What Is a SaaS Metrics Dashboard?
A SaaS metrics dashboard is a single sheet that tracks the numbers a software company runs on: MRR, ARR, net retention, gross margin, CAC payback, burn multiple, and rule of 40. Done right, it answers three questions in one screen: Are we growing? Are we keeping customers? Are we using capital well?
This template starts you with the structure every B-round and C-round investor expects. The AI fills in formulas, asks you for the inputs it can't see, and keeps the dashboard up to date as you plug in new months.
Why a Sheet (Not a BI Tool)
BI tools are great for dashboards your team consumes weekly. They're bad for the boardroom artifact you ship monthly with commentary. A sheet:
- Versions cleanly — every monthly snapshot is a saved file
- Travels — you can email it, paste into a deck, share read-only
- Is auditable — every formula is visible to the reader
What's Inside
- An Operating Manual that teaches the AI your model, your billing terms, and what counts as "new" vs "expansion"
- A Setup Guide with the four numbers you'll need on hand
- A pre-formatted Sheet with monthly columns for the last 12 months and rows for every standard metric, labeled and grouped
The Metric Stack
| Group | Metrics |
|---|---|
| Revenue | MRR, ARR, New, Expansion, Contraction, Churn |
| Customers | New logos, Churn logos, Logo retention, Net revenue retention |
| Unit Economics | ACV, CAC, CAC payback (months), Gross margin |
| Efficiency | Burn, Burn multiple, Magic number, Rule of 40 |
| Cash | Cash on hand, Net burn, Runway (months) |
How To Use It
- Fork the template. A new Space gets created with a starter Sheet.
- Plug in the last three months. The AI will infer the rest of your model from the shape.
- Ask the AI to grade you. "Where are we strong? Where are we weak? What would a Series B investor flag?"
- Update monthly. Add the new month's column; the AI keeps growth rates, retention, and ratios current.