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Analytics metric glossary

Zuora

Analytics metric glossary

Learn about the subscription metrics that are available in Zuora Analytics and how these metrics are calculated.

Glossary of metrics

Active Subscriber Count 

The total number of subscribers with one or more effective rate plan charges in a given period. A subscriber is an account that owns one or more subscriptions.

This is a non-summable metric. For details about non-summable metrics, see Non-summable metrics.

Average Gross ARR per Subscriber

The total Gross ARR divided by the total number of active subscribers. An active subscriber is defined as a unique Zuora account with at least one effective rate plan charge on the date of measurement.

Average Gross MRR per Subscriber

The total Gross MRR divided by the total number of active subscribers. An active subscriber is defined as a unique Zuora account with at least one effective rate plan charge on the date of measurement.

Average Net ARR per Subscriber

The total Net ARR divided by the total number of active subscribers. An active subscriber is defined as a unique Zuora account with at least one effective rate plan charge on the date of measurement.

Average Net MRR per Subscriber

The total Net MRR divided by the total number of active subscribers. An active subscriber is defined as a unique Zuora account with at least one effective rate plan charge on the date of measurement.

Churned Subscriber Count 

The total number of subscribers with no effective rate plan charges at the end of a given time period who had one or more effective rate plan charges in the prior time period. A subscriber is an account that owns one or more subscriptions.

For the current time period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated on the last day of the period.

If a subscriber starts in the time period and then churns before the same period ends, they would not be counted in this metric.

This is a non-summable metric. For details about non-summable metrics, see Non-summable metrics.

Discount ARR

Total annual recurring revenue normalized from the discount ARR value that can be allocated to a particular set of regular charge(s) from a set of applicable discount charge(s).

To learn about how Discount MRR is computed in Zuora, refer to Processing Discounts in MRR Metrics.

For the current period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated as of the last day of the period.

Calculation:
Discount MRR multiplied by 12

Discount MRR

Total monthly recurring revenue normalized from the discount MRR value that can be allocated to a particular set of regular charge(s) from a set of applicable discount charges.

To learn about how Discount MRR is computed in Zuora, refer to Processing Discounts in MRR Metrics.

For the current period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated as of the last day of the period.

Calculation:
The sum of MRR for the allocated discount charges as of the calculation date.

Gross ARR

Gross annual recurring revenue across all accounts exclusive of any effective discount charges (fixed-amount or percentage-based discount charge models).

For the current period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated as of the last day of the period.

Calculation:
Gross MRR multiplied by 12

A rate plan charge is effective if:

  • The subscription associated with the rate plan charge has a subscription status not equal to either Draft or Expired, AND
  • The rate plan charge effective start date is less or equal to the metric date (since the rate plan charge effective start dates are inclusive), AND
  • The rate plan charge effective end date is greater than the metric date (since the rate plan charge effective end dates are exclusive) OR the rate plan charge effective end date is blank (as in cases of evergreen subscriptions).

Gross ARR Changes

Period-on-period increase or decrease in annual recurring revenue (ARR) across all accounts. For example, a flat line above 0 represents a constant net increase in ARR.

For the current period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated on the last day of the period.

By default, the metric is grouped by business impact.

Calculation:
Gross MRR Changes multiplied by 12.

Gross MRR

Gross monthly recurring revenue across all accounts exclusive of any effective discount charges (fixed-amount or percentage-based discount charge models).

For the current period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated as of the last day of the period.

Calculation:
The sum of “Rate Plan Charge: MRR” for all effective rate plan charges as of the calculation date.

A rate plan charge is effective if:

  • The subscription associated with the rate plan charge has a subscription status not equal to either Draft or Expired, AND
  • The rate plan charge effective start date is less or equal to the metric date (since the rate plan charge effective start dates are inclusive), AND
  • The rate plan charge effective end date is greater than the metric date (since the rate plan charge effective end dates are exclusive) OR the rate plan charge effective end date is blank (as in cases of evergreen subscriptions).

Gross MRR Changes

Period-on-period increase or decrease in Gross MRR across all accounts. For example, a flat line above 0 represents a constant net increase in MRR.

For the current period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated as of the last day of the period.

By default, the metric is grouped by business impact. The calculation for each type of business impact:

  • Suspended Subscription: Decrease in Gross MRR from subscribers who suspended subscriptions during the calculation period.
  • Resumed Subscription: Increase in Gross MRR from subscribers who resumed subscriptions during the calculation period.
  • New Business: Increase in Gross MRR from new subscribers. New subscribers are defined as any subscription owner account that goes from 0 total Gross MRR (across all Subscriptions) to >0 Gross MRR (as a result of newly effective booking events like amendments or orders) on a given calendar day.
  • Expansion: Increase in Gross MRR from existing subscribers during the calculation period. Existing subscribers are defined as any subscription owner account that went from >0 Gross MRR to a higher Gross MRR value on a given calendar day.
  • Contraction: Decrease in Gross MRR from existing subscribers who do not fully churn during the calculation period. In other words, a subscription owner account that goes from >0 Gross MRR to a lower Gross MRR value >0 on a given calendar day.
  • Churn: Decrease in Gross MRR from subscribers who fully churn during the calculation period. In other words, a subscription owner account that goes from >0 Gross MRR to 0 Gross MRR on a given calendar day.
  • No Change: Subscribers who had booking events (e.g., renewals or owner transfers) during the calculation period, but that had no overall change in Gross MRR during a given calendar day for a given subscription owner account.
  • Owner Transfer: Gross MRR changes during the calculation period associated with transferring ownership of a subscription from one account (invoice owner or subscription owner) to another.

Given Business Impact categories reflect the overall net change for a given subscription owner account across a whole calendar day. All booking changes in that day will be categorized with the same impact, regardless of each individual change's impact on MRR. New products added as part of an order that has the overall effect of contracting the MRR of a given subscription owner will be categorized as contraction.

Changes in MRR as a result of suspending or resuming a subscription count toward either New Business, Expansion, Contraction, Churn, or No Change. For example, if an account has a single subscription, and the subscription is suspended, then resuming the subscription counts toward New Business because the MRR for the Subscription Owner Account increases from 0 to a value >0.

The calculation does not include non-zero price changes on renewals or changes to terms and conditions.

Net ARR

ARR across all accounts, net of subscription-level or charge-level discounts.

For the current period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated as of the last day of the period.

Net ARR Changes

Period-on-period increase or decrease in Net ARR across all accounts. For example, a flat line above 0 represents a constant net increase in ARR.

For the current period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated on the last day of the period.

By default, the metric is grouped by business impact.

Calculation:
Net MRR Changes multiplied by 12.

Net MRR

MRR across all accounts, net of subscription-level or charge-level discounts.

For the current period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated as of the last day of the period.

Net MRR Changes

Period-on-period increase or decrease in Net MRR across all accounts. For example, a flat line above 0 represents a constant net increase in MRR.

For the current period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated as of the last day of the period.

By default, the metric is grouped by business impact. The calculation for each type of business impact:

  • Suspended Subscription: Decrease in Net MRR from subscribers who suspended subscriptions during the calculation period.
  • Resumed Subscription: Increase in Net MRR from subscribers who resumed subscriptions during the calculation period.
  • New Business: Increase in Net MRR from new subscribers. New subscribers are defined as any subscription owner account that goes from 0 total Net MRR (across all Subscriptions) to >0 Net MRR (as a result of newly effective booking events like amendments or orders) on a given calendar day.
  • Expansion: Increase in Net MRR from existing subscribers during the calculation period. Existing subscribers are defined as any subscription owner account that went from >0 Net MRR to a higher Net MRR value on a given calendar day.
  • Contraction: Decrease in Net MRR from existing subscribers who do not fully churn during the calculation period. In other words, a subscription owner account that goes from >0 Net MRR to a lower Net MRR value >0 on a given calendar day.
  • Churn: Decrease in Net MRR from subscribers who fully churn during the calculation period. In other words, a subscription owner account that goes from >0 Net MRR to 0 Net MRR on a given calendar day.
  • No Change: Subscribers who had booking events (e.g., renewals or owner transfers) during the calculation period, but that had no overall change in Net MRR during a given calendar day for a given subscription owner account.
  • Owner Transfer: Net MRR changes during the calculation period associated with transferring ownership of a subscription from one account (invoice owner or subscription owner) to another.

Given Business Impact categories reflect the overall net change for a given subscription owner account across a whole calendar day. All booking changes in that day will be categorized with the same impact, regardless of each individual change's impact on MRR. New products added as part of an order that has the overall effect of contracting the MRR of a given subscription owner will be categorized as contraction.

Changes in MRR as a result of suspending or resuming a subscription count toward either New Business, Expansion, Contraction, Churn, or No Change. For example, if an account has a single subscription, and the subscription is suspended, then resuming the subscription counts toward New Business because the MRR for the Subscription Owner Account increases from 0 to a value >0.

The calculation does not include non-zero price changes on renewals or changes to terms and conditions.

Net Billing

The sum of all billing transactions in a particular time period.

Calculation: The sum of Zuora Billing transactions within a given period (based on transaction dates). 

This metric is reported in the home currency configured in your Zuora tenant. Data for this metric can only go back to January 1, 2015.

For the current period, this metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, this metric is calculated on the last day of the period.

Billing transactions of the following transaction types are included in Net Billing:

  • Invoice Adjustment
  • Invoice Item Adjustment
  • Invoice Item
  • Taxation Item
  • Credit Memo Item
  • Credit Taxation Item
  • Debit Memo Item
  • Debit Taxation Item

Net Payments

The period-over-period increase or decrease in payments across all accounts, broken down by type of payment record.

Calculation:
The sum of transactions with Payment transaction types within a given period (based on transaction dates).

Data for this metric can only go back to January 1, 2015. For the current period, this metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, this metric is calculated on the last day of the period.

Transactions of the following transaction types in the "Payment" category are included in Net Payments:

  • Invoice Payment
  • Payment Application
  • Refund Invoice Payment
  • Refund Application
  • Credit Balance Adjustment

Net Retention Rate (Annual)

The rate at which recurring revenue has been retained (net of churns, contraction, and expansion) from a cohort of subscribers one year ago.

You need to have at least one year of data in your Zuora tenant before this metric is available for use. 

The annual net retention rate can be calculated based on Gross MRR or Net MRR.

Definitions:

  • Active subscriber: A subscriber is considered active for the purposes of cohort definition if they had Gross / Net MRR value greater than 0.
  • Starting Cohort MRR: The total Gross / Net MRR from a cohort of subscribers who were active at the end of the prior annual period (365 days ago).
  • Ending Cohort MRR: The total Gross / Net MRR from the same cohort of subscribers (customers t-1 end) at the end of the current annual period (t end). Recurring revenue could have increased or decreased overall due to churn, contraction, or expansion.

Calculation:

  • Annual Net Retention (Gross MRR) = Ending Cohort Gross MRR / Starting Cohort Gross MRR
  • Annual Net Retention (Net MRR)  = Ending Cohort Net MRR / Starting Cohort Net MRR

For the current month, this metric is calculated on the previous calendar day. For previous months, the metric is calculated on the last day of the period.

To compute this metric, all transaction MRR values are normalized into USD (as of the metric date) so that currencies of different absolute values are correctly weighted and normalized. 

This normalization means that there might be changes in annual net retention due to fluctuating currencies.

New Subscriber Count

The total number of subscribers with one or more effective rate plan charges at the end of a given time period who had no effective rate plan charges in the prior time period. A subscriber is an account that owns one or more subscriptions.

For example, if a subscriber does not have active rate plan charges at the end of May but starts to have active rate plan changes in June, then it is a new subscriber in June.

For the current time period, the metric is calculated as of yesterday. For previous periods, the metric is calculated on the last day of the period.

This is a non-summable metric. For details about non-summable metrics, see Non-summable metrics.

Subscriber Churn Rate

The proportion of active accounts that became inactive during the month. Accounts created during the current month are not considered. An account is active if it has a subscription with an effective rate plan charge. For example, a value of 20% indicates that 20% of the accounts that were active at the end of the previous month are now inactive.

Calculation:
Subscriber Churn Rate = (unique count of accounts that had an effective rate plan charge in the previous month, but that no longer have an effective rate plan charge in the current month) / (the number of accounts that were active at the end of the previous period)

  • Accounts that were created or reactivated in the current month, and then became inactive later in the current month are not counted
  • Accounts that were created in a prior month, canceled in the current month, and then reactivated in the churn month will be counted as churn during the time between cancel and reactivation, and then not be counted as churn after reactivation.
  • For the current month, this metric is calculated on the previous calendar day. This means that the metric is always 0 on the first day of the current month and will always rise throughout the month.
  • For previous months, the metric is calculated on the last day of the period.

Non-summable metrics 

Non-summable metrics cannot be calculated by summing up their constituent metrics. For example, if you run a fruit subscription business that has three products (Apple, Banana, and Grapefruit), the number of all subscribers cannot be calculated by adding up the subscriber numbers of the three products. A subscriber can subscribe to two or three products at the same time. Gross ARR is a summable metric. It means that the gross ARR for the three products can be summed up to produce the gross ARR for the whole company.

If you include a non-summable metric and a few other data fields in your dataset, the dataset cannot be used in cards. It can only be exported for additional analysis in external tools. If you want to use a non-summable metric in a card, include only the metric in the dataset that the card is based on.

If you include a non-summable metric in your dataset, you can still filter the data in the dataset by a few dimensions.

For example, if you use the Active Subscribers metric in your dataset, you can filter the data by product (Product.Name = "ABCD"). The dataset will return only the data for product ABCD.

These non-summable metrics can be filtered by the following dimensions.

  • Account (Invoice Owner)
  • Account (Subscription Owner)
  • Contact (Invoice Owner - Bill To)
  • Contact (Invoice Owner - Sold To)
  • Contact (Subscription Owner - Bill To)
  • Contact (Subscription Owner - Sold To)
  • Payment Method (Invoice Owner Account)
  • Product
  • Product Rate Plan
  • Product Rate Plan Charge
  • Rate Plan
  • Rate Plan Charge
  • Subscription