SaaS metrics guides.
Lightbridge publishes these SaaS metrics guides as an independent reference for founders, finance leaders, and revenue operations teams. Each one defines a growth or efficiency metric in plain language, gives the formula, and flags where the definition varies, so a board conversation runs on shared numbers rather than guesses.
Every guide is written by senior Lightbridge practitioners, most with two decades of experience in industry and consulting, and grounded in hands-on enterprise engagements since 2017.
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and MRR
Annual and monthly recurring revenue defined: the ARR equals MRR times twelve relationship, what counts as recurring and what does not, how to calculate each, and ARR versus MRR.
Read the guide →Net Revenue Retention vs Gross Revenue Retention
Why net revenue retention can exceed 100 percent while gross revenue retention is capped at 100 percent, the formulas, the role of expansion and churn, and realistic benchmarks.
Read the guide →CARR vs ARR
Committed (contracted) annual recurring revenue versus live ARR: the definitions, why CARR usually exceeds ARR, the booked-but-not-yet-activated backlog, and a worked example.
Read the guide →SaaS Unit Economics: Rule of 40, CAC, LTV
The efficiency metrics investors watch: the Rule of 40, customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, the LTV to CAC ratio, CAC payback, magic number, and burn multiple, each with its formula.
Read the guide →SaaS Metrics Glossary
A plain-language glossary of SaaS growth and finance metrics: ARR, MRR, NRR, GRR, CAC, LTV, churn, Rule of 40, magic number, burn multiple, and the formulas behind each.
Read the guide →Lightbridge defines SaaS metrics without a billing platform to sell.
Most SaaS metric explainers are published by billing and analytics vendors whose definitions tilt toward what their product measures. Lightbridge is an independent technology advisory group, so these guides describe the conventions as the market actually uses them and name where definitions genuinely diverge. The metrics here are SaaS-finance conventions, not accounting standards.
The revenue these metrics measure is recognized under accounting standards that Lightbridge ERP covers directly: ASC 606 revenue recognition, deferred revenue, and subscription billing models. For the systems that produce these numbers reliably at scale, the Lightbridge advisory practice guides the selection.
From metric definitions to a system that produces them.
When the numbers need to come out of real systems rather than spreadsheets, Lightbridge advises on the finance and revenue platforms that produce them.