SaaS metrics
These guides define the SaaS metrics investors and boards actually check, including ARR, net revenue retention and burn multiple, and show how to calculate them consistently. They are written for SaaS founders and finance leaders preparing board reporting or a raise. For monthly metrics reporting built and run for you, see Decipher's FP&A services.
Burn multiple: formula, worked example and what moves it
How to calculate the burn multiple consistently, with a four quarter worked example built from an ARR waterfall, what moves it, and the distortions investors look for.
Data room checklist: the finance folder investors expect
A data room checklist for the finance folder of a venture raise: what goes in each subfolder, what investors check, how to keep the deck, model and data room consistent, and the gaps that slow diligence.
Investor update template: what to send investors monthly
A monthly investor update template founders can copy: the eight sections in order, a small metrics table, how long it should be, what to send in a bad month, and how investors actually read it.
Startup board deck: what to include for a board meeting
What goes in a startup board deck for a regular board meeting: the section order, how long it should be, when to send it, how to keep metric definitions stable, and how a board member actually reads it.
SaaS metrics investors ask for and how to define them
The SaaS metrics investors ask for, from ARR and net revenue retention to burn multiple and CAC payback, with a definitions table, a worked example and how an investor checks each one.
Burn rate and cash runway: how to calculate them properly
How to calculate gross burn, net burn, cash runway and burn multiple from cash rather than the income statement, with a worked example, a downside case, and how investors read the numbers.
Fractional CFO for startups: when to hire, the work by stage
When a seed to Series B startup needs a fractional CFO, what the work looks like at each stage, and the SaaS metrics, cash view and fundraising materials investors expect to see.
Net revenue retention (NRR): how to calculate and read it
How to calculate net revenue retention (NRR) and gross revenue retention (GRR) from an ARR waterfall, the mistakes that distort them, and what investors check before they trust the number.