Here is a list of software industry benchmarks contained in our annual reports. You can also find a subset of SaaS benchmarks.
Software Industry Benchmarks
INCOME STATEMENT AS A % OF TOTAL RECOGNIZED REVENUE
Revenue Detail:
Product/ License Revenue (excluding SaaS subscription revenues) (a)
Software as a Service Revenue (a)
Set-up or implementation fee revenue associated with SaaS subscriptions (a)
Services Revenue (Professional Services and Training, Excluding Maintenance) (a)
Maintenance Revenue (a)
Other Revenue (a)
Total Recognized Revenue (a)
2010 over 2009 YTY Revenue Growth Rate (m)
Total Bookings as a % of Total Recognized Revenue (a)
Calculated Billings (Recognized Revenue + Change in Deferred Revenue Between 2009 and 2010) as a % of Total Recognized Revenue (m)
% of Recognized Revenue from direct sales (a)
% of Recognized Revenue from indirect (channel) sales (a)
% of Recognized Revenue from customers outside the United States (m)
Profit Metrics (as a % of total recognized revenue)
Operating Income (m)
Net Income Before Taxes (m)
EBITDA (m)
EBITDA (in dollars) (m)
Gross Margin Percentage on Product Sales (a)
Gross Margin Percentage on Services (a)
Overall Gross Margin Percentage on all Sales (a)
Cost and Expense Detail (as a % of total recognized revenue)
Cost of Products (including software as a service costs) (a)
Cost of Services (a)
Total cost of revenue (cost of products + cost of services) (a)
Research & Development (a)
Sales & Marketing
Sales (a)
Marketing (a)
General & Administrative (a)
Total Expenses (a)
OPERATING EXPENSES AS A % OF CALCULATED BILLINGS
Cost of Products (a)
Cost of Services (a)
Cost of Total Revenue (a)
Research & Development (a)
Sales & Marketing
Sales (a)
Marketing (a)
General & Administrative (a)
Total Operating Expenses (a)
EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY
Number of Employees (FTEs) (m)
Recognized Revenue Per Employee (m)
Calculated Billings Per Employee (m)
Bookings Per Employee (m)
Operating Expenses Per Employee (m)
Operating Income Per Employee (m)
EBITDA per Employee (m)
Compensation & Benefits Expense Per Employee (m)
Sales & Marketing Spend per Employee (m)
Travel and Entertainment Expenses Per Employee (m)
IT Expenses (including communications and email expense) Per Employee (m)
Facilities Costs Per Employee (m)
OPERATING EXPENSE DETAIL
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT EXPENSES
Total R&D Expenses (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Total R&D Expense per R&D Employee (m)
Percentage of R&D Expenses that Was Capitalized (m)
R&D Compensation & Benefits Expense (As a % of Total R&D Expenses) (a)
Total R&D Compensation & Benefits Expense per R&D Employee (m)
SALES EXPENSES
Total Sales Expenses (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Total Sales Expense per Sales Employee (m)
Sales Compensation & Benefits Expense (As a % of Total Sales Expenses) (a)
Total Sales Compensation & Benefits Expense per Sales Employee (m)
MARKETING EXPENSES
Total Marketing Expenses (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Total Marketing Expense per Marketing Employee (m)
Marketing Compensation & Benefits Expense (As a % of Total Marketing Expenses) (a)
Total Marketing Compensation & Benefits Expense per Marketing Employee (m)
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES EXPENSES
Total Professional Services Expenses (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Total Professional Services Expense per Professional Services Employee (m)
Professional Services Compensation & Benefits Expense (As a % of Total Professional Services Expenses) (a)
Total Professional Services Compensation & Benefits Expense per Professional Services Employee (m)
CUSTOMER SUPPORT EXPENSES
Total Customer Support Expenses (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Total Customer Support Expense per Customer Support Employee (m)
GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES
Total G&A Expenses (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Total G&A Expense per G&A Employee (m)
G&A Compensation & Benefits Expense (As a % of Total G&A Expenses) (a)
Total G&A Compensation & Benefits Expense per G&A Employee (m)
COMPANY-WIDE EXPENSES
Total Company Compensation and Benefits (as a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Total Company Travel and Entertainment (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Total IT Expenses – Including Communications and Email (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Total Facilities Expense (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
KEY INCOME STATEMENT ITEMS BY GEOGRAPHIC AREA
Recognized Revenue by Geographic Region (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue)
Americas (a)
EMEA (a)
Asia Pacific (a)
Total (a)
AMERICAS
Americas Operating Expenses (As a % of Americas Recognized Revenue) (a)
Americas Operating Profit (As a % of Americas Recognized Revenue) (a)
EMEA
EMEA Operating Expenses (As a % of EMEA Recognized Revenue) (a)
EMEA Operating Profit (As a % of EMEA Recognized Revenue) (a)
Asia Pacific
Asia Pacific Operating Expenses (As a % of Asia Pacific Recognized Revenue) (a)
Asia Pacific Operating Profit (As a % of Asia Pacific Recognized Revenue) (a)
TOTAL
Total Operating Expenses (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Total Operating Profit (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
BALANCE SHEET ITEMS
Cash & Cash Equivalents (As a % of Total Assets) (a)
Accounts Receivable (As a % of Total Assets) (a)
Deferred Revenue (As a % of Total Assets) (a)
Cash & Cash Equivalents (in Dollars) (m)
Cash Flow
Net Cash from Operations (in dollars) (m)
Net Cash from Operations as % of Recognized Revenue (m)
Percent Change Between 2009 and 2010 Balance Sheet Items
Percent Change in Cash & Cash Equivalents (m)
Percent Change in Accounts Receivable (m)
Percent Change in Deferred Revenue (m)
Percent Change in Total Assets (m)
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Asset Turnover (Net Sales/Total Assets) (m)
Return on Assets (Net Profit Before Taxes as a % of Total Assets) (m)
Accounts Receivable Days (m)
OTHER INFORMATION
Number of years since company was founded (m)
Dollar amount of investment capital taken over company’s life (m)
Percent of companies that are currently venture-backed (f)
2011 Expectations (f)
Expect more than 50% growth in 2010
Expect between 20-50% growth in 2010
Expect less than 20% growth in 2010
Expect zero or negative growth in 2010
Other
In 2011, do you plan to: (f)
Be acquired
Acquire another company
Undertake an IPO
None of these
SaaS Industry Benchmarks
Contracted monthly recurring revenue – MRR – for December 2010 (m)
Change/Growth Rate in Contracted monthly recurring revenue from December ’09 to Dec ’10 (m)
Net New Monthly Revenue During December (m)
Customer Metrics
Number of Customers at end of 2010 (m)
New Customers in 2010 (m)
Percentage of New Customers in 2010 (m)
Average Monthly Revenue per Customer for Dec 2010 (m)
Recognized Revenue per Customer (m)
Average Contract Value per Customer (m)
Average Customer’s Total Lifetime Revenue (m)
Operating Expense per Customer (m)
Customer Acquisition Costs (m)
Customer Acquisition Costs per Customer (m)
Customer Maintenance Costs (m)
Customer Maintenance Costs per Customer (m)
Customer Profitability (m)
Number of Channel Partners (m)
Percentage of customers that are $1 Billion + Enterprises (m)
Churn Rates
Customer Renewal Rate During Year (As a % of Customers Up for Renewal) (m)
Dollar Renewal Rate During Year (As a % of Total $ Value Up for Renewal) (m)
Payment Terms
If upfront payment is typically required from customers, how many months payment do your charge? (m)
Average Term of a Customer Contract in Months (m)
How often do you bill? (f)
Monthly
Annually
Other
HOSTING EXPENSES:
Total hosting expense (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Number of datacenters (m)
Hosting expense per data center (m)
Total Cost Incurred for Internal-use Software Development (As a % of Total Recognized Revenue) (a)
Percent of Total Cost Incurred for Internal-use Software Development Expensed (a)
Percent of Total Cost Incurred for Internal-use Software Development Capitalized (a)
2012 Software and SaaS Industry Benchmark Survey
You can get a copy of the 2012 software and/or SaaS industry report at a reduced rate by participating in the survey, which is running from 1-Feb through 31-Mar.
Participate in the 2012 Software and SaaS Industry Survey