Revenue is the total income generated from a company's primary business operations before deducting any costs or expenses. Often called the "top line" because it appears at the top of the income statement, revenue represents the gross amount earned from core business activities such as product sales, service fees, subscriptions, or licensing agreements.

Revenue Growth Rate measures the percentage increase in a company's revenue over a specific time period. This fundamental metric indicates your company's momentum, market position, and overall business health. As one of the most scrutinized metrics by investors, executives and stakeholders, it provides critical insights into the effectiveness of your sales strategies, market expansion efforts, and product development initiatives.

Revenue per Employee is a measure of the total Revenue for the last twelve months (LTM) divided by the current number of Full-Time Equivalent employees. Also known as Revenue to Employee Ratio, this ratio is among the most universally applicable and is often used to compare companies within the same industry.

The SaaS Magic Number is a ratio showing yearly recurring revenue growth gained for every sales and marketing dollar spent. It indicates the level of operational efficiency of a company, as well as the sustainability of sales and marketing expenditure.

SaaS Quick Ratio is used to measure the growth efficiency of a company, but is often overlooked by early stage entrepreneurs and investors. Think of SaaS Quick Ratio as a health measure of company growth.

Sales Cycle Length is the count of the number of days or months it takes on average to close a deal. This metric can be helpful when creating sales forecasts, measuring sales efficiency, and speaking with investors. It is often referred to as the Average Deal Cycle and is usually expressed in months.

A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) represents a prospect who has progressed beyond initial marketing engagement and demonstrates genuine potential for conversion. Unlike Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) that indicate early interest, SQLs have been vetted by sales professionals and meet specific criteria that suggest a higher likelihood of becoming a paying customer. These leads sit strategically in the middle of your sales funnel, having moved past the awareness stage but not yet reached the final purchase decision point.

The Sales and Marketing to Revenue Ratio represents the percentage of total revenue that a company invests in its sales and marketing activities. This metric serves as a critical indicator of how efficiently a company is acquiring and retaining customers relative to the revenue those efforts generate. It encompasses all costs associated with customer acquisition, including advertising spend, sales team compensation, marketing technology, promotional activities, trade shows, content creation, and customer relationship management systems. This ratio is particularly valuable for assessing the scalability and sustainability of a company's growth strategy. A well-optimised ratio indicates that the company is investing appropriately in revenue-generating activities without over-spending on customer acquisition, while maintaining the ability to compete effectively in its market. The metric also provides insight into a company's operational maturity and its ability to generate profitable growth over time.

Scrap Rate is the ratio of discarded material to the total production run. The definition of scrap varies somewhat but often includes both waste material, as well as production, rejects. Scrap Rate is easy to measure and is one of the most important quality metrics in manufacturing. Scrap is usually measured as pieces or units. Tracking this metric and improving this over time will lower raw material costs, improve throughput, and is better for the environment.

Search Impression Share is the percentage of impressions won by an ad campaign or ad group or keywords, out of the total impressions the campaign is eligible for. Ad targeting, keywords, and ad scheduling all play a role in the SIS won.

Search Lost Impression Share (Budget) is the percentage of Search Impression Share lost out of the total eligible impressions, due to campaign budget. It is generally measured at the campaign level on digital advertising platforms.

Search Lost Impression Share (Rank) is the percentage of search impression share lost out of the total eligible impressions, due to Ad Rank. Ad Rank depends on factors such as relevant keywords and targeted ads.