Tom Tunguz

OCTOBER 12, 2014

This post is part of a continuing series evaluating the S-1s of publicly traded SaaS companies in order to better understand the core business and build a library of benchmarks that might be useful to founders. Today, we’ll explore one of the enterprise behemoths, both in market cap and average revenue per customer: WorkDay.

Benchmarks 113

Benchmarks Deferred Revenue Venture Capital Outsourced Development 113

OPEXEngine

MAY 3, 2022

This SaaS metric is defined as the sum of Deferred Revenue and Backlog. Deferred Revenue for SaaS companies is the contractual obligation to deliver the SaaS product for the period invoiced. The former amount resides on the balance sheet as Deferred Revenue and has always been reported as required by GAAP.

Deferred Revenue 59

Deferred Revenue Metrics SaaS Payments Payment Features 59

Baremetrics

NOVEMBER 10, 2019

For more established companies, the standard and widely-understood method for forecasting cash from annual payments is to forecast Deferred Revenue. The challenge is that I have never met a CEO or a founder who “gets” the deferred revenue upon first walk-through. New Customers.

Deferred Revenue 111

Deferred Revenue SaaS Payments Sales Hiring Payment Services 111

ProfitWell

NOVEMBER 15, 2019

Your subscription company should run like a well-oiled machine. Retain subscribed customers: Unlike other businesses, SaaS businesses rely on customers paying monthly or yearly for their subscription. Accounting software will keep all revenue assets organized. Taking advantage of SaaS tools will help you accomplish this.

Retention 56

Retention Pricing Payment Methods SaaS Payments 56

Baremetrics

AUGUST 11, 2021

Revenue recognition, as per GAAP, states that payment is recognized as revenue after delivering the product or service in its entirety. Of course, that’s not how SaaS revenue works. (We We wrote more about revenue recognition here!) This often has an impact on SaaS businesses with deferred revenue streams.

Payment Methods 59

Payment Methods SaaS Payments Payment Features Payment Services 59

OPEXEngine

MAY 22, 2020

And I’d point out that you need to benchmark both the performance metrics and the underlying individual metrics to diagnose exactly where to focus on improvement. ARR is exactly what it says it is – Annual Recurring Revenue and is straightforward to measure. ARR and ARR growth rates are the primary metrics in SaaS valuations.

Metrics 52

Metrics SaaS Deferred Revenue Benchmarks 52

OPEXEngine

JANUARY 14, 2020

Source: SEC filings – weighted average by company revenue. Many factors drive the high-growth of SaaS companies, including higher market adoption of SaaS and the structural advantages of the recurring subscription revenue model – see Why SaaS Companies Grow Faster. Deferred Revenue = Deferred Profits.

SaaS Payments 59

SaaS Payments SaaS Scale Customer Lifetime Value 59