CS Metrics and Finance Playbook

Know your numbers cold, know how your company calculates them, and know which ones your team actually moves.

Sooner or later your CFO is going to ask you for a number you don't own, and everyone at the table is going to watch you figure it out. It might be your CLTV to CAC ratio, your CAC payback or why NRR dropped two points last quarter. You probably don't own the formula for any of them, and you're still expected to explain how retention moves every one.

This playbook gets you ready for that moment. Start by auditing what you report today and deciding what to keep, add and stop. Then take a set of questions into a one-on-one with Finance or RevOps and learn how your company calculates ARR, GRR and NRR, CAC, CLTV, payback and gross margin. The business metrics reference gives you the formula for each one and where CS moves it. From there you agree on how to count the situations that trip teams up, like a renewal with a price increase, test your health score against the customers who actually churned, keep a monthly story log behind your retention numbers and write down your forecast rules. It ends with a signature from CS and Finance on how every number is calculated, so the next time two reports disagree, the agreed math is already in writing.

What's included

• CS Metrics and Finance Playbook in Word, plus a make-a-copy link for Google Docs

• 11 sections: snapshot, audit what you measure today, keep add stop, the Finance conversation, business metrics reference, count it right, back-test your health score, monthly story log, forecast rules, reflection, and next actions and sign-off

• Questions to ask Finance about seven metrics, plus a line to open the conversation

• A step-by-step PDF guide with made-up examples, a month-long plan to run it and the mistakes to avoid

• A Steal This Finance-ready check

Who it's for

CS leaders who report retention to a CEO, CFO or board, especially in their first 90 days or before their first board meeting.

How it works

Digital download. Your files are ready right after checkout. Open the Word file, or use the link included with your download to make your own copy in Google Docs. No physical item will be shipped.

Bundle and save

This template is part of the Metrics and Board Bundle: 8 templates for $79, about half the price of buying them one at a time. Want everything? The Complete Architect Collection has every template in the collection for $299.