A one-page metrics sheet for your raise
A one-page metrics sheet lets an investor check your traction in a minute, and a short, defined, honest page earns more trust than a dashboard full of numbers. It is also the page you will update for every investor conversation, so build it once and keep it current.
General education, not legal, tax, or investment advice. Talk to a startup lawyer before you sign financing documents.
What to include
Pick the numbers that match your stage.
- Before revenue: runway, burn, active users or pilots, pipeline, and any written price commitments.
- With early revenue: ARR or MRR and its growth, logo count, gross margin, burn, and runway.
- Once you have a year of customers: add net and gross revenue retention.
Define every number
Put a one-line definition under each number, or link to one. Investors compare companies, and the first question about any number is how it was counted.
What to leave off
Leave off ratios that need history you do not have, such as LTV to CAC before customers have stayed a year. Leave off vanity counts such as sign-ups with no activity. Fewer, honest numbers read as confidence.
Key takeaways
- Show the numbers that fit your stage, and no more.
- Define every number on the page.
- Leave off ratios that need history you do not have yet.
Questions founders ask
- Should the metrics sheet include a forecast?
- Keep the sheet to actuals. If an investor asks for a forecast, share the model separately with its assumptions.
- How often should I update it?
- Monthly while you are raising, and before every investor conversation, so no one sees a stale number.
Compute the sheet on published formulas
Each calculator shows its formula and what the result means, so every number on your sheet has a definition an investor can check.
- ARR/MRRARR / MRR / ARPA / ACV CalculatorNormalize core recurring revenue metrics for SaaS reporting.
- Revenue GrowthRevenue Growth CalculatorMeasure period-over-period revenue growth. Label the comparison (YoY or QoQ) for board consistency, the formula is the same.
- Gross MarginGross Margin CalculatorCalculate gross margin percent and gross profit from revenue and cost of goods sold for a reporting period.
- RunwayRunway and Scenario CalculatorEstimate months of runway from cash, revenue, and operating expenses. Toggle scenarios for hiring or growth assumptions.
- NRRNet Revenue Retention CalculatorMeasure retained and expanded recurring revenue from an existing cohort.
Related calculators
Free calculators for the numbers in this lesson, each with its formula and a worked example.