# SaaS metrics dashboard: signups, MRR and the source of each customer

> A SaaS metrics dashboard template: signups, cost per signup, MRR and its moves, lifetime value by source, plus MRR vs ARR and churn vs retention.

Source: https://sporetag.com/guides/saas-metrics-dashboard
By the Sporetag team. Updated October 23, 2026.

A SaaS metrics dashboard for a small team should open with signups, signup rate, cost per signup and MRR, then show what moved MRR (new, expansion, contraction, churn) and lifetime value by the source that brought each customer. Those two rows tell you whether growth is real and which channels bring customers who stay.

The pages that rank for this phrase list twenty or more metrics for a finance team: ARR, NRR, CAC payback, burn, the Rule of 40. Useful for a board meeting, too much for deciding where next month's marketing goes. This page is the smaller board, with the definitions that cause most arguments settled.

## The template, card by card

| Card | The question it answers | Count it with |
|---|---|---|
| Signups | Are more people trying it? | Your signup goal or event |
| Signup rate | Is the site turning visits into signups? | Signups ÷ visits, one tool |
| Cost per signup | What does a signup cost? | Ad spend ÷ tracked signups |
| [MRR](https://sporetag.com/glossary/mrr) | How big is the business now? | The billing system |
| What moved MRR | Is growth from new customers or from keeping them? | Billing: new, expansion, contraction, churn |
| Signups by source | Which channels bring trials? | Analytics |
| Lifetime value by source | Which channels bring customers who stay and pay? | Billing, joined to the first visit |
| Time to first payment | How long from first visit to paying? | Billing and analytics joined |
| Signup funnel | Where do people stop before signing up? | Visit, pricing page, signup |
| Ads by campaign | Which campaigns pay? | Platform spend; tracked signups beside the platform's count |

Signups by source and lifetime value by source side by side is the pair that changes budgets. A channel can lead on signups and trail on revenue, for example a free-tool launch that brings students rather than buyers.

## MRR vs ARR

| | MRR | ARR |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Monthly value of active subscriptions | MRR × 12, the yearly run rate |
| Use it for | Monthly moves, small and early businesses | Annual contracts, investor and board reporting |
| Yearly plans count as | A twelfth of the price each month | The full yearly price |

Both are run rates, not cash. A $1,200 yearly plan paid today adds $1,200 to this month's revenue, $100 to MRR and $1,200 to ARR. Stripe's MRR counts active and past-due subscriptions and leaves out taxes, free plans and metered prices ([Stripe](https://docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/analytics)). Report the number you can explain line by line.

## Churn rate vs retention rate

| | Customer churn | Retention |
|---|---|---|
| Formula | Customers lost in the period ÷ customers at the start | 1 − churn, over the same period |
| 200 customers, 6 cancel in a month | 3% | 97% |

Retention is churn read the other way, as long as both use the same period and the same base. Three things break that:

- **Revenue vs customers.** Revenue churn weighs each loss by its MRR. Losing one big customer can mean low customer churn and high [revenue churn](https://sporetag.com/glossary/churn).
- **New customers in the base.** Stripe's customer churn divides by customers 30 days ago plus new ones since ([Stripe](https://docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/analytics)). Other tools use the start count only. Same business, different number.
- **Net revenue retention** counts upgrades from customers who stay. It can go above 100 percent while customers leave.

Cohort charts show retention by month of signup, which a single rate hides: see [cohort retention analysis](https://sporetag.com/guides/cohort-retention-analysis).

## A worked month

Example numbers, made up for illustration. A SaaS on $49 and $99 monthly plans:

| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| Signups (trials) | 400 |
| Signup rate | 2.5% of 16,000 visits |
| Ad spend | $6,000 |
| Cost per signup (tracked) | $15.00 |
| New MRR | +$2,940 |
| Expansion | +$600 |
| Contraction | −$300 |
| Churn | −$2,100 |
| Net new MRR | +$1,140 |

New MRR looks healthy, yet churn takes back 71 percent of it. Lifetime value by source then shows where: in this example, customers from a comparison-site listing churn half as often as customers from paid social, at a similar cost per signup. That moves budget. The total MRR line never would have.

## Joining signups to revenue

Signups live in your analytics; payments live in Stripe. Lifetime value by source needs the two joined: pass a visitor or session id from the signup into the checkout, so the first payment carries it and every renewal follows. [MRR and SaaS attribution](https://sporetag.com/guides/saas-mrr-attribution) covers the join with Stripe's `client_reference_id`, and why first touch suits subscriptions.

## Common questions

### What metrics should a SaaS dashboard show?

For marketing decisions: signups, signup rate, cost per signup, MRR, what moved MRR, and lifetime value by source. Add ARR, net revenue retention and payback for board reporting.

### What is the difference between MRR and ARR?

MRR is the monthly value of active subscriptions; ARR is MRR times 12. A yearly plan adds a twelfth of its price to MRR each month and its full price to ARR.

### Is churn rate the same as 1 minus retention rate?

Yes, when both use the same period and the same starting customers. They differ when one counts revenue and the other customers, or when one includes new customers in the base.

### How do I see which channel brings the best SaaS customers?

Join each customer's first visit to their subscription, then compare lifetime value or MRR retained by first source, over the same months since signup.

## Sources

- Stripe Docs: [Billing analytics (MRR, churn and subscriber definitions)](https://docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/analytics). Checked October 2026.
- Example numbers are made up for illustration.

## Where Sporetag fits

Sporetag's SaaS dashboard is built from your signup goal and Stripe: signups, signup rate, cost per signup and MRR on top, then what moved MRR, lifetime value by source and time to first payment. More: https://sporetag.com/docs/revenue-and-mrr