The Journey: #22 Rev Rec Needed

When I first got into Customer Success, my team didn’t own a dollar.

No renewals. No expansions. No upsells. Just pure, value-driven engagement.

And honestly? I loved it.

I spent my time building dashboards, digging into data, and helping customers drive real business outcomes. It was heaven.

But as I moved through five companies over 13 years, the CS charter kept evolving.

Sometimes we owned renewals.

Sometimes we owned upsells.

Sometimes we owned everything post-sale.

And sometimes? We didn’t “own” any of it—but we were still held accountable for outcomes.

Here’s the thing:

➡️ There’s no one-size-fits-all CS revenue model.

➡️ But there is a way to show your impact—regardless of what you officially “own.”

If you’re trying to prove the revenue impact of CS (with or without a quota), these are 10 ways I’ve done it.

Yes, we’re talking about Rev Rec, but this time, Customer Success style.

10 Revenue Recognition Levers for CS

1. CS Close Rate

If CS supports new logo deals, track the close rate and revenue tied to those engagements. Influence matters.

2. Reference Revenue

CSMs build the relationships that create referenceable customers so track how often references help close deals.

3. 2nd Order Revenue

When a customer leaves and brings us into their next company? That’s loyalty fueled by CS.

4. Referrals

Happy, successful customers refer others. When they do, tie that revenue back to CS.

5. Renewals

Customers don’t renew because of a great deck. They renew because of results. That’s the CS impact.

6. Upsells

When customers solve new problems with additional products, CS often initiates that conversation.

7. Cross-Sells

Uncovering new teams, use cases, and departments? That’s CS driving strategic expansion.

8. Expansion

When a customer buys more of what they already have, it’s proof they’re getting value, thanks to CS.

9. M&A Growth

Post-acquisition or merger? CS often leads the charge in expanding the footprint across entities.

10. CSQLs (Customer Success Qualified Leads)

You may not close the deal, but if CS identified the opportunity, they should get the credit.

It’s Time to Track What Matters

Just because CS isn’t “carrying a bag” doesn’t mean we’re not carrying the business forward.

Revenue recognition for CS isn’t about taking credit.

It’s about proving value.

So if your team is influencing pipeline, expansion, retention, or advocacy, start tracking it.

Start talking about it.

And make sure your org understands just how much revenue they’re leaving on the table when they don’t recognize Customer Success.