Episode Details

How do usage-based SaaS companies convert transactional or variable revenue into Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)? Episode #299 gives you a practical framework for presenting usage-based ARR to your Board, investors, and internal teams with clarity and confidence.

After manually reviewing hundreds of public filings and investor materials, Ben Murray breaks down the real-world methods used by companies like Confluent and Datadog to turn usage into ARR.

What You’ll Learn

• The most common method for usage-based ARR

• The second most common method

• How these methods compare to traditional MRR x 12 for subscription models

• Why ARR is often used as a North Star Metric and how transparency is improving across SaaS companies.

Resources Mentioned

• Webinar Replay & Slide Deck (~59 slides):
  Get definitions, examples, and real ARR formulas from leading SaaS companies: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/zz3ZR2WL

Ben’s Research Process

“Over 100 hours of manual research. I tried using AI—OpenAI couldn’t handle it. I had to read the filings myself. These ARR methods are backed by real-world data from public SaaS companies.”