Smarter finance planing starts here
From expert insights to step-by-step guides, find everything you need to plan faster, report smarter and forecast with confidence.
Blogs
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Guide8 minAI spending without the surprises: a CFO's guide to controlling AI token costs
Alok Goel,CEO/CFO & Co-founder
Guide12 minHow I run a year-end close anyone can defend
Mavin Kaur, CPA,Senior Manager, Strategic Finance
Guide22 minThe ultimate guide to business budgeting for finance leaders
Kirk Kappelhoff,Senior Director, Strategic Finance
Guide16 minWhy a balanced multi-currency consolidation still might be wrong
Kirk Kappelhoff,Senior Director, Strategic Finance
Planning15 minAI for budgeting: 6 ways to make budget season less painful
Jaco Schoeman,Associate Director, Strategic Finance
GuideTop 10 alternatives to Excel for FP&A: Comparison and buyer’s guide
Jason Patraj,Solutions Architect - EPM Software
Finance Metrics
View allContracted Annual Recurring Revenue
Contracted ARR measures total recurring revenue under contract, both active and signed-but-not-yet-live, normalized to an annual value. It gives SaaS companies a forward-looking view of committed revenue.
Pass-through Costs
Pass-through costs are expenses you incur on behalf of customers and pass them along at the time of billing, typically at or near the actual cost. In most cases, these costs are associated with third-party goods or services that are tied to a specific client or project. The primary goal of pass-through costs is reimbursement rather than value creation. While pass-through costs are typically billed at or near cost, companies may charge an explicit and separately disclosed markup or handling fee depending on contract terms.
Sales Cycle Length (SCL)
Sales Cycle Length (SCL) is the number of days it takes to close an individual deal from the first meaningful prospect interaction to a signed contract.
Days Payable Outstanding (DPO)
Days payable outstanding (DPO), also known as days creditors outstanding, measures how long a company takes to pay its vendors and suppliers.
Customer Retention Cost (CRC)
Customer retention costs (CRC) measures the money a SaaS business spends to keep its existing customers. It includes all expenses related to ensuring customer success and satisfaction.
Customer Engagement Score (CES)
Customer engagement score (CES), also known as engagement score, is a single quantitative metric that measures how actively customers interact with a company's products or services based on their usage patterns and behaviors.
General and Administrative as a Percentage of Revenue (G&A%)
General and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue (G&A%) measures how much of a company’s revenue is spent on overhead costs required to keep the business operational.
Sales and Marketing as a Percentage of Revenue (S&M%)
S&M% shows how much a company spends to acquire and retain clients. It's a metric SaaS companies use to track the efficiency of their sales and marketing strategies for driving growth.
Billable Utilization
Billable utilization, also known as utilization rate, measures the percentage of an employee's available time spent on revenue-generating activities.
eBooks & Whitepapers
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eBook4 signs it’s time to switch to a strategic finance platform
Is it time for you to make the switch to a purpose-built Strategic Finance Platform from a combination of Excel spreadsheets and BI tools? This guide will help you figure that out.
eBookHow to Calculate Ramp-Up Time to Improve Your Sales Capacity Planning
This guide explains what ramp-up time is, why it's important, the best way to calculate it and a few ideas to shorten ramp-up time to generate revenues faster.
eBookSales Capacity Planning for Your SaaS Business: How to develop a plan for faster growth
This guide will walk you through the entire process step-by-step and tell you all the factors you need to consider so you can build a reliable plan for growth.
eBookA step-by-step guide to creating a new business ARR plan
Check if your business is well-positioned to focus on New ARR growth and learn how to build a top-down New Business ARR plan that is aligned with overall business objectives and targets.
whitepaperThe state of AI in FP&A: What’s working, what’s next
Discover how FP&A teams are adopting AI, from tools and skills to policies and gaps. Get data-backed insights to stay ahead in the era of AI-driven finance. Learn from real use cases shared by 258+ finance professionals.
whitepaper2025 SaaS performance metrics benchmarks report
Benchmarkit and Drivetrain bring you the most comprehensive SaaS performance benchmarking data for 2025. Benchmark your performance against nearly a thousand B2B SaaS companies segmented by stage, go-to-market motion, and growth rate.
Templates & Cheatsheets
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templateSaaS metrics based planning: A template for top-down revenue planning
Fast-growing SaaS companies are using a new, proven approach to modeling revenue with just five core SaaS metrics and the Rule of 40. This template will show you how to use it to shorten the planning cycle and drive greater efficiency in your business.
templateStreamline your workforce planning with our free headcount and payroll model template
With the ever-changing nature of the typical workforce, tracking your company’s headcount requirements, payroll expenses, and labor costs can be pretty complex. Whether you’re developing strategic hiring plans or evaluating cost-saving opportunities, our free and flexible headcount and payroll model template will make it easier.
templateCash Flow Projection Model Excel Template
Cash flow is the lifeblood of your business. Purpose built for SaaS, our cash flow projection model template makes it fast and easy to get a granular view of how money moves in your business so you can more fully optimize your working capital management.
templateA revenue projection template tailor-made for businesses with a PLG motion
Accurate revenue forecast template for PLG businesses. Build models in Excel or Sheets using your actuals, no complex formulas needed.
template14 essential ChatGPT prompts for finance
A curation of the best ChatGPT prompts to speed up investor update emails and decks, transaction reconciliation, financial dashboarding, custom GPTs for Excel assistance, bank transaction categorization, and more.
template3 KPIs to track to improve revenue efficiency in FY25
Across startups and scaleups, growth continues to be weighted higher, and expected to be achieved in a capital-efficient fashion—meaning the cost structure driving your revenue growth has to be sustainable.
Webinars & Events
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eventsan Francisco, USA10 sept, 2026Cash Flow Forecasting Masterclass: Carl Seidman’s Advanced Techniques & Best Practices
Learn how to model A/R and A/P amounts and timing accurately using proven techniques, and best practices you can quickly apply to your own cash flow forecasts.
Register now
webinar17 apr, 2026Master Excel Copilot's Latest AI Features with Christian Wattig
Learn how to model A/R and A/P amounts and timing accurately using proven techniques, and best practices you can quickly apply to your own cash flow forecasts.
Watch now
webinar3 mar, 2026ChatGPT for FP&A: A Hands-On Masterclass ft. Nicolas Boucher
Learn how to use AI to deliver faster insights, automate data prep, and accelerate forecasting with prompt-writing techniques and real examples.
Watch now
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