Accurate expense coding is critical to building a clean SaaS P&L that drives investor confidence, valuation discussions, and clarity in internal metrics. In episode #303, Ben Murray explains exactly where SaaS operators should code executive-level expenses (CMO, CRO, VP of Services, CFO, etc.) and why coding accuracy is a non-negotiable for both SaaS metrics and investor metrics.

Ben also highlights the common mistake of letting G&A become a dumping ground, which can distort key financial metrics, including your gross profit margin, OpEx profile, and overall SaaS valuation.

What You’ll Learn:

• Where to code executive salaries and expenses in your SaaS P&L
• Why department-level cost centers (Sales, Marketing, Services, etc.) are crucial for accurate SaaS metrics
• How misclassifying expenses can hurt your valuation and confuse investors during due diligence
• The golden rule: G&A should not be a dumping ground
• Tips on ensuring your bookkeeping process supports clean financial reporting

Why It Matters for SaaS Operators & Investors:

• Accurate SaaS P&L structures are essential for clean reporting to boards and investors.
• Incorrect coding can skew key investor metrics like gross margin and operating expense ratios.
• A well-coded SaaS P&L provides the foundation to benchmark your business, manage spend, and maximize company valuation during fundraising or exit processes.

Resources Mentioned:

How to Properly Structure Your SaaS P&L (Blog Post + Example Template)

Quote from Ben:
“As a CFO, G&A isn’t a catch-all—it should only hold true G&A costs. Every expense needs to follow the people creating it.”

You’ve added new ARR—but are you spending too much to get it? In episode #302, Ben Murray walks through two practical ways to align your ARR growth with your sales and marketing spend. If you're unsure whether you're underinvesting, overspending, or just inefficient, this episode will help you benchmark your GTM motion using real data and operator-friendly metrics.

What You’ll Learn

• Two ways to triangulate S&M spend relative to ARR
• OpEx profile: Sales & Marketing spend as a % of revenue
• Cost of ARR: Spend required to acquire $1 of net new ARR
• Why relying on benchmarks without context (like ACV or price point) can mislead your analysis
• The difference between investment level and go-to-market efficiency
• Where to find benchmarks by ACV stage using Benchmarkit.ai (Ray Rike’s dataset)

Why It Matters

• Your sales & marketing efficiency plays a critical role in sustainable SaaS growth
• Proper benchmarks help you avoid overspending—or underinvesting—in growth
• Helps investors and operators answer: “Is our GTM engine working?”

Resources Mentioned

Cost of ARR Blog Post + Template: https://www.thesaascfo.com/saas-cac-ratio/

Benchmark data: Benchmarkit.ai

Quote from Ben

“I love the Cost of ARR—because whether your ACV is $500 or $50,000, it normalizes efficiency across go-to-market models.”

Does your retention data feel off—or even meaningless—because of catch-up invoices, credit notes, or daily revenue recognition? In episode #301, Ben Murray explains how proper revenue recognition practices can sometimes interfere with clear retention reporting and what SaaS operators can do about it.

Learn how to build a pro forma MRR schedule that strips out accounting noise and gives you clean, consistent retention metrics you can actually rely on.

What You’ll Learn

• Why revenue recognition can distort retention metrics, even if your accounting is correct
• The difference between GAAP-based MRR and a pro forma MRR schedule
• How Ben built and used a pro forma model during a private equity exit process
• How to build your own pro forma MRR schedule using invoice data
• The critical role of invoice data as your source of truth

Tools & Resources

BackOfficeTools App: Upload your invoice data and generate retention metrics. Check out the tutorial here to learn more and sign up: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/zz3ZR2WL

Key Quote from Ben

“We still follow proper revenue recognition, but when it comes to retention, sometimes we need a second view. A pro forma MRR schedule helps us cut through the noise.”