How To Track the Right SaaS Metrics (Free Template & API)
A practical guide for bootstrapped founders
Ever notice how most SaaS dashboards feel like they were built for someone else?
That's because they were.
They're typically either built for massive enterprises with dedicated data teams, or VC-backed startups measuring their burn rate.
The rest of us are left cobbling together metrics from multiple tools, trying to figure out what actually matters.
But what about those of us who still need practical metrics we can actually use to make decisions?
Today, I'm sharing a spreadsheet template I use with founders. It's designed for bootstrapped SaaS companies making between $20k-100k MRR.
But first….
Why Track Metrics at All?
My first SaaS tracked everything. Literally everything.
Page views, users, sessions, time on site, bounce rate, social shares... you name it, we tracked it.
But here's the thing - we were drowning in data and starving for insights.
Sound familiar?
The truth is, tracking too many metrics is just as bad as tracking none at all.
You need focus.
What Actually Matters
After working with dozens of bootstrapped founders, I've noticed patterns in what metrics actually drive decisions.
Here's what consistently matters:
1. Financial Health
MRR growth trends (aim for >10% monthly at early stages)
Gross profit margins (should be >70% for most SaaS)
Customer acquisition costs (CAC)
CAC payback period (aim for <6 months when bootstrapped)
Why these matter: They tell you if your business model actually works. If your margins are too low or your CAC payback period is too long, you'll run out of cash before hitting scale.
2. Operational Efficiency
Server uptime (target >99.9%)
Support response times (<1 hour during business hours)
Development velocity (features shipped per month)
Why these matter: They indicate if you can scale without everything breaking. Poor operational metrics lead to customer churn.
3. Customer & Market Success
Net Revenue Retention (aim for >100%)
Customer Retention Rate (>99% annually is solid)
Trial to Paid Conversion Rate (>25% is good for most B2B SaaS)
Organic vs paid acquisition mix (aim for >60% organic)
Why these matter: These show if you're building something people actually want and can acquire customers sustainably.
4. Product Usage
Daily Active Users / Monthly Active Users (>50% is healthy)
Core Feature Adoption Rate (aim for >80%)
Activation Rate (% of users who reach key value milestones)
Why these matter: Usage metrics predict churn and expansion revenue. Low usage today means lost revenue tomorrow.
5. Funding Independence
Revenue from Operations vs External Funding (>80% from ops)
Cash Runway (maintain >12 months)
Break-even Point Tracking
Why these matter: As bootstrappers, we need to know if we can sustain growth from revenue alone.
6. Customer Success
Net Promoter Score (>30 is good for B2B SaaS)
Customer Satisfaction Score (aim for >85%)
Customer Health Score (composite metric you define)
Why these matter: Happy customers stick around and refer others. Unhappy ones leave and tell everyone why.
The Free SaaS Metrics Template
I've put all these metrics into this, simple Google Sheet. It includes:
Formulas for calculating key metrics
Industry standard targets to aim for
Monthly tracking columns to spot trends
Progress indicators showing how close you are to goals
But here's what makes it different:
It's customizable for your specific needs. It focuses on metrics that drive decisions, and leading indicators. It’s designed for non-technical founders. And, it’s simple enough to actually use.
How To Use the Free SaaS KPIs Template
Make a copy of the template
Don't get overwhelmed by all the metrics
Start with what you can track today
Delete metrics that don't matter for your business
Running a dev tools SaaS? CSAT might not matter as much
Selling to enterprises? Daily active users might not be relevant
Add metrics specific to your needs
Have a viral loop (I hope so!)? Add viral coefficient
Using a freemium model? Add free-to-paid conversion
Set your own targets based on your market
B2B targets will differ from B2C
Enterprise targets will differ from SMB
Track monthly (no need to obsess daily)
Set a calendar reminder for updates
Spend max 1 hour per month on this
How to Get Started
The hardest part of tracking metrics is knowing where to begin.
Start with just these three:
MRR Growth Rate
Are you growing fast enough to succeed?
What's driving/blocking growth?
Customer Churn
Are customers sticking around?
Why are they leaving?
CAC Payback Period
Can you afford to acquire customers?
Is your pricing right?
These will tell you if you're growing sustainably, keeping customers happy, and acquiring customers profitably.
Everything else can wait until these basics are solid.
UPDATE: Dummy Data & Supporting Metrics
You’ll notice in the template, there’s also now a 2nd tab titled “Dummy Data Filled” which has some additional sample metrics filled in, along with color coded (red/green) % to target columns.
There’s also a 3rd tab titled “Supporting Statistics Needed” which is a list of data you’ll need to be able to make the calculations for the metrics. (Update: This wasn’t enough. Someone asked for an API to create those calculations, which I made today too. See below.)
UPDATE: Supporting API Calculations
I just added a new API to help people calculate some of the basic metrics. You’ll need the basic data set as shown in the 3rd tab, but if you have that data, you can run it through the free API I just created at https://saas-kpis.founderlabs.io.
What's Next
Here's where you come in.
I'd love to hear which metrics matter most for your SaaS? What would make tracking easier? How do you currently track metrics?
Your feedback will help evolve this template into something even more useful for bootstrapped founders.
Leave a comment on the template, or here in this article. I’ll edit it as fast as I get suggestions. Thank you!
The Future Vision of this Template
Eventually, this could become a proper dashboard - something between basic spreadsheets and enterprise business intelligence (BI) tools.
But for now, let's start simple.
Get the metrics right first, then worry about making them pretty.
Download the template and let me know what you think by leaving a comment.
Tracking the right metrics won't magically make your SaaS successful. But tracking the wrong ones will definitely make it harder to succeed.
Start with the basics, add what matters for your specific business, and use the data to make better decisions.
That's how bootstrapped founders win.
And hey, if you want to dive deeper into strategies for growing or getting your SaaS business unstuck, grab some time and let’s chat.