finance-metrics-quickref

SKILL.md

Fast lookup table for 30+ SaaS finance metrics, formulas, benchmarks, and red flags.

Covers four metric families: Revenue & Growth, Unit Economics, Capital Efficiency, and Efficiency Ratios, each with formula, benchmark, and red flag

Includes four decision frameworks for feature investment, channel scaling, pricing changes, and business health assessment by stage

Organized for speed: scan the reference table, check red flags by category, apply the relevant framework to your decision

Designed as a cheat sheet, not a teaching tool; links to deep-dive skills for detailed calculations and examples

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:

Revenue & Growth — Top-line money (revenue, ARPU, ARPA, MRR/ARR, churn, NRR, expansion)

Unit Economics — Customer-level profitability (CAC, LTV, payback, margins)

Capital Efficiency — Cash management (burn rate, runway, OpEx, net income)

Efficiency Ratios — Growth vs. profitability balance (Rule of 40, magic number)

When to Use This Skill