Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the sum of all subscription revenue expressed as a monthly value. For most companies, MRR is the sum of all new business subscriptions and upgrades (sometimes called expansion), minus downgrades (or contractions) and cancelled subscriptions. Though not a Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) value, it's the Revenue equivalent used by every SaaS company. MRR is used interchangeably with ARR.

Net Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) Churn Rate is the percentage change in MRR due to expansions, cancellations and downgrades. A negative Net MRR Churn Rate occurs when expansions exceed downgrades and cancellations and is a strong positive indicator of company health. This metric is typically expressed as a monthly rate although it can also be an annual rate: Net Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) Churn Rate.

Net Revenue Retention (NRR) Rate, also known as Net Dollar Retention (NDR), is the percentage of recurring revenue retained from existing customers in a defined time period, including expansion revenue, downgrades, and cancels. This churn metric gives a comprehensive view of positive as well as negative changes with respect to customer retention. A good NDR can range between 90% to 125%, based on target customer size.

Net Sales consists of gross sales less any discounting, products returns, or damaged products. It is an accurate measure of the amount of money brought in by a business.

Number of Demos is the count of total demonstrations of a product a company has given to prospective customers.

Onboarding Calls is the number of phone calls made by the sales team to welcome new customers into the product. It is a good leading indicator of Engagement and Customer Lifetime Value.

Opportunities represents a qualified lead that indicates the potential for a deal. Regardless of a business’s unique qualification criteria, an opportunity represents a higher probability of closing.

Payment acceptance is the percentage of payments that are successful out of those payments that are attempted. In credit card language, this is often called the “authorization rate”. Failed payments are the menace of selling anything online and payment acceptance rates are significantly lower than buying something in-person.

Propensity to Renew is a measure of the likelihood a customer will renew their contract instead of terminating their engagement with a company, most often provided by the customer as part of a survey. It is an indicator of revenue risk and potential logo churn.

The Referrals metric measures the number of potential customers that have been directed to your product through the promotion of an existing customer. Referrals are often generated by word of mouth but can also result from influencer marketing and review sites. Software companies can develop flows that encourage promotion and virality.

Renewal rate tracks churn and retention down to the month of invoicing. Rather than track churn and renewals against your total customer count, you track renewals based on each cohort of monthly invoices.

Revenue is defined as the income generated through a business’ primary operations. It is often referred to as “top line” and is shown at the top of an income statement.