Walk Into Your Next Board Meeting — or Diligence Call — Ready to Defend Every Number
Build a board-ready SaaS metrics operating system through seven implementation milestones: four weekly source-data milestones, followed by metrics go-live, board readiness, and AI readiness. You will structure your GL, bookings, people, and customer data, launch your dashboard in SoftwareMetrics.ai, and leave with a monthly process your team can repeat.
Applying takes about five minutes and does not commit you to anything. Every application gets a review call. The October cohort is capped at 25 companies.
What makes this different
Your formulas are probably not the reason you doubt the numbers.
The hard part is getting the right data out of the GL, CRM, payroll system, invoice data, and subscription systems in a clean, repeatable format.
When the inputs are inconsistent, every downstream output becomes harder to explain: ARR movement, retention, gross margin, CAC, payback, operating leverage, board reporting, and diligence support.
The usual symptoms
Run it like an implementation project. Measure progress by what goes live.
Each of the first four weeks focuses on one source of truth: financial, bookings, people, and customer/revenue data. Each core workshop is followed by optional office hours so your team can resolve questions against its own files. The final three milestones bring the metrics engine live, turn the outputs into a board-ready reporting process, and add AI only after the data foundation is trusted.
Every phase has a named deliverable.
You will not be asked to simply “keep working on your data.” You will know the exact file, tie-out, dashboard output, or operating step that must be complete before the next milestone.
From messy source files to a metrics engine your team can run every month.
Accounting Foundation Complete
Map the chart of accounts into a SaaS P&L, revenue hierarchy, department structure, and gross-margin framework.
Revenue Engine Complete
Build the bookings structure for new ARR, expansion, services, contraction, booking dates, and GTM attribution.
Workforce Economics Complete
Normalize employee and contractor data, department mapping, FTEs, fully burdened costs, revenue per FTE, and ROSE inputs.
Customer Metrics Complete
Structure customer IDs, invoice/subscription data, MRR movement, customer counts, and retention inputs.
Metrics Engine Live
Load the normalized data into SoftwareMetrics.ai, generate the dashboard, and complete the first QA pass.
Board Ready
Pressure-test the metrics, document definitions and limitations, and turn the dashboard into a concise management narrative.
AI Ready
Connect Claude or ChatGPT to the governed metrics layer and confirm the reporting process your team can now run.
The implementation work most courses skip.
Accurate metrics begin with four structured sources. The sprint helps you gather, map, clean, normalize, and assign ownership for each one.
Financial Data
GL, chart of accounts, SaaS P&L mapping, revenue streams, department coding, COGS vs. OpEx, and AI-related cost structure.
Bookings Data
CRM or bookings report structure, new ARR, expansion ARR, services, contraction, booking dates, revenue types, and GTM attribution.
People Data
Payroll, HRIS, contractors, wages, FTEs, department mapping, fully burdened costs, revenue per FTE, and ROSE.
Customer / Revenue Data
Invoice data, subscription data, MRR schedules, MRR waterfall, customer counts, churn, expansion, contraction, and retention.
Four source-data milestones feed the Five-Pillar SaaS Metrics Framework.
The source files are not the final product. They create the trusted data foundation for the five areas your leadership team, board, investors, and buyers care about.
Growth
Bookings, ARR growth, new and expansion revenue, and customer growth.
Retention
GRR, NRR, logo retention, churn, contraction, expansion, and reactivation.
Margins
Subscription gross margin, services margin, cost structure, and AI-related COGS where applicable.
Financial Profile
EBITDA, burn, runway, Rule of 40, operating expense profile, and cash efficiency.
Organizational & GTM Efficiency
CAC, CAC payback, Cost of ARR, Magic Number, revenue per FTE, and ROSE.
Four source-data milestones first. Then go live, get board ready, and add AI.
Financial + Bookings
Complete one core source-data workshop each week, followed by optional office hours for questions tied to your own GL and CRM files.
People + Customer Data
Continue the weekly implementation rhythm with payroll, contractor, customer, subscription, MRR, and retention data.
Metrics Go-Live + Board Ready
Launch the metrics engine, reconcile the dashboard, document definitions, and build the management narrative behind the numbers.
AI Ready + Private Demo Day
Connect AI only after the metrics are trusted, then complete a private peer review and final go-live sign-off.
Applications close September 15. The October cohort is capped at 25 companies.
Your first SoftwareMetrics.ai upload happens in Week 1.
You do not spend a month preparing to use the product. You log in before launch, make an early upload after the first session, and improve the data and dashboard through each milestone.
Annual SoftwareMetrics.ai access is included, along with the pre-built board-ready dashboard, API access, and MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT.
Your ongoing metrics workspace
- Upload and organize normalized SaaS finance inputs
- Generate a board- and exit-ready KPI dashboard
- Track and benchmark SaaS performance
- Connect Claude and ChatGPT through the API/MCP connector
- Maintain a repeatable monthly reporting process
- Support board reporting, planning, fundraising, and diligence
One source-data workshop per week for the first four weeks, then metrics go-live, board readiness, and AI.
The cohort begins October 6 and runs for seven consecutive implementation weeks. Each of the four source-data milestones includes a Tuesday core workshop and Thursday optional office hours. The final three weeks move from dashboard go-live to board readiness and the AI capstone.
Pre-work: Implementation Readiness
Identify source systems, assign owners, confirm access, upload your current reporting package, and log into SoftwareMetrics.ai.
Milestone 1: Accounting Foundation Complete
Financial Data workshop: GL, SaaS P&L mapping, revenue streams, department coding, COGS vs. OpEx, and the first SoftwareMetrics.ai upload.
Financial Data Office Hours
Optional working session for mapping questions, unusual GL classifications, and first-upload troubleshooting.
Milestone 2: Revenue Engine Complete
Bookings Data workshop: new vs. expansion ARR, services, contraction, booking dates, report structure, and GTM attribution.
Bookings Data Office Hours
Optional working session for CRM fields, booking definitions, multi-year contracts, and attribution questions.
Milestone 3: Workforce Economics Complete
People Data workshop: payroll, contractors, FTEs, department mapping, fully burdened costs, revenue per FTE, and ROSE.
People Data Office Hours
Optional working session for department allocations, shared resources, contractors, and fully burdened-cost questions.
Milestone 4: Customer Metrics Complete
Customer / Revenue Data workshop: invoice and subscription data, customer IDs, MRR schedules, MRR waterfall, retention, and ARR movement.
Customer Metrics Office Hours
Optional working session for annual prepay, usage, pauses, reactivation, contraction, services, and customer-ID issues.
Milestone 5: Metrics Engine Live
Load the normalized data, generate the SoftwareMetrics.ai dashboard, reconcile key outputs, and complete the structured QA checklist.
Dashboard Troubleshooting Lab
Resolve import warnings, mapping errors, unexplained differences, and blocked dashboard outputs.
Milestone 6: Board Ready
Select the most decision-useful KPIs, explain trends and variances, document definitions, and create the recurring monthly reporting checklist.
Board Narrative Clinic
Workshop the story behind the numbers and practice answering the questions a board, investor, or buyer will ask.
Milestone 7: AI Ready
Connect trusted metrics to Claude or ChatGPT through the SoftwareMetrics.ai API/MCP connector, review AI COGS and AI gross-margin structure, and generate a draft finance update.
Private Cohort Demo Day + Go-Live Review
In a private cohort setting, share the working dashboard, biggest implementation win, remaining limitation, and monthly process your team will run after the sprint. You control what you present and do not need to expose confidential company-level financials.
One core workshop. One optional office hour. One required milestone output.
The cadence is designed to keep implementation moving without turning the sprint into two live lectures every week. Tuesday establishes the framework and required output. Thursday gives your team a place to resolve questions against its own data before the next milestone begins.
What keeps the work moving
A working finance operating system, not a folder of course videos.
The goal is a repeatable process your team can run after the cohort ends.
Choose the level of implementation support that fits your team.
- Mapped financial, bookings, people, and customer/revenue data
- Excel and Google Sheets Accelerator models for offline analysis, internal manipulation, and audit support
- SoftwareMetrics.ai workspace for automated reporting, benchmarking, and AI connector integrations
- Board- and exit-ready KPI dashboard
- Definitions, tie-outs, and known-limitations support
- Monthly SaaS Metrics Checklist with owners and deadlines
- Board or leadership narrative built from trusted metrics
- Claude and ChatGPT-ready data layer via API/MCP
- AI COGS and AI gross-margin structure where applicable
- Final go-live review and monthly operating plan
Built for the people who own the numbers and the process.
Founders & CEOs
You need metrics you can trust before board meetings, fundraising, diligence, exit discussions, or major operating decisions.
CFOs & Finance Leaders
You need a cleaner data foundation, repeatable monthly process, and a board-ready reporting package.
Controllers, FP&A & RevOps
You need alignment between CRM, billing, finance, payroll, customer success, and reporting systems.
Good fit
- You have real SaaS source data to work with.
- Your team owns metrics, FP&A, board reporting, or finance operations.
- You want a repeatable process, not a one-time dashboard.
- You can assign an implementation owner and work during the build weeks.
Not a good fit
- You are pre-revenue without meaningful operating data.
- You only want a basic introduction to SaaS metrics.
- You want a fully done-for-you consulting engagement.
- You cannot access or work with the source data during the sprint.
Led by Ben Murray, The SaaS CFO
Ben Murray is the founder of The SaaS CFO and The SaaS Academy. He has taught SaaS finance and metrics to thousands of SaaS founders, CFOs, finance leaders, and operators.
The sprint is based on the practical process used to onboard SaaS finance clients: identify the required sources, normalize the inputs, load the model, validate the output, and create a process the team can maintain.
What Ben brings to the room
- Judgment on SaaS metric definitions and edge cases
- Practical data normalization and reporting experience
- Board, investor, diligence, and exit-readiness perspective
- Templates, software, benchmarks, and implementation workflows
- AI economics and AI-ready finance data design
“Confidence in your metrics makes a real difference in how investors view you.”
“Going through the due diligence of a Series A round is not for the faint of heart. When you’ve got confidence in your metrics and how you calculate them, that makes a real difference in how investors view you.”
Rob went through Ben’s SaaS metrics program four years ago, knowing very little about SaaS metrics at the time. He later wrote that the way the nuances were covered - and the discipline of measuring exactly the right things - had made a significant contribution to their journey.
“Ben taught me exactly how to make our finances into a repeatable process that made us look great in front of investors.”
“I have since applied the learnings in 3 different software businesses, all with great success.”
“Ben’s community is a constant source of answers to tricky questions going forward.”
Reviews from alumni of Ben’s SaaS metrics programs. The October Implementation Sprint is a new format built on the same process.
Applying is not enrolling.
Every seat is confirmed after a conversation. The application exists so the sprint fits your stage, your data, and your goals.
Apply
About five minutes. Tell Ben your stage, systems, team, and what you are preparing for. No payment and no commitment.
Review call
Talk through the four data sources and whether the sprint is the right move now. If it is not, Ben will tell you.
Confirm your seat
Choose the support level that fits your team. Payment plans are available on every tier.
Choose your level of implementation support
A fractional CFO engagement to build this can run $5,000-$15,000+ per month. The Sprint productizes the onboarding process, includes the software, and trains your team to maintain it.
Application-first enrollment makes sure the program fits your stage, data availability, and goals. The October cohort is capped at 25 companies, and applications close September 15.
Company Pass
Where most teams start.
- 4 core source-data implementation workshops
- 4 optional source-data office hours
- Metrics go-live workshop + dashboard troubleshooting lab
- Board-ready workshop + narrative clinic
- AI capstone + private cohort Demo Day
- Required milestone tracking and templates
- SaaS Metrics Accelerator model
- Lifetime access to SaaS Metrics Foundation
- Annual SoftwareMetrics.ai access
- Board-ready dashboard
- API/MCP connector access for Claude and ChatGPT
- Monthly SaaS Metrics Checklist
No payment today. Seat confirmed after your review call.
Implementation Pass
Done with you - your data, reviewed by Ben.
Everything in Company Pass, plus:
- Private 1:1 review of the four source-data structures
- Dashboard sign-off before your next board or leadership meeting
- Priority Q&A and troubleshooting throughout the sprint
No payment today. Seat confirmed after your review call.
Executive Pass
Limited to 3 companies.
Everything in Implementation Pass, plus:
- Multiple private working sessions
- Direct priority access throughout the sprint
- Personal review of AI COGS structure and AI economics reporting
- Concierge onboarding for data sources and software setup
3 company seats. Confirmed after your review call.
Questions before you apply?
What happens after I apply?
Applying is not enrolling. There is no payment or commitment at the application stage. Ben reviews every application and schedules a conversation to discuss your systems, data, stage, and goals. Seats are confirmed after that call.
Do I need perfect data before joining?
No. The sprint is designed to help you identify what you have, what is missing, and what needs to be cleaned. You do need access to real financial, bookings, people, and customer/revenue data and an owner who can work on it.
Is this a course or consulting?
It sits between the two. You receive structured teaching, templates, software, implementation labs, and live guidance. Your team does the data work. The software generates the dashboard. Ben supplies the framework, judgment, troubleshooting, and accountability.
How does the weekly workload work?
Each Tuesday core workshop introduces one implementation milestone and its required output. Thursday office hours are optional and are used to resolve questions against your own data. Your team completes the milestone work between sessions and maintains an issue log for items that require clarification or cross-functional follow-up.
Who from my company should attend?
Good combinations include CFO and controller, founder and finance lead, FP&A and controller, or finance and RevOps. One person rarely owns all four source systems, which is why the Company Pass includes two participants.
What happens in the final week?
On November 17, we add the AI finance layer, connect trusted metrics to Claude or ChatGPT through SoftwareMetrics.ai, and generate a draft finance update. On November 19, the cohort closes with a private cohort Demo Day and final go-live review of the dashboard, known limitations, owners, and monthly reporting process. You choose what to share and are not required to display confidential company-level financials.
Will my confidential financial data be shared publicly?
No. Demo Day is a private cohort working session, not a public presentation. Each company controls what it shares and may present summarized, redacted, or sample outputs. You are never required to expose confidential customer-level or company-level financial data to participate.
How does SoftwareMetrics.ai fit in?
You log in before the cohort and make the first upload in Week 1. As the data improves, you generate and validate the board-ready dashboard. Annual access, API access, and the MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT are included.
Do I have to replace our internal spreadsheet models?
No. You receive both Excel and Google Sheets Accelerator models for offline analysis, internal manipulation, and audit support, plus a SoftwareMetrics.ai workspace for automated reporting, benchmarking, and Claude/ChatGPT integrations through the API and MCP connector. Your team can use either layer independently or use them together.
Why is AI the final milestone?
AI cannot repair an unreliable data foundation. Once the metrics are trusted, Claude and ChatGPT can help produce board updates, investor summaries, leadership reports, and diligence responses using the governed SoftwareMetrics.ai data layer.
Are payment plans available?
Yes. Every tier can be paid in three monthly installments.
What is the difference between the passes?
All passes include the four core source-data workshops, four optional office hours, metrics go-live and troubleshooting, board-ready and AI sessions, a private cohort Demo Day, software, templates, and the dashboard. The Implementation Pass adds a private source-data review and dashboard sign-off. The Executive Pass adds multiple private working sessions, a third participant, and priority access.
Walk into your next board meeting — or diligence process — ready to defend every number.
Build a board-ready, exit-ready, and AI-ready metrics operating system your team can run every month.
The confidence isn’t memorized. It’s built.
Apply for the October SprintApplications close September 15 · Cohort begins October 6 · Capped at 25 companies · No payment at the application stage
