Free checklist for SaaS founders
SaaS Metrics Health Check
Your Stripe dashboard says one thing, your accounting software says another, and your MRR tracker says a third. This checklist helps you find out which numbers you can trust, and where the gaps are coming from.
- Six checks that connect your billing data, accounting records, and SaaS metrics
- Plain-language explanations of why each mismatch happens
- Written for founders, not accountants
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Why SaaS numbers stop agreeing
Your Stripe balance isn't your revenue.
Your MRR isn't your accounting revenue.
Your bank balance isn't your runway.
Each of these numbers measures something real, but they're calculated differently and at different times. Fees, refunds, annual plans, failed payments, and misclassified costs all pull them apart. Most founders only notice when a fundraise, a tax deadline, or a big decision forces the question.
What the checklist covers
Each check is a question you can answer about your own business, with what a healthy answer looks like and the most common reasons it goes wrong.
Does Stripe reconcile to your accounting records?
Payouts arrive net of fees, refunds, and disputes, often days after the sale. If gross sales, fees, and payouts aren't booked separately, your revenue and your bank balance quietly drift apart.
Does recognized revenue make sense next to subscription activity?
An annual plan paid in January isn't twelve months of revenue in January. If revenue jumps whenever annual renewals land, deferred revenue probably isn't being tracked.
Does your MRR reconcile to the underlying customer data?
MRR from a dashboard and MRR rebuilt from your customer list should match. When they don't, the cause is usually discounts, failed payments, plan changes, or one-off charges counted as recurring.
Are COGS and operating expenses classified properly?
Hosting, third-party APIs, and support costs belong in cost of revenue. If they sit in operating expenses, your gross margin looks better than it really is, and so does every decision built on it.
Do your internal numbers support the decisions you're making?
Pricing changes, hiring, and runway planning all lean on your internal P&L and cash position. If those numbers are months behind or don't tie out, the decisions inherit the errors.
Could you hand your books to an accountant without a clean-up?
When your accountant or CPA prepares your year-end accounts and tax filings, gaps in the books turn into questions, delays, and extra fees. Finding them yourself first is cheaper.
Who it's for
- Founders billing through Stripe, Paddle, or Maxio
- Teams keeping books in QuickBooks Online or Xero
- Anyone planning a pricing change, a new hire, or a handover to a new accountant
- Founders whose MRR dashboard and P&L never quite match
Who made it
The checklist is put together by Ayman Fatima, ACCA Affiliate and founder of The SaaS Ledger, a bookkeeping practice focused on SaaS and subscription businesses.
It's based on the same questions we ask when we look at a founder's books: do the subscription data, the payment platform, and the accounting records all tell the same story?
Questions about the checklist
What is the SaaS Metrics Health Check?
A free checklist for SaaS founders that walks through the key places where accounting records and SaaS metrics such as MRR, ARR, revenue, gross margin, and cash tend to disagree, and what to look at when they do.
Is it free?
Yes. Leave your name and email and we'll send it to you.
When will I receive it?
We're finishing the checklist now. Everyone who signs up will get it by email as soon as it's ready.
Do I need an accounting background to use it?
No. It's written for founders, in plain language, and explains why each check matters as well as what to look at.
Which tools does it apply to?
It's written with common SaaS stacks in mind, including Stripe, Paddle, or Maxio for billing and QuickBooks Online or Xero for accounting.
What will you do with my email?
We'll use it to send you the checklist. You can ask us to remove you at any time by emailing ayman@thesaasledger.com.