Metric Glossary

Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) is the predictable, normalised revenue a subscription business earns each month. It is the single most important metric for understanding the health and trajectory of a SaaS company because it captures new sales, expansion, contraction, and churn in one number.

Annual recurring revenue (ARR) is the annualised value of a company's recurring subscription revenue. It is the primary metric used to measure the scale and growth trajectory of SaaS businesses, and it directly drives enterprise valuations.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) measures the mean revenue generated per user or account over a given period. It is a critical metric for understanding monetisation efficiency and for connecting pricing strategy to revenue outcomes.

CAC payback period measures the number of months it takes for a customer to generate enough gross profit to recoup the cost of acquiring them. It is a critical measure of capital efficiency and cash flow health in subscription businesses.

The LTV:CAC ratio compares the lifetime value of a customer to the cost of acquiring them. It is the most fundamental measure of unit economics and determines whether a business can grow profitably.

The Rule of 40 states that a healthy SaaS company's combined revenue growth rate and profit margin should equal or exceed 40%. It balances the tension between growth and profitability, providing a single benchmark for overall business health.

The SaaS magic number measures how efficiently a company converts sales and marketing spend into new recurring revenue. It answers the question: for every pound invested in go-to-market, how much new annualised revenue does the business generate?

The SaaS quick ratio measures the efficiency of MRR growth by comparing revenue gained (new + expansion) to revenue lost (churned + contraction). A high quick ratio means the business is growing efficiently without relying on brute-force acquisition to outrun churn.

Expansion revenue is the additional recurring revenue generated from existing customers through upsells, cross-sells, add-ons, and usage growth. It is the most capital-efficient source of growth because it requires no acquisition cost.

Burn rate measures how quickly a company spends its cash reserves. It is the most critical survival metric for startups and growth-stage companies, directly determining how long the business can operate before it needs additional funding or reaches profitability.

Cash runway is the number of months a company can continue operating at its current burn rate before running out of cash. It is the most direct measure of a startup's survival timeline.

Activation rate measures the percentage of new sign-ups who complete a key action that signals they have experienced the core value of the product. It is the bridge between acquisition and retention, and a leading indicator of long-term customer health.

Logo retention rate measures the percentage of customers (logos) retained over a given period, regardless of the revenue they generate. It provides a pure measure of customer satisfaction and product stickiness that is not distorted by revenue changes.

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the total cost of acquiring a new customer, including all sales and marketing expenses divided by the number of new customers gained in a given period. It is one of the most important unit economics metrics for any growth-stage business.

Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer account over the entire duration of their relationship. It quantifies the long-term financial worth of acquiring and retaining a customer, making it one of the most important metrics for sustainable growth.

Churn rate measures the percentage of customers or subscribers who stop using a product or service during a given time period. It is the most direct indicator of whether a business is delivering enough ongoing value to retain its customer base, and it has a compounding effect on growth, revenue, and customer lifetime value.

Completion rate measures the percentage of users who finish a defined process or onboarding flow from start to end. It is a direct indicator of how well a product guides users through critical workflows, and a leading signal of activation, retention, and downstream conversion.

Gross MRR churn rate measures the percentage of monthly recurring revenue lost to cancellations and downgrades in a given period. It isolates the revenue damage from customer losses before any offsetting expansion, providing the clearest view of how much revenue the business is haemorrhaging each month.

MRR closed vs quota measures the actual monthly recurring revenue closed by a sales team or rep as a percentage of their assigned quota. It is the definitive measure of sales execution against plan, connecting individual and team output directly to the revenue targets that drive business growth.

Net MRR churn rate measures the monthly recurring revenue lost to cancellations and downgrades minus the expansion revenue gained from existing customers, expressed as a percentage of starting MRR. It reveals whether the existing customer base is shrinking or growing in value each month.

Net MRR growth rate measures the month-over-month percentage change in net monthly recurring revenue. It captures the combined effect of new customer acquisition, expansion, contraction, and churn in a single number, making it the most comprehensive measure of SaaS revenue momentum.

Signup to subscriber conversion rate measures the percentage of free signups who convert to a paid subscription. It is the critical bridge between acquisition and revenue in product-led growth models, determining how effectively a business monetises its user base.

EBITDA measures a company's operating profitability by stripping out financing decisions, tax strategies, and non-cash accounting entries. It is one of the most widely used metrics for comparing the operational performance of businesses across industries.

Return on investment (ROI) measures the gain or loss generated relative to the amount invested. It is the most widely used metric for evaluating the efficiency of an investment and comparing alternative uses of capital.

Return on equity (ROE) measures how effectively a company uses shareholders' equity to generate profit. It tells investors how many pounds of profit the company produces for every pound of equity invested.

Return on assets (ROA) measures how efficiently a company uses its total asset base to generate profit. It answers the question: for every pound of assets the company controls, how much profit does it produce?

Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how effectively a company generates returns from the capital invested in its operations. It is widely regarded as the most accurate measure of a company's true economic profitability.

Net profit margin measures the percentage of revenue that remains as profit after all expenses, including cost of goods sold, operating expenses, interest, and taxes. It is the ultimate measure of a company's ability to convert revenue into profit.

Operating margin measures the percentage of revenue that remains after paying for both cost of goods sold and operating expenses. It isolates the profitability of core business operations, excluding the effects of financing decisions and tax strategies.

Cost of goods sold (COGS) represents the direct costs attributable to producing the goods or delivering the services that a company sells. It is the single largest determinant of gross margin and a critical input to pricing and profitability analysis.

Working capital is the difference between a company's current assets and current liabilities. It measures the short-term liquidity available to fund day-to-day operations and is a fundamental indicator of financial health.

The current ratio measures a company's ability to pay its short-term obligations using its short-term assets. It is one of the most widely used liquidity metrics for assessing whether a business has sufficient resources to meet its near-term financial commitments.

The quick ratio, also known as the acid-test ratio, measures a company's ability to pay its short-term obligations using only its most liquid assets. It excludes inventory from current assets, providing a stricter liquidity test than the current ratio.

The debt-to-equity ratio measures the proportion of a company's financing that comes from debt versus equity. It is a fundamental measure of financial leverage and risk, revealing how aggressively a company uses borrowed money to fund its operations.

Free cash flow (FCF) measures the cash a business generates from operations after accounting for capital expenditures. It represents the actual cash available to pay dividends, repay debt, fund acquisitions, or invest in growth.

Gross profit is the revenue remaining after deducting the direct costs of producing goods or delivering services. It represents the profit available to cover operating expenses, debt service, and generate net income.

Revenue growth rate measures the percentage increase in revenue over a specified period. It is the most watched metric for assessing whether a business is expanding, stagnating, or declining, and it directly drives company valuation.

Operating cash flow (OCF) measures the cash generated or consumed by a company's core business operations. It excludes investing and financing activities, providing a clean view of whether the business itself generates cash.

Earnings per share (EPS) measures the portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. It is one of the most widely used metrics for comparing profitability across companies and is a key input to the price-to-earnings (P/E) valuation ratio.

Current accounts payable represents the total amount of money a business owes to its suppliers, vendors, and creditors for goods and services received but not yet paid for. It is a key current liability on the balance sheet and a critical lever for managing working capital and cash flow.

Current accounts receivable represents the total amount of money owed to a business by its customers for goods or services delivered but not yet paid for. It is a key current asset on the balance sheet and a critical factor in cash flow management and working capital efficiency.

Click-through rate measures the percentage of people who click on a link, ad, or call-to-action after seeing it. It is one of the most fundamental engagement metrics in digital marketing, connecting impressions to action and serving as an early indicator of campaign relevance and audience targeting quality.

Cost per click measures the average price you pay each time a user clicks on your ad. It is the foundational pricing metric for pay-per-click advertising and a critical input to [Customer Acquisition Cost](/glossary/saas-metrics/customer-acquisition-cost), connecting ad spend directly to traffic volume.

Cost per acquisition measures the total cost to acquire a single converting user, whether that conversion is a purchase, sign-up, or lead. CPA is the bottom-line efficiency metric for paid marketing, connecting ad spend to actual business outcomes rather than intermediate metrics like clicks or impressions.

Cost per lead measures the average amount spent to generate a single lead. It is the primary efficiency metric for demand generation teams, connecting marketing spend to pipeline volume and serving as an early indicator of whether campaigns are attracting potential customers at a sustainable cost.

Cost per mille (CPM) measures the cost of one thousand ad impressions. It is the standard pricing and benchmarking metric for display, video, and brand awareness campaigns where the primary objective is reach rather than clicks or conversions.

Return on ad spend measures the revenue generated for every pound spent on advertising. It is the primary profitability metric for paid media, telling you whether your ad campaigns are generating more revenue than they cost and by how much.

Bounce rate measures the percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page without taking any further action. It is a key engagement metric that signals whether your content and user experience meet visitor expectations set by the referring source.

A marketing qualified lead is a prospect who has demonstrated enough engagement or fit to be considered ready for sales outreach. MQL is the handoff point between marketing and sales, making it one of the most important and most contested metrics in B2B organisations.

A sales qualified lead is a prospect that has been vetted by the sales team and confirmed as a genuine sales opportunity worth pursuing. SQL represents the point where a lead transitions from marketing-generated interest to sales-accepted pipeline.

Marketing ROI measures the return generated by marketing investments relative to their cost. It is the definitive metric for evaluating whether marketing spend is creating or destroying value, connecting every pound invested to the revenue or profit it produces.

Email open rate measures the percentage of delivered emails that are opened by recipients. It is one of the most widely tracked email marketing metrics, though recent privacy changes have made it less reliable as a standalone indicator of engagement.

Organic traffic refers to website visitors who arrive through unpaid search engine results. It is the most cost-efficient acquisition channel for most businesses, compounding over time as content matures and domain authority grows.

Conversion rate measures the percentage of visitors, users, or leads who take a desired action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a trial, or submitting a form. It is the fundamental metric for evaluating the effectiveness of any acquisition funnel, landing page, or marketing campaign.

Ad revenue is the total income a business generates from displaying advertisements to its audience. It is the primary monetisation model for media publishers, ad-supported apps, and platforms that offer free products funded by advertising.

Brand recall measures the percentage of a target audience who can name your brand unprompted when asked about a product category. It is the strongest form of brand awareness and a leading indicator of market share and purchase intent.

Branded search traffic is the volume of website visitors who arrive through search queries that include your brand name or branded terms. It serves as a real-time, quantitative proxy for brand awareness and demand generation effectiveness.

Pages viewed per session measures the average number of pages a visitor views during a single visit to your website. It is a core engagement metric that reflects content quality, site navigation effectiveness, and the depth of visitor interest.

Percentage of new users measures the proportion of total website visitors who are visiting for the first time. It reveals the balance between audience acquisition and audience retention, and signals how effectively a business is expanding its reach.

Press clippings measure the number and quality of media mentions a brand receives across newspapers, magazines, online publications, broadcasts, and podcasts. They are a core earned media metric used to evaluate the effectiveness of public relations efforts.

Social media mentions measure the volume and sentiment of public references to your brand, products, or related terms across social platforms. They serve as a real-time indicator of brand visibility, reputation, and audience engagement in the social conversation.

The viral coefficient, also known as the K-factor, measures the average number of new users that each existing user generates through referrals, invitations, or sharing. A viral coefficient above 1.0 means each user brings in more than one new user, creating exponential growth.

Website traffic growth measures the rate of increase in total website visitors over a defined period. It is the top-level indicator of whether a business is successfully expanding its digital audience and a prerequisite for scaling online revenue.

Average contract value measures the average annualised revenue per customer contract. It is a critical SaaS and B2B metric that informs sales strategy, go-to-market model selection, and unit economics by revealing how much revenue each deal typically generates.

Annual contract value is the annualised revenue of a specific customer contract, normalising multi-year deals to a yearly figure. It is used in SaaS and subscription businesses to standardise revenue comparisons across contracts of varying lengths.

Win rate measures the percentage of sales opportunities that result in a closed-won deal. It is the single most revealing metric of sales effectiveness, indicating how well your team converts qualified pipeline into revenue.

Sales pipeline velocity measures how quickly deals move through your pipeline and generate revenue. It combines the four core levers of sales performance into a single metric that reveals the rate at which your pipeline converts to closed revenue.

Sales cycle length measures the average number of days from the creation of a sales opportunity to its close. It is a key efficiency metric that directly affects pipeline velocity, revenue forecasting accuracy, and the cost of sales.

Quota attainment measures the percentage of a sales target that a rep or team achieves in a given period. It is the primary performance metric for sales organisations, connecting individual and team output to revenue goals.

Average deal size measures the mean revenue value of closed-won deals. It is a fundamental sales metric that directly influences pipeline velocity, quota planning, and the economics of your go-to-market model.

Pipeline coverage ratio measures the value of open pipeline relative to the sales quota or revenue target. It is the primary leading indicator of whether a sales team has enough pipeline to hit its number, providing an early warning system weeks or months before quota is due.

Lead-to-customer rate measures the percentage of leads that ultimately become paying customers. It is the end-to-end conversion metric that captures the combined effectiveness of marketing qualification, sales execution, and the customer buying experience.

Activity per rep measures the total number of sales activities (calls, emails, meetings, demos) completed by each sales representative within a given period. It is a leading indicator of pipeline generation and a fundamental measure of sales team effort and capacity utilisation.

Average follow-up attempts measures the mean number of touches (calls, emails, social messages) a sales team makes before a prospect responds, books a meeting, or converts. It is a critical measure of sales persistence and cadence effectiveness.

Average purchase value measures the mean revenue generated per completed transaction. It is a fundamental revenue metric that reveals how much customers spend each time they buy, and is one of the most direct levers for increasing total revenue without acquiring additional customers.

Lead response time measures the elapsed time between a lead being created or expressing interest and the first meaningful sales outreach. It is one of the most impactful metrics in sales because response speed has a direct, measurable effect on contact rates and conversion.

Lead velocity rate (LVR) measures the month-over-month percentage growth in the number of qualified leads. It is widely regarded as one of the most reliable leading indicators of future revenue because it captures the momentum of pipeline generation before that pipeline converts to closed deals.

MQL to SQL conversion rate measures the percentage of marketing qualified leads that are accepted by sales as sales qualified leads. It is the definitive metric for evaluating the quality of the marketing-to-sales handoff and the alignment between the two teams.

Pipeline volume vs goal compares the current total value of sales pipeline to a predefined target, expressed as a percentage or ratio. It is a core planning metric that reveals whether the sales organisation is generating enough pipeline to support its revenue objectives.

SQL to win conversion rate measures the percentage of sales qualified leads that ultimately result in closed-won deals. It is the most direct measure of sales execution quality, capturing how effectively the team converts validated opportunities into revenue.

Net Promoter Score measures customer loyalty by asking how likely a customer is to recommend your product or service. It is the most widely used customer experience metric, providing a single number that captures sentiment and predicts growth through word-of-mouth.

Customer satisfaction score measures how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction, product, or experience. Unlike NPS which measures loyalty, CSAT captures satisfaction at a moment in time, making it ideal for evaluating specific touchpoints in the customer journey.

Daily active users measures the number of unique users who engage with your product on a given day. It is the primary engagement metric for consumer and SaaS products, indicating whether your product has become a daily habit for its users.

Monthly active users counts the number of unique users who engage with your product within a 30-day rolling window. MAU is the broadest measure of your engaged user base and a key metric for growth, monetisation, and investor reporting.

The DAU/MAU ratio measures what proportion of monthly active users engage with your product every day. It is the most widely used indicator of product stickiness, revealing how deeply embedded your product is in users' daily routines.

Retention rate measures the percentage of users or customers who continue to use your product over a given period. It is the most important growth metric because sustainable growth is impossible when users leave faster than they arrive.

Feature adoption rate measures the percentage of users who use a specific feature within a given period. It tells product teams whether new features are resonating with users and which existing features are underutilised, guiding investment decisions and roadmap priorities.

Time to value measures how long it takes a new user or customer to experience the core value of your product. It is the most important onboarding metric because users who reach value quickly are dramatically more likely to retain, expand, and advocate.

Product-market fit score measures how disappointed users would be if they could no longer use your product. Based on the Sean Ellis survey method, it is the most direct measure of whether a product has achieved the level of value delivery that sustains organic growth.

Session duration measures the length of time a user spends actively engaged with your product during a single session. It is an engagement depth metric that indicates whether users are finding enough value to invest meaningful time in your product.

Customer effort score measures how much effort a customer had to exert to accomplish a goal with your product or service. Research shows that reducing effort is more predictive of customer loyalty than increasing satisfaction, making CES a powerful complement to NPS and CSAT.

App ranking refers to the position of a mobile application in app store search results and category charts. It is the primary driver of organic app discovery, directly influencing download volume, install cost, and the long-term viability of a mobile growth strategy.

Cost per install measures the average amount spent to acquire a single app installation through paid advertising. It is the foundational efficiency metric for mobile user acquisition, connecting ad spend directly to the volume of new users entering the app.

Employee turnover rate measures the percentage of employees who leave an organisation during a given period. It is one of the most closely watched HR metrics because high turnover disrupts productivity, erodes institutional knowledge, and drives up recruitment and training costs.

Employee net promoter score adapts the classic NPS methodology to measure how likely employees are to recommend their organisation as a place to work. It is a fast, repeatable pulse metric that serves as a leading indicator of engagement, retention, and employer brand strength.

Employee engagement score measures the degree to which employees feel committed to, motivated by, and emotionally invested in their work and their organisation. It is a multi-dimensional metric that predicts productivity, retention, and customer satisfaction.

Absenteeism rate measures the percentage of scheduled work time lost to unplanned employee absences. It is a critical workforce metric that affects productivity, team morale, and operating costs, and often serves as an early warning indicator for deeper engagement and wellbeing issues.

Time to hire measures the number of days between a candidate entering the pipeline and accepting an offer. It is a core recruiting efficiency metric that affects candidate experience, hiring quality, and the organisation's ability to fill critical roles before top talent is lost to competitors.

Cost per hire measures the total expense incurred to fill a single position, including both internal recruiting costs and external spending. It is the primary financial efficiency metric for the talent acquisition function.

Offer acceptance rate measures the percentage of job offers that are accepted by candidates. It is a key indicator of the competitiveness of your compensation packages, the effectiveness of your hiring process, and the strength of your employer brand.

Employee retention rate measures the percentage of employees who remain with the organisation over a given period. It is the positive counterpart to turnover rate and reflects the effectiveness of the organisation's employee value proposition, management quality, and culture.

Application completion rate measures the percentage of candidates who start a job application and successfully submit it. It is a key indicator of the usability and accessibility of your application process, and directly affects the volume and quality of your candidate pipeline.

Candidates per hire measures the total number of candidates reviewed or processed to make a single successful hire. It is a core recruiting efficiency metric that reflects the quality of sourcing, the selectivity of the process, and the overall health of the hiring funnel.

Candidates per opening measures the total number of applicants received for each open position. It reflects the attractiveness of your roles, the strength of your employer brand, and the competitive dynamics of the talent market for each role type.

The gender pay gap measures the difference in median (or mean) pay between men and women across an organisation. It is a key indicator of structural pay equity and reflects the combined effects of role distribution, progression opportunity, and compensation practices.

Gender ratio measures the proportion of employees by gender across an organisation or within specific teams, levels, and functions. It is a foundational diversity metric that reveals structural imbalances in representation and informs targeted interventions to build a more balanced workforce.

Headcount is the total number of employees in an organisation at a given point in time. It is the most fundamental workforce metric, serving as the foundation for capacity planning, budgeting, organisational design, and virtually every other HR and people metric.

Hires by department measures the distribution of new hires across organisational functions over a given period. It reveals where the organisation is investing its growth capacity and whether hiring patterns align with strategic priorities.

Hires by month tracks the number of new employees who join the organisation each month. It is the primary measure of hiring velocity and reveals seasonal patterns, recruiting capacity constraints, and whether the organisation is on track to meet its headcount targets.

Length of service measures the average duration of employment for current employees, typically expressed in years or months. It is a key indicator of workforce stability, institutional knowledge retention, and the effectiveness of the organisation's employee value proposition over time.

New hire turnover rate measures the percentage of employees who leave the organisation within their first year of employment. It is a critical indicator of hiring quality, onboarding effectiveness, and the accuracy of expectations set during the recruitment process.

New starters per month measures the number of employees who begin employment with the organisation in a given calendar month. It is a fundamental workforce planning metric that reflects recruiting output, growth execution, and the organisation's capacity to absorb new talent.

Passive candidate hire rate measures the percentage of total hires who were not actively seeking a new role when they were first contacted by the organisation. It reflects the maturity and reach of the sourcing function and the strength of the employer brand.

The permanent to freelance staff ratio measures the proportion of permanent employees relative to freelance, contract, and contingent workers in the organisation. It is a strategic workforce planning metric that reflects the balance between stability and flexibility in the talent model.

Source of hire tracks the recruitment channels through which successful candidates enter the hiring pipeline. It is the foundational metric for understanding which sourcing investments produce actual hires and which consume budget without delivering results.

Time to fill measures the number of days between a job requisition being opened and a candidate accepting the offer for that role. It captures the full recruiting cycle from the employer's perspective, including approval, sourcing, interviewing, and offer negotiation.

Training expenses measure the total organisational spend on employee learning and development, including formal programmes, external courses, certifications, coaching, and the time cost of training delivery. It is the primary financial metric for evaluating the scale and efficiency of the L&D function.

Yield ratio measures the percentage of candidates who advance from one stage of the recruitment process to the next. It is the conversion rate metric for the hiring funnel, revealing where candidates drop out and which stages are the most effective filters.

Average order value measures the mean amount spent each time a customer places an order. It is a core e-commerce and retail metric that directly influences revenue, profitability, and customer acquisition efficiency.

Cart abandonment rate measures the percentage of online shopping carts that are created but not converted into completed purchases. It is one of the most impactful e-commerce metrics because it represents revenue that was within reach but lost at the final stage of the buying journey.

Inventory turnover measures how many times a business sells and replaces its inventory during a given period. It is a critical operations and finance metric that reveals how efficiently capital is being deployed in stock.

Order fulfilment cycle time measures the total elapsed time from when a customer places an order to when they receive it. It is a critical operations metric that directly affects customer satisfaction, repeat purchase rates, and competitive positioning.

On-time delivery rate measures the percentage of orders delivered by the promised date. It is a critical customer experience metric that directly affects satisfaction, loyalty, and the organisation's reputation for reliability.

First contact resolution measures the percentage of customer enquiries resolved during the first interaction without requiring follow-up contacts, transfers, or escalations. It is the single most influential metric for customer satisfaction in support operations.

Capacity utilisation rate measures the percentage of total available production or operational capacity that is actually being used. It reveals whether an organisation is underusing its resources or pushing them beyond sustainable limits.

Cycle time measures the total elapsed time from the start to the end of a process. It is a fundamental operations metric used in manufacturing, software development, service delivery, and any context where the speed of a process directly affects throughput, cost, and customer satisfaction.

Throughput measures the number of units produced, tasks completed, or transactions processed in a given time period. It is the fundamental measure of an operation's productive capacity and the primary output metric for manufacturing, logistics, software development, and service delivery.

Listing conversion rate measures the percentage of product listing views that result in a completed purchase. It is the core marketplace efficiency metric that reveals how effectively individual listings turn browsing interest into buying action.

New buyer growth rate measures the rate at which a marketplace acquires new buyers over a given period. It is the demand-side growth engine that determines whether the marketplace can sustain increasing transaction volume and attract more sellers.

New seller growth rate measures the rate at which a marketplace onboards new sellers over a given period. It is the supply-side growth engine that determines catalogue breadth, product selection, and the marketplace's ability to satisfy buyer demand.

Percentage of active listings measures the proportion of all listings on a marketplace that are currently live, in stock, and available for purchase. It is a catalogue health metric that directly affects buyer experience, search quality, and marketplace credibility.

Percentage of active sellers measures the proportion of registered sellers on a marketplace who currently have at least one live listing. It is the supply-side engagement metric that reveals whether the marketplace is retaining its sellers as active participants or accumulating dormant accounts.

Percentage of engaged buyers measures the proportion of registered buyers who regularly interact with the marketplace through actions such as searching, browsing, adding to wishlists, or purchasing. It reveals the depth of demand-side engagement beyond simple registration counts.

Percentage of satisfied transactions measures the proportion of completed marketplace transactions that receive a positive rating or no complaint from the buyer. It is the trust metric that determines whether buyers will return and whether sellers maintain their reputation.

Purchase frequency measures how often customers make a purchase within a given time period. It is a core loyalty metric that directly determines customer lifetime value and reveals how deeply a product or marketplace has been integrated into a customer's buying habits.

Repeat customer rate measures the percentage of customers who return to make more than one purchase. It is the clearest signal of whether a business is building genuine customer loyalty or relying entirely on one-time transactions to generate revenue.

Revenue by traffic source measures the total revenue attributed to each acquisition channel, such as organic search, paid advertising, email, direct, social media, and referrals. It answers the most fundamental marketing question: which channels are actually generating revenue, not just traffic?

Time to purchase measures the average duration between a customer's first interaction with a platform and their completed purchase. It quantifies the length of the buying decision cycle and reveals how much friction, hesitation, or consideration exists between initial interest and transaction.

Agent touches per ticket measures the average number of agent interactions required to resolve a single support ticket. It captures the efficiency of the resolution process and directly reflects the effort placed on both agents and customers throughout the support journey.

Average handle time measures the average total duration of a single customer support interaction, including talk time, hold time, and after-call work. It is one of the most widely tracked efficiency metrics in contact centres and support operations, directly influencing staffing models, cost forecasts, and service level planning.

Average reply time measures the mean elapsed time between a customer sending a message and an agent responding within an ongoing support conversation. Unlike first response time, which covers only the initial reply, ART tracks responsiveness throughout the entire interaction, capturing the experience customers have after the conversation has started.

Average resolution time measures the mean elapsed time from when a support ticket is created to when it is fully resolved and closed. It captures the end-to-end customer experience of getting an issue fixed, encompassing wait times, agent work time, escalations, and any back-and-forth exchanges required to reach a solution.

Call abandonment rate measures the percentage of inbound calls where the caller disconnects before reaching a live agent. It is a direct indicator of whether a contact centre can meet demand, and every abandoned call represents a customer whose issue remains unresolved and whose patience has been exhausted.

Conversations per teammate measures the average number of active support conversations each agent handles during a given period. It is a core workload and capacity metric that influences response times, resolution quality, agent wellbeing, and the overall cost efficiency of a support operation.

Escalation rate measures the percentage of support tickets that are transferred from one tier or team to a higher tier or specialist group for resolution. It reflects the gap between the issues customers raise and the ability of frontline agents to resolve them, making it a key indicator of agent readiness, process maturity, and product complexity.

First response time measures the elapsed time between a customer creating a support ticket and receiving the first substantive response from a human agent. It is the metric that shapes the customer's initial impression of the support experience and sets the tone for the entire interaction.

Knowledge base views is the total number of times self-service help articles are viewed within a given period. It is the foundational volume metric for understanding how customers engage with your help content and a leading indicator of self-service adoption and support deflection effectiveness.

Most common issues is a ranked distribution of support ticket types by frequency, revealing which problems generate the highest volume of customer contacts. It is the diagnostic metric that tells support and product teams where to invest to reduce ticket volume and improve customer experience.

Percentage of positive votes measures the proportion of knowledge base article ratings that are positive, typically captured through "Was this article helpful?" yes/no prompts. It is the most direct signal of whether self-service content is actually solving customer problems.

Predicted CSAT is a machine-learning-generated satisfaction score that estimates how a customer would rate a support interaction before they respond to a survey. It transforms CSAT from a retrospective sample into a real-time, comprehensive quality signal across 100% of interactions.

The ratio of knowledge base views to tickets submitted measures how many self-service article views occur for every new support ticket created. It is the core metric for evaluating whether your self-service content is effectively deflecting tickets and reducing the load on human agents.

Ticket backlog is the total number of unresolved support tickets at a given point in time. It is the stock metric that reveals whether a support operation has the capacity to keep up with incoming demand, and it is the earliest warning signal of a growing gap between ticket inflow and resolution throughput.

Ticket volume is the total number of new support tickets created within a defined period. It is the fundamental demand metric for support operations, determining staffing requirements, budget allocation, and the urgency of self-service and product quality investments.