 ok; <6 crisis | Runway <6 months |
| OpEx | S&M + R&D + G&A | Costs to run the business | Should grow slower than revenue | OpEx growing faster than revenue |
| Net Income | Revenue - All Expenses | Actual profit/loss | Early negative ok; mature 10-20%+ margin | Losses accelerating without growth |
| Rule of 40 | Revenue Growth % + Profit Margin % | Balance of growth vs. efficiency | >40 healthy; 25-40 ok; <25 concerning | Rule of 40 <25 |
| Magic Number | (Q Revenue - Prev Q Revenue) × 4 / Prev Q S&M | S&M efficiency | >0.75 efficient; 0.5-0.75 ok; <0.5 fix GTM | Magic Number <0.5 |
| Operating Leverage | Revenue Growth vs. OpEx Growth | Scaling efficiency | Revenue growth > OpEx growth | OpEx growing faster than revenue |
| Gross vs. Net Revenue | Net = Gross - Discounts - Refunds - Credits | What you actually keep | Refunds <10%; discounts <20% | Refunds >10% (product problem) |
| Revenue Concentration | Top N Customers / Total Revenue | Dependency on largest customers | Top customer <10%; Top 10 <40% | Top customer >25% (existential risk) |
| Revenue Mix | Product/Segment Revenue / Total Revenue | Portfolio composition | No single product >60% ideal | Single product >80% (no diversification) |
| Cohort Analysis | Group customers by join date; track behavior | Whether business improving or degrading | Recent cohorts same/better than old | Newer cohorts perform worse |
| CAC Payback by Channel | CAC / Monthly Contribution (by channel) | Payback by acquisition channel | Compare across channels | One channel far worse than others |
| Gross Margin Payback | CAC / (Monthly ARPU × Gross Margin %) | Payback using actual profit | Typically 1.5-2x simple payback | Payback using margin >36 months |
| Unit Economics | Revenue per unit - Cost per unit | Profitability of each "unit" | Positive contribution required | Negative contribution margin |
| Segment Payback | CAC / Monthly Contribution (by segment) | Payback by customer segment | Compare to allocate resources | One segment unprofitable |
| Incrementality | Revenue caused by action - Baseline | True impact of marketing/promo | Measure with holdout tests | Celebrating revenue that would've happened anyway |
| Working Capital | Cash timing between revenue and collection | Cash vs. revenue timing | Annual upfront > monthly billing | Long payment terms killing runway |
---
Quick Decision Frameworks
Use these frameworks to combine metrics for common PM decisions.
Framework 1: Should We Build This Feature?
Ask: 1. Revenue impact? Direct (pricing, add-on) or indirect (retention, conversion)? 2. Margin impact? What's the COGS? Does it dilute margins? 3. ROI? Revenue impact / Development cost
Build if:
- ROI >3x in year one (direct monetization), OR
- LTV impact >10x development cost (retention), OR
- Strategic value overrides short-term ROI
Don't build if:
- Negative contribution margin even with optimistic adoption
- Payback period exceeds average customer lifetime
Metrics to check: Revenue, Gross Margin, LTV, Contribution Margin
---
Framework 2: Should We Scale This Acquisition Channel?
Ask: 1. Unit economics? CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC ratio 2. Cash efficiency? Payback period 3. Customer quality? Cohort retention, NRR by channel 4. Scalability? Magic Number, addressable volume
Scale if:
- LTV:CAC >3:1 AND
- Payback <18 months AND
- Customer quality meets/beats other channels AND
- Magic Number >0.75
Don't scale if:
- LTV:CAC <1.5:1 AND
- No clear path to improvement
Metrics to check: CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC, Payback Period, NRR, Magic Number
---
Framework 3: Should We Change Pricing?
Ask: 1. ARPU/ARPA impact? Will revenue per customer increase? 2. Conversion impact? Help or hurt trial-to-paid conversion? 3. Churn impact? Create churn risk or reduce it? 4. NRR impact? Enable expansion or create contraction?
Implement if:
- Net revenue impact positive after churn risk
- Can test with segment before broad rollout
Don't change if:
- High churn risk without offsetting expansion
- Can't test hypothesis before committing
Metrics to check: ARPU, ARPA, Churn Rate, NRR, CAC Payback
---
Framework 4: Is the Business Healthy?
Check by stage:
Early Stage (Pre-$10M ARR):
- Growth Rate >50% YoY
- LTV:CAC >3:1
- Gross Margin >70%
- Runway >12 months
Growth Stage ($10M-$50M ARR):
- Growth Rate >40% YoY
- NRR >100%
- Rule of 40 >40
- Magic Number >0.75
Scale Stage ($50M+ ARR):
- Growth Rate >25% YoY
- NRR >110%
- Rule of 40 >40
- Profit Margin >10%
Metrics to check: Revenue Growth, NRR, LTV:CAC, Rule of 40, Magic Number, Gross Margin
---
Red Flags by Category
Revenue & Growth Red Flags
| Red Flag | What It Means | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Churn increasing cohort-over-cohort | Product-market fit degrading | Stop scaling acquisition; fix retention first |
| NRR <100% | Base is contracting | Fix expansion or reduce churn before scaling |
| Revenue churn > logo churn | Losing big customers | Investigate why high-value customers leave |
| Quick Ratio <2 | Leaky bucket (barely outpacing losses) | Fix retention before scaling acquisition |
| Expansion revenue <10% of MRR | No upsell/cross-sell engine | Build expansion paths |
| Revenue concentration >50% in top 10 customers | Existential dependency risk | Diversify customer base |
Unit Economics Red Flags
| Red Flag | What It Means | Action |
|---|---|---|
| LTV:CAC <1.5:1 | Buying revenue at a loss | Reduce CAC or increase LTV before scaling |
| Payback >24 months | Cash trap (long cash recovery) | Negotiate annual upfront or reduce CAC |
| Gross margin <60% | Low profitability per dollar | Increase prices or reduce COGS |
| CAC increasing while LTV flat | Unit economics degrading | Optimize conversion or reduce sales cycle |
| Contribution margin <40% | Unprofitable after variable costs | Cut variable costs or increase prices |
Capital Efficiency Red Flags
| Red Flag | What It Means | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Runway <6 months | Survival crisis | Raise capital immediately or cut burn |
| Net burn accelerating without revenue growth | Burning faster without results | Cut costs or increase revenue urgency |
| OpEx growing faster than revenue | Negative operating leverage | Freeze hiring; optimize spend |
| Rule of 40 <25 | Burning cash without growth | Improve growth or cut to profitability |
| Magic Number <0.5 | S&M engine broken | Fix GTM efficiency before scaling spend |
---
When to Use Which Metric
Prioritizing features:
- Revenue impact → Revenue, ARPU, Expansion Revenue
- Margin impact → Gross Margin, Contribution Margin
- ROI → LTV impact, Development cost
Evaluating channels:
- Acquisition cost → CAC, CAC by Channel
- Customer value → LTV, NRR by Channel
- Payback → Payback Period, CAC Payback by Channel
- Scalability → Magic Number
Pricing decisions:
- Monetization → ARPU, ARPA, ACV
- Impact → Churn Rate, NRR, Expansion Revenue
- Efficiency → CAC Payback (will pricing change affect it?)
Business health:
- Growth → Revenue Growth, MRR/ARR Growth
- Retention → Churn Rate, NRR, Quick Ratio
- Economics → LTV:CAC, Payback Period, Gross Margin
- Efficiency → Rule of 40, Magic Number, Operating Leverage
- Survival → Burn Rate, Runway
Board/investor reporting:
- Key metrics: ARR, Revenue Growth %, NRR, LTV:CAC, Rule of 40, Magic Number, Burn Rate, Runway
- Stage-specific: Early stage emphasize growth + unit economics; Growth stage emphasize Rule of 40 + Magic Number; Scale stage emphasize profitability + efficiency
---
Examples
Example 1: Feature Investment Sanity Check
You are deciding whether to build a premium export feature.
1. Use Framework 1 (Should We Build This Feature?) 2. Pull baseline metrics: ARPU, Gross Margin, LTV, Contribution Margin 3. Model optimistic, base, and downside adoption 4. Reject if contribution margin turns negative in downside case
Quick output:
- Base case ROI: 3.8x
- Contribution margin impact: +4 points
- Decision: Build now, with a 90-day post-launch check on churn and expansion
Example 2: Channel Scale Decision
Paid social is generating many signups but weak retention.
1. Use Framework 2 (Should We Scale This Acquisition Channel?) 2. Check CAC, LTV:CAC, Payback Period, and NRR by channel 3. Compare against best-performing channel, not company average
Quick output:
- LTV:CAC: 1.6:1
- Payback: 26 months
- NRR: 88%
- Decision: Do not scale; cap spend and run targeted optimization tests
---
Common Pitfalls
- Using blended company averages instead of cohort or channel-level metrics
- Scaling acquisition when Quick Ratio is weak and retention is deteriorating
- Treating high LTV:CAC as sufficient without checking payback and runway impact
- Raising prices based on ARPU lift alone without modeling churn and contraction
- Comparing benchmarks across mismatched company stages or business models
- Tracking many metrics without a clear decision question
---
References
Related Skills (Deep Dives)
saas-revenue-growth-metrics— Detailed guidance on revenue, retention, and growth metrics (13 metrics)saas-economics-efficiency-metrics— Detailed guidance on unit economics and capital efficiency (17 metrics)feature-investment-advisor— Uses these metrics to evaluate feature ROIacquisition-channel-advisor— Uses these metrics to evaluate channel viabilityfinance-based-pricing-advisor— Uses these metrics to evaluate pricing changesbusiness-health-diagnostic— Uses these metrics to diagnose business health
External Resources
- Bessemer Venture Partners: "SaaS Metrics 2.0" — Comprehensive SaaS benchmarking
- David Skok (Matrix Partners): "SaaS Metrics" blog series — Deep dive on unit economics
- Tomasz Tunguz (Redpoint): SaaS benchmarking research and blog
- ChartMogul, Baremetrics, ProfitWell: SaaS analytics platforms with metric definitions
- SaaStr: Annual SaaS benchmarking surveys
Provenance
- Adapted from
research/finance/Finance_QuickRef.md - Formulas from
research/finance/Finance for Product Managers.md - Decision frameworks from
research/finance/Finance_For_PMs.Putting_It_Together_Synthesis.md
Related skills
Grill MeHave an agent relentlessly pressure-test their plan or design until every decision branch is resolved and shared understanding is reached.691k196kGrill With DocsPressure-test architecture decisions against their live codebase and living documentation before writing production code.585k196k
Lark CalendarLet their coding agents read, create, and manage events inside Lark (Feishu) Calendar directly from natural language instructions.493kLark ImLet their coding agent send instant notifications, post updates, and receive commands directly inside Lark (Feishu) workspaces.493kLark ContactLet their AI coding agents read and write contacts, send messages, and manage user data inside Lark (Feishu).493kLark AttendanceAutomatically fetch and report daily attendance data from Lark (Feishu) into their own tools or agents.493kHow it compares
Pick finance-metrics-quickref over deep-dive finance skills when the goal is a sub-minute formula or benchmark lookup during a live review rather than structured metric education.
FAQ
What does finance-metrics-quickref do?
Look up SaaS finance metrics, formulas, and benchmarks fast. Use when you need a quick metric definition, formula, or benchmark during analysis.
When should I use finance-metrics-quickref?
During validate scope work for productivity & planning.
Is finance-metrics-quickref safe to install?
Review the Security Audits panel on this listing before production use.