Plain-English definitions of the financial terms every business owner should know. No jargon, no textbooks — just clarity.
How fast your business spends cash. The single most important metric for startups and growing companies.
How many months you can operate at your current burn rate before running out of cash.
The movement of money in and out of your business. Not the same as profit — and often more important.
Money your customers owe you. Revenue on paper, but not cash in your account until they pay.
Money you owe your vendors and suppliers. Managing the timing is critical to cash flow health.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. A proxy for operational profitability.
The predictable revenue a subscription business earns each month. The foundation of SaaS metrics.
Revenue minus cost of goods sold, expressed as a percentage. How much you keep before operating expenses.
Current assets minus current liabilities. The cash available to fund day-to-day operations.
When you can officially count revenue. Collecting cash and recognizing revenue are different things.
The direct costs of producing what you sell. Materials, labor, hosting — anything directly tied to delivery.
The percentage of revenue that remains after all expenses. The bottom line of your financial health.
The exact revenue level where costs are fully covered. Below it, you lose money. Above it, you make it.
The financial scorecard that shows whether your business actually made money — or just felt like it did.
A snapshot of everything your business owns, owes, and what's left for you at a single point in time.
Cash left after operations and investments. The money that's truly available to use, save, or distribute.
How many cents you keep from each dollar of revenue after running the business. The measure of operational efficiency.
How much of your business is funded by debt versus owner investment. A window into financial risk.
Predicting future revenue, expenses, and cash flow so you can make decisions today that pay off tomorrow.
Days from spending cash to collecting it back. The shorter the cycle, the less working capital you need.
Average number of days to collect payment after invoicing. Every extra day ties up cash you could be using.
Can you cover short-term debts with what you have? This ratio gives you a quick answer on liquidity.
The percentage of customers leaving each period. High churn turns growth into a treadmill.
What it costs to win one new customer. The number that decides if your growth is profitable or just expensive.
Per-unit profitability analysis. Do you make money on each customer, order, or project — ignoring overhead?
How fixed costs amplify profit when revenue grows — and amplify losses when it shrinks.
A stricter liquidity test. Can you pay bills with just cash and receivables, without selling inventory?
The definitive record of who owns what percentage of your company. Founders, investors, option holders — all in one place.
Revenue minus variable costs per unit. How much each sale contributes to covering fixed costs and profit.
How many times per year you collect your average receivables balance. Higher means cash flows in faster.
CentSight doesn't just define these terms — it calculates them from your actual financial data, in real time.