October 7, 2025
Introducing the new Annual Planning dashboard in BenchmarkEngine: flexible views, benchmark comparisons, and faster insights.
When it comes to FP&A forecasting, most companies base their long-range forecasts on static planning processes, rather than more relevant, dynamic plans that reflect the complexities of the business.
An increasing number of customers demand the benefits of services delivered via the Cloud. Equally as important, recurring revenues from subscriptions are more highly valued by investors than traditional, perpetual license revenues.
You’ve found product market fit. You’ve hired a team, including some managers. Your initial, small customer base is very happy. You’ve discovered an initial channel of customer acquisition that’s working. You’ve raised a meaningful round of capital. And then, right then, product innovation decelerates to zero.
Eighty-four percent of new software today is delivered as a service (SaaS). Yet, as we turn the corner toward 2019, many businesses remain ill-prepared for the unique challenges and opportunities that come with moving to a subscription model and managing a SaaS business.
Coming to the end of August, we have a fairly mundane topic – the difference between SaaS Bookings and Billings. It seemed like a good idea as the question has come up recently quite a bit. Metrics have no value unless their definition is clear, so it is worth spending a few minutes on the topic.
A recent survey from KBCM Technology Group (previously Pacific Crest Securities) shows the substantial impact that up-selling, including expansions, can have on your SaaS business. Up-selling is the key way to lower the cost to acquire revenue which in turn shortens the payback of the customer acquisition cost.
Did you ever hear the phrase “you are your numbers?” In most companies, business leaders live and die by their numbers regardless of the circumstances in which they hit or miss them. External conditions could be favorable, and you could hit them with little effort. Being faced with a lot of headwind and missing your targets but faring better than your competitors might still make you an underperformer. Corporate life could be easier with more holistic performance assessments. FP&A is typically in the eye of the storm when it comes to reporting on and assessing company and business leader performance, so it must also be FP&A that spearheads this change.
Eric Mersch, partner at FLG Partners, an outsourced CFO firm in Silicon Valley, and speaker on SaaS Conversations: Benchmarking Your Company – The Why and How.
We typically find that process gaps are underestimated by company teams and that system gaps tend to be overestimated. For example, a “system-first” response can lead to what is referred to as “SaaS Sprawl,” a situation in which your company can spend tens of thousands of dollars monthly for under-utilized apps and software solutions.
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