saas-economics-efficiency-metrics
Evaluate SaaS unit economics and capital efficiency. Use when deciding whether the business can scale efficiently or needs correction.
npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill saas-economics-efficiency-metrics --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
What it does
Evaluates SaaS unit economics and capital efficiency to help decide if the business can scale efficiently or needs correction. It guides calculating metrics like Gross Margin, CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC, Payback Period, Contribution Margin, and Burn Rate, Runway, and efficiency ratios. It is intended for PMs making decisions on scaling, fundraising, board reporting, and investment trade-offs.
How it works
The skill explicitly defines step-by-step calculations and quality checks for each metric:
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Gross Margin: formula and COGS components; example with revenues and costs; quality checks on margin levels.
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CAC: formula (Total Sales & Marketing Spend / New Customers Acquired); example and channel-level considerations; quality checks for consistency and trend.
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LTV: three formulations (Simple, Better, Advanced); example calculations; quality checks across cohorts and segments.
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LTV:CAC Ratio: calculation and interpretation with thresholds (e.g., >3:1 healthy); notes on broader context.
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Payback Period: formula CAC / (Monthly ARPU × Gross Margin %); examples and checks for cash runway.
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Contribution Margin: formula and variable costs included; example and margin targets.
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Burn Rate (Gross and Net), Runway, and OpEx: formulas, examples, and quality checks for runway planning and operating leverage.
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Net Income and Profit Margin: calculation, examples, and profitability checks.
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Rule of 40 and Other Efficiency Ratios: formulas and examples showing growth vs. profitability balance.
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Step 3: Efficiency Ratios aggregation and interpretation, tying all metrics to decisions about scaling and efficiency.
When to use it
Use this framework when evaluating whether to scale acquisition, planning runway and fundraising, evaluating feature investments, and preparing board or leadership reports. It guides deciding between growth-focused vs. profitability-focused strategies based on combined metric signals.
What it can touch
The skill references specific numerical inputs and templates within the provided examples (e.g., Revenue, COGS, S&M spend, New Customers, ARPU, Gross Margin, Monthly Churn, Cash Balance, etc.). It does not specify external tools beyond the implied numeric calculations and templates.
Caveats
The skill does not constitute financial advice; it provides PM-centric frameworks to understand unit economics and capital efficiency. It notes that some benchmarks vary by model (e.g., CAC benchmarks by enterprise vs. SMB) and emphasizes context (cohorts, channels, and growth stage).
## Purpose Determine whether your SaaS business model is fundamentally viable and capital-efficient. Use this to calculate unit economics, assess profitability, manage cash runway, and decide when to scale vs. optimize. Essential for fundraising, board reporting, and making smart investment trade-offs. This is not a finance reporting tool—it's a framework for PMs to understand whether the business can sustain growth, when to prioritize efficiency over growth, and which investments have positive returns. ## Input **Works best with:** The question you're answering (can we scale? raise? extend runway?) or the metrics you want evaluated. **Also useful:** Your numbers — CAC, gross margin, burn, runway, magic number — partial data is workable. Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended `ARGUMENTS:` line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask. **Arriving empty-handed? That works too.** Use it as a reference: read the metric sections relevant to your stage and decision. **Example invocation:** `Are we efficient enough to scale? CAC $9K, gross margin 72%, burn multiple 2.1, magi
- Purpose
- Input
- Key Concepts
- Unit Economics Family
- Capital Efficiency Family
- Efficiency Ratios Family
- Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)
- When to Use These Metrics
- Application
- Step 1: Calculate Unit Economics
- Step 2: Calculate Capital Efficiency
- Step 3: Calculate Efficiency Ratios
- Step 4: Analyze by Segment and Channel
- Examples
What does the saas-economics-efficiency-metrics skill do?
Evaluate SaaS unit economics and capital efficiency. Use when deciding whether the business can scale efficiently or needs correction.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills --skill saas-economics-efficiency-metrics --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills, a repository with 6,255 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.