The Metric Library
351 metric definitions across 12 departments. Every one names the fork that makes teams disagree and the trap that makes the number lie. A sample of each department is open to browse; the full catalogue, with every fork, worked trap, formula and reconciliation anchor, ships with the library.
Customer Success
Customer Churn RateHow fast customers (or their revenue) leave, per period.Read more →Gross Revenue RetentionThe share of last year's recurring revenue from existing customers you kept, counting only losses and giving no credit for any upsell.Read more →Net Promoter ScoreA loyalty index from one question, how likely you are to recommend us, scored as the share of fans minus the share of critics.Read more →Net Revenue RetentionOf the recurring revenue you had from existing customers a year ago, how much you still have now after they upgraded, downgraded, and left, expansion…Read more →Renewal RateOf the contracts that came up for renewal, the share that renewed.Read more →At-Risk RevenueThe dollar value of recurring revenue flagged as likely to leave in an upcoming window.Read more →
Executive & Board
Burn MultipleHow much cash the company burns to add one dollar of new annual recurring revenue.Read more →CAC Payback PeriodHow many months of a customer's revenue it takes to earn back the cost of acquiring them.Read more →Free Cash FlowThe cash a business throws off after funding the investment needed to sustain and grow it, the cash genuinely available to pay investors.Read more →LTV/CAC RatioHow many dollars of lifetime customer value the company earns for each dollar it spends acquiring a customer.Read more →Revenue Growth RateHow fast revenue is increasing, expressed as a percentage over some period.Read more →Revenue per EmployeeHow much revenue the business generates for each person it employs, a coarse gauge of workforce productivity.Read more →
Finance & Accounting
Annual Recurring RevenueThe annualized value of a subscription business's recurring revenue at a point in time.Read more →Days Sales OutstandingOn average, how many days it takes to collect cash after making a sale.Read more →EBITDA vs Adjusted EBITDAA proxy for operating cash earnings that strips out financing, taxes, and depreciation, and then, when "adjusted," strips out whatever else…Read more →Free Cash FlowThe cash left over after a business funds the investment needed to keep operating, the cash truly available to investors.Read more →Gross MarginThe share of each revenue dollar left after the direct cost of producing what was sold.Read more →Gross vs Net RevenueWhether you report the full amount the customer paid, or only the slice your company actually keeps.Read more →
HR & People
Revenue per EmployeeHow much revenue the business generates per person on staff.Read more →Turnover RateThe share of the workforce that leaves over a period.Read more →9-Box DistributionHow a workforce spreads across a 3x3 grid that plots each employee's performance against their assessed potential.Read more →Absence RateThe share of scheduled work time lost to employees not showing up.Read more →Average TenureHow long employees have typically been with the company.Read more →Benefits UtilizationHow much employees actually enroll in or use the benefits offered to them.Read more →
Marketing
Click-Through RateThe share of ad views that resulted in a click.Read more →Conversion RateThe share of visitors (or visits) who completed the goal action.Read more →Cost Per AcquisitionWhat you paid, on average, for each conversion the ad platform counted.Read more →Customer Acquisition CostThe average money spent to win one new paying customer.Read more →Marketing ROIThe profit marketing generated per dollar spent, after the cost of the goods sold to those customers.Read more →Net Promoter ScoreA loyalty gauge: the share of promoters minus the share of detractors on the "how likely are you to recommend us" question.Read more →
Media & Publishing
Sell-Through RateThe share of the ad inventory you had available that you actually sold.Read more →Ad Fill RateOf the ad opportunities a page asked to fill, the share that actually got a paid ad.Read more →Ad Viewability RateThe share of ad impressions that actually had a chance to be seen, enough pixels on screen for long enough, rather than loading below the fold or in…Read more →Average Revenue Per UserAverage revenue divided by how many users you had, but "users" and "revenue" each hide a choice that moves the number several-fold.Read more →Bounce Rate vs Engaged SessionsHow many visitors left after a single interaction versus how many actually engaged, a definition that changed underneath the industry and now means…Read more →Bundle Revenue AllocationWhen one subscription payment buys several things (print delivery, digital access, an ad-free tier, an events pass), how that single price gets…Read more →
Operations
Overall Equipment EffectivenessA single 0-100% score for how much good product a machine made versus the most it could have made in the time it was scheduled to run.Read more →Backlog vs BackorderUnfilled demand on the books, but backlog is orders you simply have not shipped yet, while a backorder is demand you could not fill because you were…Read more →Bottleneck / Constraint UtilizationHow loaded the single slowest resource, the one that actually caps the whole system's output, really is.Read more →Capacity (Design vs Effective vs Demonstrated)The most a process could make under three very different assumptions: ideal conditions, realistic conditions, and what it has actually been proven to…Read more →Changeover / Setup TimeHow long a line is switched from making one product to reliably making the next.Read more →Cost per Unit (Unit Cost)What it costs to make one unit, but which costs are included, and at what production volume, changes the answer without changing the product.Read more →
Procurement & Supply Chain
Inventory TurnoverHow many times a year you sell and replace your average stock.Read more →On-Time In-FullThe share of orders that arrived both on the agreed date and with every unit ordered.Read more →Backorder RateHow much demand you couldn't fill on time and had to backorder, or lost outright.Read more →Cash-to-Cash Cycle TimeHow many days cash is tied up between paying suppliers and collecting from customers.Read more →Contract ComplianceWhether purchasing actually follows the contracts in place, buying from the contracted supplier, at contracted prices, in the committed volumes.Read more →Days Payable OutstandingThe average number of days the company takes to pay its suppliers, and, separately, the terms it agreed to.Read more →
Product & Analytics
Activation RateThe share of new users who reach the first moment of real value.Read more →Daily Active UsersHow many distinct people used the product on a given day.Read more →Monthly Active UsersHow many distinct people used the product across a month-long window.Read more →Net Promoter ScoreA loyalty score built from one question -- how likely are you to recommend us -- on a 0-to-10 scale.Read more →Stickiness (DAU/MAU Ratio)Of the people who used the product this month, what fraction use it on a typical day -- a rough read on habit.Read more →Active User (Identity & Counting)How you decide that two events belong to the same person before you count "users."Read more →
Retail & E-commerce
Average Order ValueOn average, how many dollars a customer spends each time they check out.Read more →Cart Abandonment RateOf the shoppers who put something in the cart, the share who left without buying.Read more →Gross Merchandise ValueThe total dollar value of everything ordered through the platform, before the platform's cut and before anything is returned.Read more →Inventory TurnoverHow many times a year you sell and replace your average stock.Read more →On-Time In-FullThe share of orders that arrived both on the promised date and completely.Read more →Promotional LiftHow much extra you sold because of a promotion, above what you'd have sold anyway.Read more →
SaaS & Subscriptions
Activation RateThe share of new users or accounts that reach the first meaningful milestone showing they got initial value from the product.Read more →Annual Recurring RevenueThe yearly value of a company's recurring subscriptions, stated as a single annualized number.Read more →Burn MultipleHow many dollars of cash a company burns to generate each new dollar of annualized recurring revenue, lower is more efficient.Read more →CAC Payback PeriodHow many months of a customer's revenue (or gross profit) it takes to earn back what you spent acquiring them.Read more →Customer Acquisition CostWhat it cost, on average, to win one new customer.Read more →Customer Lifetime ValueThe total profit you expect to earn from an average customer over the whole time they stay with you.Read more →
Sales
Pipeline CoverageHow many dollars of open pipeline you are carrying for each dollar of target.Read more →Quota AttainmentHow much of a rep's target they actually hit.Read more →Renewal RateThe share of up-for-renewal business that actually renewed.Read more →Sales Cycle LengthHow long a deal takes from start to close.Read more →Sales VelocityHow fast the pipeline turns opportunities into revenue, expressed as one composite number.Read more →Win RateThe share of opportunities you win.Read more →
The Format Library →, the vendor export shapes and the traps in each.