ARR per FTE

Annual Recurring Revenue — the value of all recurring subscription revenue normalized to a one-year run-rate as of the period close. The headline operating metric for a subscription business; every growth and efficiency ratio (NRR, GRR, magic number, CAC payback, Rule of 40) is calibrated against it. Excludes one-time fees, professional services, and non-contractual usage. Common pitfall: confusing ARR (contracted recurring) with revenue (recognized) or with CARR (contracted incl. not-yet-live) — the SMSB standard draws sharp lines between them, and boards expect the same discipline. The KpiVarianceTable widget surfaces forecast / actual / variance / status / future-forecast columns against the same field.

Total number of employees (W-2 / direct-employment equivalents) across all departments at period end. The base denominator for nearly every other HR ratio — turnover rate, revenue per FTE, payroll as % of burn — so getting the snapshot date and the FTE-vs-headcount convention right matters. Common pitfall: mixing headcount (people) with FTE (capacity) — they diverge whenever part-time, contractor, or shared-services arrangements exist. Document the convention (typically "FTE-equivalent, employees only, end-of-period") at the board level once and apply consistently.

Derived triple — effective FTE, cost-per-FTE, and annualized payroll — computed from `hr.payroll_run_rate` + `hr.total_contractors` and a contractor-to-FTE conversion factor. Lets the board see capacity in normalized terms even when the staffing mix shifts. Common pitfall: choosing a contractor-to-FTE factor without explicit board agreement — some companies use 1.0 (1 contractor = 1 FTE for capacity), others use 0.8 (account for ramp / partial-engagement), others use cost-equivalent ratios. Lock the convention.

Annualized fully-loaded payroll cost based on current employee compensation — wages plus employer-paid taxes, benefits, and typical equity refresh allocation. Used as the dominant input into `hr.payroll_as_pct_of_burn` and the projection for `hr.fte_metrics`. Common pitfall: reporting base-salary-only and missing employer payroll taxes, benefits, and bonus accrual — this can understate true cost by 15–30%. Document the loading convention (typically wages × 1.20–1.30 for US fully-loaded) and apply consistently.

Composite SaaS health score that sums the company's revenue growth rate and a profitability proxy (commonly EBITDA margin or free-cash-flow margin) into a single percentage. Originally articulated by Brad Feld in 2015 and codified by the SaaS Metrics Standards Board, the rule frames the growth-vs-profitability tradeoff: a company growing at 60% with a −20% margin scores 40, equal to a company growing at 20% with a +20% margin. The board reads it to sanity-check whether growth is being bought at unhealthy burn or whether margin discipline is constraining growth too far. Common pitfall: which profitability proxy is used materially changes the score (FCF margin is the strictest, EBITDA more flattering, "operating margin" inconsistently defined), so pick one and disclose it next to the number.