If you've built a SaaS product, you've probably opened a dashboard and felt vaguely stressed without knowing why. Too many numbers. Not enough clarity. Here's how to cut through it.
The metrics that actually matter early
When you're pre-$10K MRR, most SaaS metrics are noise. You don't have enough data for cohort analysis to be meaningful. Here's what you should actually be watching:
MRR (monthly recurring revenue) The top-line number. Is it growing? That's the whole question. Track it weekly, not daily — daily variance creates anxiety without insight.
Churn rate How many customers cancel each month, expressed as a percentage. A 5% monthly churn rate means you're replacing half your customers every year. Even good growth can't survive high churn long-term.
ARPU (average revenue per user) Total MRR divided by active customers. If this number is rising, your pricing or plan mix is improving. If it's falling, something is wrong.
Activation rate What percentage of signups actually use your product within the first week? If this is low, you have an onboarding problem, not a growth problem.
What to ignore early
LTV (lifetime value): Impossible to calculate accurately with less than 12 months of data. Make up a number and you'll make bad decisions with it.
CAC (customer acquisition cost): Relevant only when you have paid acquisition. Organic indie hacker growth doesn't need this.
NPS: Useful at scale. Vanity metric when you have 50 customers — just talk to them.
Building a simple metrics setup
You don't need a $500/month analytics tool. Here's a setup that works:
- Revenue data: Pull from Stripe or Lemon Squeezy. Both have built-in MRR tracking.
- Churn tracking: A spreadsheet column with cancellation dates is enough to start.
- Public MRR: Post your number publicly on MRR.fyi — the accountability alone improves your tracking discipline.
The real purpose of a metrics dashboard
A metrics dashboard isn't for investors. It's for you. Its job is to answer one question: are things getting better?
If your dashboard doesn't answer that question clearly, it's not helping you. Strip it down until it does.
Founders who track fewer metrics more honestly beat founders who track everything and understand nothing.