When you’re building a SaaS startup, Customer Success often shows up late to the party. You’re focused on product, sales, maybe some onboarding — but few teams set up real visibility into what happens after the deal is closed.

As a former B2B SaaS founder, I’ve been there.
That’s why I created a simple Customer Success KPI Dashboard — a tool I wish I had back then. It’s a plug-and-play Google Sheet that helps early-stage teams track the 5 most essential CS metrics.

But before we dive in, let me be clear — this isn’t a “complete” dashboard.
It’s a starting point.

That nuance came up in a recent discussion I had on LinkedIn with some brilliant CS minds:

🧠 “These KPIs are more of a declaration… they’re not yet tied to BI, attribution, or strategy.”
💬 “How does NPS help model reality? Isn’t it too soft?”
🔍 “MRR is great, but how do we separate organic growth from CS impact?”

They’re right — and that’s the point.

For early-stage teams, the goal isn’t to build a BI engine.
The goal is to stop flying blind.

🧭 Why These 5 KPIs?

You don’t need 30 metrics. You need 5 you’ll actually look at.
Here's what the dashboard tracks — and why:

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

💡 Your baseline.
MRR gives you a high-level pulse on growth — but it's just the first layer. Over time, you'll want to break it down into new, expansion, contraction, and churn to really understand what's driving it.

Customer Churn Rate

💡 The silent killer.
Churn erodes growth and drains your CAC payback. Even a 1–2% monthly churn rate can crush retention over a year.

Activation Rate

💡 Your early-warning system.
If users don’t experience value quickly, they won’t stay. Measuring how many users reach the “aha” moment tells you if onboarding is doing its job.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

💡 A proxy — not a performance metric.
NPS won’t tell you what to fix, but it might tell you that something needs fixing. Combine it with behavioral data for better insight.

Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA)

💡 A monetization check.
ARPA helps you understand upsell potential and the value of different customer segments. Eventually, you’ll want to analyze this across cohorts and lifecycle stages.

📊 What's in the Dashboard?

The Google Sheet includes:

✅ Manual entry tab for your numbers

✅ Auto-scoring dashboard with traffic light indicators

✅ “Quick Win” ideas for each metric

✅ Clear definitions (no jargon)

✅ Optional scoring to help you benchmark progress

This isn’t a CSOps tool or a full BI system.
It’s a quick, simple way to get clarity fast — and build a habit of tracking what matters.

🎁 Grab the Template (No Email Needed)

🔗 Download the dashboard here → Google Drive

Use it, copy it, adapt it — whatever helps.

🚀 Next Step: Clarity → Action

• Start with these 5 KPIs.
• Make them visible.
• Track them weekly.
• Then evolve.

When you're ready to break out expansion revenue from MRR, or compare ARPA by cohort — great.
But don’t let the perfect dashboard delay the habit of measurement.

Want help customizing the dashboard or designing your first CS strategy?

🚀 Book a free 30-minute strategy call

If you’re unsure where to start (or what to fix first) we’ll:
✅ Review your current setup
✅ Spot the biggest bottleneck
✅ Give you 1–2 practical next steps you can action immediately

No fluff. No obligation. Just clear, CS-driven growth advice.

👉 Book your free KPI strategy call – your MRR will thank you.