SaaS Financial Modeling Course

Lesson 1 • Cost Structure of SaaS Companies

Breaks down cost of goods sold, R&D, sales, and G&A for SaaS firms. Provides the expense framework needed to build accurate income statements.

Lesson 2 • SaaS Turnover Architecture

Covers subscription tiers, usage-based pricing, and hybrid models as turnover sources. Establishes the turnover layer that all later financial models depend on.

Lesson 3 • SaaS Unit Economics Overview

Introduces CAC, LTV, and payback period as the core profitability levers. Connects unit economics to company-level financial health.

Lesson 1 • Churn Rate Modelling Techniques

Covers logo churn, gross turnover churn, and net turnover retention as distinct inputs. Teaches how to choose and apply the right churn metric for each model context.

Lesson 2 • Customer Count and Cohort Tracking

Models customer additions, losses, and net count alongside ARR movements. Links customer volume to per-customer turnover for cross-validation.

Lesson 3 • ARR Waterfall Logic and Structure

Explains the four ARR movement categories and their directional impact on ending ARR. Establishes the structural skeleton for all subsequent waterfall builds.

Lesson 1 • Bottom-Up Sales Capacity Modelling

Builds turnover from rep headcount, ramp time, and quota attainment assumptions. Grounds the forecast in operational sales capacity rather than market abstractions.

Lesson 2 • Cohort-Based Turnover Projection

Projects turnover by layering historical cohort retention curves onto new customer intake. Produces granular, auditable turnover forecasts tied to actual customer behaviour.

Lesson 3 • Top-Down Market Sizing for Turnover

Uses TAM, SAM, and SOM to anchor turnover projections to market reality. Provides a sanity-check layer for bottom-up forecasts built later.

Lesson 1 • Sales and Marketing Expense Modelling

Builds S&M spend from sales rep costs, marketing programmes, and demand generation budgets. Links S&M investment directly to the turnover forecast built in prior chapters.

Lesson 2 • Headcount-Driven Expense Framework

Structures all operating expenses around a headcount plan as the primary cost driver. Establishes the link between hiring decisions and financial outcomes.

Lesson 3 • Cost of Turnover and Gross Margin

Models hosting, support, and third-party costs to derive gross profit and gross margin. Connects COGS assumptions to the gross margin benchmarks used in valuation.

Lesson 1 • LTV Modelling with Expansion Turnover

Extends basic LTV to include expansion turnover, gross margin, and discount rate adjustments. Produces a more accurate LTV that reflects the full economic value of a customer.

Lesson 2 • Payback Period and Magic Number

Calculates CAC payback period and the SaaS magic number to assess sales efficiency. Links these metrics to cash burn and fundraising timing decisions.

Lesson 3 • CAC Calculation by Segment

Allocates sales and marketing costs to customer segments to compute blended and segmented CAC. Reveals which acquisition channels and segments are most efficient.

Lesson 1 • Model Integrity and Error Checking

Implements balance sheet checks, circular reference controls, and audit flags throughout the model. Produces a model that is reliable enough for investor or board presentation.

Lesson 2 • Cash Flow Statement Integration

Derives operating, investing, and financing cash flows from the income statement and balance sheet. Ensures the model balances and cash is correctly reconciled each period.

Lesson 3 • Income Statement Construction

Assembles turnover, COGS, and operating expenses into a GAAP-format income statement. Introduces SaaS-specific line items such as deferred turnover amortisation.

Lesson 1 • Discounted Cash Flow for SaaS

Adapts the DCF framework to SaaS by projecting free cash flow through a Rule of 40 lens. Addresses terminal value assumptions specific to high-growth subscription businesses.

Lesson 2 • Valuation Bridge and Output Summary

Synthesises ARR multiple, DCF, and comparable outputs into a football field valuation summary. Teaches how to communicate valuation ranges clearly to investors.

Lesson 3 • Comparable Company Analysis

Selects and screens public SaaS peers, then applies their trading multiples to the subject company. Teaches how to adjust for size, growth, and profitability differences.

Lesson 1 • Scenario and Sensitivity Analysis

Builds structured scenario toggles and two-variable sensitivity tables for key model drivers. Teaches how to quantify risk and communicate uncertainty to stakeholders.

Lesson 2 • Fundraising and Runway Analysis

Models cash burn, runway, and dilution across multiple funding scenarios. Equips students to advise on optimal raise size and timing.

Lesson 3 • Long-Range Financial Planning

Extends the three-statement model to a five-year plan with explicit growth and margin assumptions. Teaches how to align financial targets with strategic milestones.