{"id":10321,"date":"2017-03-28T15:21:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T19:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=10321"},"modified":"2024-08-20T01:40:57","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T05:40:57","slug":"managing-saas-metrics-throughout-the-company-lifecycle-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/managing-saas-metrics-throughout-the-company-lifecycle-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing SaaS metrics throughout the company lifecycle (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFree guides and webcasts<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tManaging SaaS metrics throughout the company lifecycle (Part 2)\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"David\t\t\t\tDavid Appel<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In our last post<\/a>, we talked about the different metrics you need to focus on at your different stages of growth.  Now we\u2019ll take a look at the processes required to produce and manage the metrics that drive financial transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the head of the Software and SaaS Vertical at Sage Intacct<\/a>, I\u2019ve had the chance to interact with many of our SaaS customers (both public and private), as well as some of the world\u2019s top venture capital and private equity firms. Through conversation with these SaaS industry thought leaders, such as Tomasz Tunguz of Redpoint Capital on Key SaaS Benchmarks<\/a> and Christoph Janz at Point Nine Capital on his SaaS Financial Plan 2.0<\/a>, I\u2019ve noticed that a financial process automation lifecycle has emerged to help firms streamline business processes and get the insights needed to out-maneuver their competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether companies are looking to solve a specific pain point or if they are looking to streamline processes to prepare for their next growth phase, the areas they look at tend to follow a similar pattern. This is how we\u2019ve developed the Finance Business Process Automation Lifecycle below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SaaS companies evolve and grow in roughly similar ways \u2013 regardless of whether they are High ACV or High Velocity companies.  This provides a roadmap for growth and context on what they need to prepare for in the next stage.  Further, it shows how the workflows are interconnected so that as process owners start to emerge when companies scale, they see the power of working together across departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to put systems in place to automate these steps, thus enabling the company to build the infrastructure required to produce the SaaS metrics we discussed in Part 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Seed Stage, to keep things simple, entrepreneurs often put in the following.  The goal at this stage is to get Product-Market fit and focus the energies and finances of the company there, with just enough process in place to allow the CEO to focus on engineering and seeding the market:<\/p>\n\n\n\n