Mmcp.market

finance-metrics-quickref skill

by deanpeters·deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills·7.1k stars

Look up SaaS finance metrics, formulas, and benchmarks fast. Use when you need a quick metric definition, formula, or benchmark during analysis.

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Install the finance-metrics-quickref skill

A skill is a folder. Copy it into your agent's skills folder and the agent loads it when the task matches its description. 

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills.git /tmp/Product-Manager-Skills
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/Product-Manager-Skills/skills/finance-metrics-quickref ~/.claude/skills/finance-metrics-quickref
available in every project

In the Claude apps, zip the folder and upload it from the Skills settings. The folder on GitHub

The instructions your agent would load

SKILL.md as published, without the frontmatter. Read it on GitHub

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.

Input

Works best with: The metric you need — name it and get the formula, benchmark, and decision context. Also useful: Your numbers, if you want the formula applied on the spot.

Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask.

Arriving empty-handed? That works too. Ask for the metric family you're working in (revenue, retention, efficiency, capital) and scan from there.

Example invocation: Quick ref: burn multiple — formula, benchmark, and whether 1.7 is bad for Series B.

Key Concepts

Metric Categories

Metrics are organized into four families:

  1. Revenue & Growth — Top-line money (revenue, ARPU, ARPA, MRR/ARR, churn, NRR, expansion)
  2. Unit Economics — Customer-level profitability (CAC, LTV, payback, margins)
  3. Capital Efficiency — Cash management (burn rate, runway, OpEx, net income)
  4. Efficiency Ratios — Growth vs. profitability balance (Rule of 40, magic number)

When to Use This Skill

Use this when:

  • You need a quick formula or benchmark
  • You're preparing for a board meeting or investor call
  • You're evaluating a decision and need to check which metrics matter
  • You want to identify red flags quickly

Don't use this when:

  • You need detailed calculation guidance (use saas-revenue-growth-metrics or saas-economics-efficiency-metrics)
  • You're learning these metrics for the first time (start with deep-dive skills)
  • You need examples and common pitfalls (covered in related skills)

Application

All Metrics Reference Table

Quick Decision Frameworks

Use these frameworks to combine metrics for common PM decisions.

Framework 1: Should We Build This Feature?

Ask:

  1. Revenue impact? Direct (pricing, add-on) or indirect (retention, conversion)?
  2. Margin impact? What's the COGS? Does it dilute margins?
  3. ROI? Revenue impact / Development cost

Build if:

  • ROI >3x in year one (direct monetization), OR
  • LTV impact >10x development cost (retention), OR
  • Strategic value overrides short-term ROI

Don't build if:

  • Negative contribution margin even with optimistic adoption
  • Payback period exceeds average customer lifetime

Metrics to check: Revenue, Gross Margin, LTV, Contribution Margin

Framework 2: Should We Scale This Acquisition Channel?

Ask:

  1. Unit economics? CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC ratio
  2. Cash efficiency? Payback period
  3. Customer quality? Cohort retention, NRR by channel
  4. Scalability? Magic Number, addressable volume

Scale if:

  • LTV:CAC >3:1 AND
  • Payback <18 months AND
  • Customer quality meets/beats other channels AND
  • Magic Number >0.75

Don't scale if:

  • LTV:CAC <1.5:1 AND
  • No clear path to improvement

Metrics to check: CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC, Payback Period, NRR, Magic Number

Framework 3: Should We Change Pricing?

Ask:

  1. ARPU/ARPA impact? Will revenue per customer increase?
  2. Conversion impact? Help or hurt trial-to-paid conversion?
  3. Churn impact? Create churn risk or reduce it?
  4. NRR impact? Enable expansion or create contraction?

Implement if:

  • Net revenue impact positive after churn risk
  • Can test with segment before broad rollout

Don't change if:

  • High churn risk without offsetting expansion
  • Can't test hypothesis before committing

Metrics to check: ARPU, ARPA, Churn Rate, NRR, CAC Payback

Framework 4: Is the Business Healthy?

Check by stage:

Early Stage (Pre-$10M ARR):

  • Growth Rate >50% YoY
  • LTV:CAC >3:1
  • Gross Margin >70%
  • Runway >12 months

Growth Stage ($10M-$50M ARR):

  • Growth Rate >40% YoY
  • NRR >100%
  • Rule of 40 >40
  • Magic Number >0.75

Scale Stage ($50M+ ARR):

  • Growth Rate >25% YoY
  • NRR >110%
  • Rule of 40 >40
  • Profit Margin >10%

Metrics to check: Revenue Growth, NRR, LTV:CAC, Rule of 40, Magic Number, Gross Margin

Red Flags by Category

Revenue & Growth Red Flags

Unit Economics Red Flags

Capital Efficiency Red Flags

When to Use Which Metric

Prioritizing features:

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