The Definitive Standard for SaaS Metrics
One standard for every audience — ops team, exec dashboard, board deck, investor update. Canonical definitions, exact formulas, benchmarks, and the data schemas you need to actually build the reporting — for nearly 300 SaaS metrics across 13 departments.
The Problem
Ask five SaaS companies how they calculate NRR and you'll get five different answers. Is it cohort-based or formula-based? Monthly or annualized? Does "churn" include contraction? Nobody agrees — and the confusion follows you from the ops meeting to the board deck to the investor data room.
- "Our NRR is 115%" (uses a non-standard formula)
- "Churn is 3%" (logo? revenue? monthly? annual?)
- "LTV is $50K" (based on revenue, not profit)
- "Rule of 40: 45%" (uses revenue growth, not ARR)
- NRR: Cohort method preferred, trailing 12 months
- Logo Churn: Customers lost / Beginning customers
- LTV: (ARPA x Gross Margin) / Revenue Churn Rate
- Rule of 40: ARR Growth Rate (YoY) + EBITDA Margin
What is GASP?
GASP (Generally Accepted SaaS Principles) is a unified reporting standard for SaaS metrics. Just as GAAP standardized financial reporting for both management and investors, GASP provides canonical definitions, formulas, measurement periods, and benchmarks for every metric a SaaS company tracks — from the ops dashboard to the board deck.
Inside a GASP Definition
Every metric has a canonical definition, formula, measurement period, and benchmarks
Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
Percentage of revenue retained from existing customers over a period, including expansion, contraction, and churn. GASP provides cohort method (preferred) and formula method.
Formula: (Beginning MRR + Expansion - Contraction - Churn) / Beginning MRR
From Definition to Implementation
GASP doesn't stop at "what to measure." Every metric includes the data fields, types, and SQL you need to build it.
NRR — Required Fields
| Field | Type |
|---|---|
| account_id | string |
| mrr_start | decimal |
| mrr_end | decimal |
| expansion | decimal |
| contraction | decimal |
| churn | decimal |
SELECT
cohort_month,
SUM(mrr_end) / SUM(mrr_start) AS nrr
FROM account_cohorts
GROUP BY 1 The Foundation: Three-Level Data Model
All SaaS metrics must specify which level they measure. "Churn rate" is ambiguous—GASP requires you to say which churn.
Customer
The "who"
A billing entity with subscriptions. Measured by logo churn, LTV, NPS.
Subscription
The "what and when"
A billable agreement with terms and pricing. Measured by MRR, ARR, churn.
License
The "how much"
Capabilities granted by a subscription. Measured by seat utilization, feature adoption.
Every Metric Has a Signal Type
Not all metrics serve the same purpose. GASP classifies every metric into one of four signal types so you know how to use it — set targets, watch for warnings, benchmark efficiency, or manage operations.
Outcome
Results you set targets for. If this misses, someone has a hard conversation.
ARR, NRR, Gross Margin, Rule of 40
Leading
Signals that predict an outcome before it materializes. Change this today, change an outcome next quarter.
Pipeline, MQLs, Health Score, LVR
Efficiency
Ratios measuring conversion of inputs to outputs. You benchmark these against peers.
CAC Payback, LTV/CAC, Magic Number, Win Rate
Operational
Volume, velocity, and process metrics managed day-to-day. The machinery of the business.
Ticket Volume, Headcount, Deploy Frequency
Could your numbers survive a board question?
Take a 5-minute assessment to find out how much your teams can trust the numbers they report — and where the gaps are.
Take the GASP Test13 Departments. Nearly 300 Metrics.
Every SaaS function covered, from pipeline to payroll
Core
ARR, MRR, NRR, GRR, CAC, LTV, Rule of 40
Sales
Pipeline, win rate, quota attainment, ACV
Marketing
MQLs, SQLs, funnel conversion, CAC
Customer Success
Health score, NRR, expansion, renewal
Support
CSAT, CES, FRT, resolution time
Onboarding
TTFV, completion rate, activation
Product
DAU/MAU, adoption, activation, NPS
Engineering
Uptime, DORA metrics, error rate
Finance
Gross margin, burn rate, magic number
RevOps
Forecast accuracy, DSO, billing
People
Turnover, eNPS, headcount efficiency
Partnerships
Partner revenue, active partners, NPS
One Standard, Every Audience
Nearly 300 metrics across 13 departments — each with a canonical definition, formula, measurement period, and benchmarks. The same numbers in your ops dashboard, your board deck, and your investor update.
Give your AI the same metrics vocabulary your team uses — install the MCP server and query definitions, formulas, data schemas, and SQL from any AI workflow.