Metrics

Recurring revenue

MRR (monthly recurring revenue)

The normalised monthly value of all currently recurring subscriptions. Annual and quarterly plans are divided down to a monthly figure so a yearly plan does not spike one month and vanish for eleven. One-off charges are excluded, because they are not recurring.

ARR (annual recurring revenue)

MRR multiplied by twelve. It is a restatement of the same number for annual planning, not an independent measurement.

New MRR

Recurring revenue from customers who had none in the previous period - a first subscription, or a returning customer starting again.

Expansion MRR

Additional recurring revenue from existing customers - an upgrade, an added seat, a quantity increase.

Contraction MRR

Recurring revenue lost from customers who stayed - a downgrade or a reduced seat count. Distinct from churn because the relationship survived.

Churned MRR

Recurring revenue lost from customers who left entirely in the period.

Net MRR

New + expansion − contraction − churned. The single number that answers "did recurring revenue grow this period?" It can be negative even while you are signing new customers, which is exactly what makes it worth watching.

Churn and retention

Customer churn rate

Customers who cancelled in the period, divided by customers at the start of it. It counts people, so a departing small account weighs the same as a departing large one.

Revenue churn rate

Churned MRR divided by MRR at the start of the period. It counts money, so losing one large account shows up sharply here while barely moving customer churn.

Net revenue retention

What a cohort of existing customers is worth now compared with what it was worth at the start, including expansion. Above 100% means the existing base grows on its own even with no new customers.

Involuntary churn

Cancellations caused by failed payments rather than a decision to leave - expired cards, insufficient funds. Worth separating because it is recoverable and the fix is operational, not a product problem.

Retention curve

The share of a cohort still subscribed at each month after signup. In Growth, this is compared against your overall baseline so a channel can be judged against your own norm rather than an industry average.

Per-customer value

ARPU (average revenue per user)

MRR divided by active customers. Moves when your mix of plans changes, which makes it a useful early signal that discounting or a cheap tier is taking over.

LTV (lifetime value)

The revenue Chartsy expects an average customer to generate over their whole relationship, derived from ARPU and your churn rate. It is an estimate built on the assumption that current churn continues - treat it as directional, and be sceptical of it when you have only a few months of history.

Lifetime revenue

The actual total a customer or a channel has paid to date. Unlike LTV, nothing is projected - this is money that arrived.

Cash and volume

Gross revenue

All money collected in a period, recurring and one-off, before refunds.

Net revenue

Gross revenue after refunds and chargebacks. Refunds are applied in the period they occur rather than being backdated, so a historical chart does not silently change under you.

Active customers

Distinct customers with a live subscription. Which statuses count as live is set out in Customers, subscriptions and statuses.

Failed payments

Charge attempts that did not succeed, whether or not they were later retried. The leading indicator of involuntary churn.

Custom metrics

Anything not on this list you can ask for directly. ChartsyAI turns a plain-English question into a calculation over your own records - "MRR from customers on the enterprise plan who signed up this year" is a metric even though it is not a named one. Combine that with metadata and you can define metrics that only make sense for your business.

See How to ask questions about your SaaS data for how to phrase them.