• Zeller for Startups

The Top 15 Financial Metrics All Startup Founders Need to Monitor

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Building a startup is exciting, but keeping it financially healthy from day one can feel like walking a tightrope while juggling flaming torches.

For early-stage founders, understanding your numbers is key to survival. By monitoring the right KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), you’ll know whether your startup is on track for success, or headed for trouble. Whether you’re launching a cutting-edge SaaS product, a mobile app, or an online marketplace, the fundamentals are the same. Let’s break down 15 of the most important financial metrics that every startup founder should keep an eye on.

Sales and growth metrics.

First up, let's look at metrics that demonstrate your sales and growth momentum. No matter your business model, you should know how much money is coming in and how your customer base is expanding over time. Tracking these figures helps you spot opportunities to boost growth or catch signs of a slowdown.

1. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) ($)

MRR is the total predictable revenue your startup earns each month from recurring sources like subscriptions or ongoing service contracts. It’s a snapshot of steady monthly income you can count on. For example, if you have 50 customers each paying $100 per month, your MRR is $5,000.

Monthly Recurring Revenue = sum of all recurring revenue in a month

2. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) ($)

ARR is the yearly recurring revenue run rate based on your current monthly recurring income. It tells you how much revenue you’d generate in a year if your subscriber base and pricing stayed consistent. Investors often look at ARR to gauge your startup’s traction on an annual scale.

Annual Recurring Revenue = Monthly Recurring Revenue × 12

3. Conversion Rate (%)

Conversion rate measures how effectively you turn potential customers into actual customers. It’s usually expressed as a percentage of people who take a desired action out of the total who had the chance. For example, it could be the percentage of website visitors who sign up for your product, or the percentage of free trial users who become paying customers. A higher conversion rate means your marketing and onboarding are working well.

Conversion Rate (%) = (Number of conversions / Number of visitors) × 100

4. Annual Contract Value (ACV) ($)

ACV represents the average revenue per customer contract per year. This metric is especially relevant if you sell multi-year deals or annual subscriptions as it helps you understand the yearly value of a customer’s contract. To calculate ACV, take the total value of the contract and divide it by the contract length in years. For example, if a client signs a 2-year contract worth $10,000 in total, the ACV is $5,000 per year.

Annual Contract Value = Total Contract Value ÷ Contract Term (in years)

5. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) ($)

ARPU tells you how much revenue you earn from each customer on average, usually per month. You calculate it by dividing your total monthly recurring revenue by the number of active customers that month, which shows the average value of each user. For instance, if your MRR is $5,000 and you have 50 active customers, your ARPU is $100. Tracking ARPU over time can reveal if you’re increasing the value of each customer (through upselling or higher pricing) or if it’s dropping.

Average Revenue Per User = Total Monthly Recurring Revenue (Monthly Recurring Revenue) ÷ Number of Active Customers

Customer acquisition and retention metrics.

Your customers are the heart of your business, and these metrics examine how much it costs to get new customers and how well you keep them active. By tracking acquisition and retention, you can ensure you’re growing sustainably – gaining new users without losing too many existing ones along the way.

6. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ($)

CAC tells you the average cost of acquiring a new customer. It includes all your marketing and sales spend (ads, promotions, salaries, etc.) divided by the number of new customers gained in that period. Knowing your CAC helps you understand if your growth strategies are cost-effective. For example, if you spent $1,000 on marketing in a month and acquired 100 new customers, your CAC is $10 per customer.

Customer Acquisition Cost = Total marketing and sales costs in a period / Number of new customers acquired

7. Churn Rate (%)

Churn rate is the percentage of customers who leave or cancel over a given period. It’s essentially the opposite of your retention rate – if your retention rate is 90%, your churn is 10%. This metric is crucial for any startup with recurring revenue because high churn means you’re losing customers almost as fast as you gain them. For instance, a 5% monthly churn means 5 out of every 100 customers leave each month.

Churn Rate (%) = (Customers lost during period / Customers at start of period) × 100

8. Monthly Active Users (MAU)

MAU is the number of unique users who actively use your product or service in a given month. “Active” might be defined as logging in, making a transaction, or otherwise engaging with your app, whatever activity matters for your business. This metric shows how well you’re retaining users and keeping them engaged. If your MAU is growing, it means more people are finding value in your product and sticking around. Startups often track MAU to demonstrate user traction, even before revenue ramps up.

Monthly Active Users = Number of unique users who performed a qualifying activity in a given month

Cash flow and runway metrics.

When you're running a startup, staying on top of your cash flow is everything. You might have great revenue on paper, but if you run out of cash to pay the bills, your startup can’t survive. These metrics focus on your cash usage and how long you can keep operating. They’re especially critical if you’re not yet profitable and are burning through savings or investor funding to drive growth.

9. Burn Rate ($)

Burn rate is how much cash your startup is spending each month to operate. In other words, it’s the amount by which your monthly expenses exceed your revenue (if you’re in the red). It shows how quickly you’re “burning” through your cash reserves. For example, if you spend $50,000 in a month and your revenue is $30,000, your burn rate is $20,000 for that month. A high burn rate isn’t sustainable for long, so keeping this number in check is critical.

Burn Rate = Monthly cash outflows – Monthly cash inflows (when expenses are greater than revenue)

10. Cash Runway

Cash runway tells you how many months you can continue operating at your current burn rate before you run out of money. It’s basically your financial lifeline. For instance, if you have $200,000 in the bank and your burn rate is $20,000 per month, you’ve got about 10 months of runway. Knowing your runway helps you plan ahead – you’ll know when you need to start raising more funds or cutting costs to avoid hitting empty.

Cash Runway (months) = Cash on hand / Monthly Burn Rate

11. Operating Cash Flow ($)

Operating cash flow is the amount of cash generated (or used) by your core business operations. It excludes things like new financing (loans or investments) and capital expenditures, it’s purely about day-to-day operating money coming in versus going out. This metric tells you if your core business is self-sustaining. If this number is positive, your operations are bringing in more cash than they spend, which is a very good sign. If it’s negative, it means your business needs external funding or additional revenue to cover its costs.

Operating Cash Flow = Cash received from customers – Cash paid out for operations

Economic metrics.

Finally, let’s examine metrics that speak to your startup’s overall economic health and long-term sustainability. These metrics help you understand if your business model makes financial sense in the long run. They cover everything from how much profit you make on each sale to how valuable each customer is over their lifetime, relative to what it costs to acquire them.

12. Payback Period

Payback period is the time it takes to recover a given investment. In a startup context, founders often look at how long it takes to earn back the cost of acquiring a customer. (This is sometimes called the CAC payback period.)

For example, if your Customer Acquisition Cost is $100 and a customer generates $50 of gross margin for you per month on average, the payback period is 2 months. A shorter payback period is better because it means you recoup your costs sooner.

Payback Period = Customer Acquisition Cost / average monthly gross margin from that customer

13. Gross Profit Margin (%)

Gross profit margin is the percentage of revenue left after you’ve paid the direct costs associated with your product or service. Those direct costs are often called Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). For a software startup, COGS might include hosting fees, whereas for a hardware product, the COGS includes manufacturing costs. Gross margin basically tells you how much of each dollar of revenue is gross profit. The higher, the better – a healthy gross margin means you have more money available to cover your other expenses (like salaries, rent, and marketing) and invest back into growth.

Gross Profit Margin (%) = ((Revenue – Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue) × 100

14. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) ($)

LTV is the total revenue you expect to earn from a typical customer over the entire time they remain a customer. In other words, how valuable an average customer is to your startup in the long run. A higher LTV means each customer is contributing more to your bottom line over time, either because they stay with you for a long time or because they purchase repeatedly.  For a subscription business, for example, you might calculate LTV by taking the monthly revenue per user (ARPU) and multiplying it by the average number of months a customer stays subscribed.

Customer Lifetime Value ($) = (Average Revenue Per User x Gross Profit Margin) / Churn Rate

15. LTV:CAC Ratio

This ratio compares the lifetime value of a customer (LTV) to the cost of acquiring that customer (CAC). It’s a quick way to gauge the efficiency of your business model – are you getting significantly more value from a customer than what you spent to get them? As a rule of thumb, an LTV:CAC around 3:1 or higher is often considered healthy in the startup world, meaning you get about $3 or more in lifetime revenue for every $1 spent acquiring a customer. 

If the ratio is much lower (say 1:1), you’re spending nearly as much to acquire a customer as they bring in, which may not be sustainable. If it’s extremely high, it could mean you have room to invest more in acquiring customers to drive faster growth.

LTV:CAC Ratio = Customer Lifetime Value / Customer Acquisition Cost

The right tools make all the difference.

As a founder, knowing these metrics is only half the battle. The other half is tracking them consistently and acting on what they tell you. Having the right tools to keep tabs on your financial metrics makes things much easier. 

Zeller for Startups is designed with this in mind. It’s completely free to sign up, and you’ll get instant access to zero-fee business transaction accounts, smart debit cards for real-time expense tracking, high-interest savings accounts and more.

Start smart with Zeller for Startups.

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Zeller Business Blog

The Secret to One of Sydney’s Best New Restaurants Is Free-flowing Drinks… and Data

After a 20-year career shaking and stirring behind the bar and in the boardroom of some of Sydney’s most revered venues, Joong Charpentier is today the General Manager of Tanuki. Since its opening in January 2024, the Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar has become a wildly popular haunt in the harbourside suburb of Double Bay. Drawing on his wealth of experience in fine-dining restaurants, pubs, five-star hotels, nightclubs, and bars, Joong is leading Tanuki to success with a combination of the right team and the right tech. “My family immigrated to Sydney from Belgium in the early 90s and opened a French restaurant in Manly, so I’ve just always been around hospitality, ”  explains Joong Charpentier. After cutting his teeth as a kitchen hand, he worked his way up through back-of-house, front-of-house, and management, to where he is now, at the helm of Tanuki. Named after the mischievous raccoon dog, known in Japanese folklore for leading humans astray, the venue is an invitation to stay a little longer than you should. “It combines everything I love: cocktails, fine-dining, and an atmosphere that turns into a bit of a party later on in the evening. It has all those elements rolled into one,” Joong says. With those three elements comes the need for multiple teams and careful coordination in order to provide consistent quality and service throughout the venue. “Staffing is the biggest challenge,” says Joong, “Finding the right team members and maintaining consistency. Whether it's your product offering, trading hours, messaging, or back-of-house policies: consistency is key. And you need to find the right people to achieve that,” he explains. Thankfully, the hospitality industry is producing more professionals today than ever before, and offering them opportunities to learn and grow within the industry: “We invest time and energy into training our team members,” says Joong, “Because people now understand that this is a professional industry. You can apply yourself and have a successful and rewarding career, it’s no longer just a weekend job or something you’re doing to put yourself through uni." Parallel to the professionalisation of the industry, Joong has also experienced the shift in technology available to restaurateurs. Being able to access data today, enables venues like Tanuki to hone in on and optimise different areas of the business – from customer service to inventory management, and pricing. “The more information that we have on the way a guest likes to enjoy their time in the venue, the better the experience we're going to provide,” says Joong. “We use  SevenRooms  to manage our reservations. It syncs up to our point-of-sale system, H&L, and allows us to track everything the guest orders and allows us to make profile notes. So, if you come back in six months time and say ‘I had a really great wine here last time’, we’ll be able to track it down for you,” explains Joong. The flow of data between separate providers has been a key development in recent years, unlocking even more opportunities for hospitality professionals to speed up their processes and conduct richer analysis. One such integration was that of  H&L  point-of-sale system with  Zeller ’s payment platform, giving rise to  Pay at Table : a solution that allows wait staff to view open tables, see outstanding bills from across the entire restaurant, accept payments and close tables — all from one device, while keeping the point-of-sale free for other staff to use.

A Sydney Icon with a Storied Past Embraces the Future

Steeped in the historical infamy of Sydney’s Kings Cross, The Roosevelt has a colourful past going back decades. Originally operating in the 1940s and 50s, the venue was once controlled by the notorious underworld figure Abe Saffron – dubbed ‘Mr. Sin’ – whose powerful influence over Sydney’s nightlife included the original Roosevelt Club. Fast forward to today, and The Roosevelt has been lovingly and creatively reimagined with an American diner meets old-school nightclub-style aesthetic, and is now proudly under the stewardship of Ben Hickey and his partner Naomi Palmer. Hickey has been involved with the venue for over a decade, and since taking ownership eight years ago, has helped transform it into a destination for cocktail lovers, whiskey connoisseurs, and locals looking for a unique experience. Some of The Roosevelt’s most famous offerings are its signature martinis, served ice-cold and with plenty of panache thanks to the power of dry ice. “We do a lot of classic martinis, but we use liquid nitrogen to get the glass as cold as absolutely possible,” says Hickey. “So, you get a really, really cold martini, plus the effect of the liquid nitrogen smoke spreading everywhere.” Also a standout is the eponymous Roosevelt Blazer cocktail. “For this one, we use Diplomatico rum, plus PX that has been infused with date, fig and cinnamon, then serve it flaming at the table. It’s a great winter drink with the  kind of theatrical presentation people love.” A food menu with finesse While The Roosevelt is best known for its drinks, it also boasts a full food menu featuring a variety of share plates and main courses. Two of the most noteworthy (and droolworthy) options on the menu include the Sydney rock oysters with champagne mignonette and the sirloin steak with cannellini bean, leek, & black pepper jus, both popular choices for guests looking for a refined dining experience. Those with a sweet tooth might opt for the treacle and almond tart with Laphroaig whisky cream or the ‘Noir Nightcap’, made with Jameson Black Barrel, coffee, stout reduction and Frangelico, served affogato style over brandy ice-cream. Zeller’s Bill at Table: worth the wait. The Roosevelt’s relationship with Zeller started a few years ago when a friend of Ben’s suggested Zeller could likely offer a better rate than their provider at the time. “When we switched to Zeller, we got a really good rate, so that made the switch well worth it. But now Bill at Table is here it's even better, because it makes the billing process that much smoother.” Tipping the scales in favour of gratuity. Tipping has always been a nuanced topic in hospitality. “Tipping is always tricky. It depends on the group and the situation,” Hickey shares. “Some people always tip, some never do.” With Zeller’s Bill at Table, guests are presented with an itemised bill on the  Zeller Terminal screen before making payment. They can also choose whether they’d like to split the bill and leave a tip with a single tap. “People are definitely more likely to tip when they’re still sitting at the table. If they get up to pay, the feeling of traditional service evaporates and the magic is gone. The awkwardness is removed from the tipping process as the system prompts the tip, meaning the staff don’t have to. It’s seamless.” More covers means more revenue. Since implementing Bill at Table, The Roosevelt has experienced a tangible improvement in patron experience at the end of a sitting. “Before Bill at Table, we had way more people coming up to the till to pay. Or we would drop the bill off and then they’d be holding their phone – but were they ordering an Uber, for example, or ready to pay? It was often awkward,” Hickey reveals. “But with Bill at Table, there’s no ambiguity. It makes the experience much smoother.” For staff, the transition has been intuitive. “Most of our team has worked in hospitality for a while, and even if they hadn’t used this system before, it didn’t take them long to learn.” For The Roosevelt, the way Bill at Table streamlines the payment process makes for quicker table turnover and thus more patrons served. “Now pretty much 95% of our payments are taken at the table,” says Hickey. “On a busy night, when we’re doing 160 covers, the feature is particularly great. People don’t need to worry about their friends forgetting to PayID them or not having the right cash, the bill is settled then and there and then they’re off into the night – and we’re onto the next table.”

Zeller for Startups

How to Raise Funds for your Startup

Raising capital is one of the biggest challenges facing Australian startups. In fact, in a recent survey by Zeller , 94% of local tech founders cited fundraising as their top hurdle, followed by financial management.   If you're an early-stage founder wondering how to secure funding in Australia, you're not alone. The good news is that these days there are more funding options available than ever, from government grants and accelerators, to angel investors and VCs. This guide outlines the different paths to fundraising for your startup, along with tips to make the most of each option. Bootstrapping and self-funding. Bootstrapping simply means using your own money – whether that’s your savings, income from a day job, or early sales – to fund your business. It’s the most straightforward way to retain full control and ownership as you don’t have to give up equity or answer to external investors, making it ideal if you want to build on your terms. But bootstrapping demands discipline. You’ll need to stretch every dollar as far as you can, track your expenditure closely to ensure you’re keeping costs down, and focus on reaching profitability fast. This often involves launching with a minimum viable product (MVP), finding low-cost marketing strategies (such as referral programs or leveraging social media), and maintaining a lean operation. Many successful startups begin this way. That said, bootstrapping isn’t ideal for every business.  If your startup requires significant upfront capital – such as for product development, engineering, technical infrastructure, inventory, or team recruitment – you'll likely need the support of external funding. Still, even a short period of bootstrapping shows investors you're dedicated and know how to responsibly manage your startup finances. Having some traction before raising money can also lead to better terms. Pro tip: Document your early wins. Investors like to see founders who’ve achieved progress with limited resources as it signals resilience and vision. Fundraising from friends and family. Once personal funds start running low, founders sometimes turn to friends and family for limited initial capital raising. These people already believe in you, so they might accept a higher level of risk than a VC or professional investor. It’s a common early-stage funding step, especially if you require modest capital to develop a prototype or reach your first customers. Still, it should be approached with care. Even though the relationship is personal, you should treat it like a business deal. Be clear about whether the money is a loan, a gift, or an investment, and formalise everything in writing. Using tools like SAFE notes (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) or convertible notes allows informal investors to gain equity later, once you raise a proper round. Raising money from loved ones can strain relationships if things don’t go well. Only take what you truly need, and make sure everyone understands the risks. Some startups go years before returning capital to early investors – and some never do. Government grants and support programs Australia offers a wide range of government support for startups. Unlike loans or investment, most grants are non-dilutive and don’t require repayment, making them a valuable source of early-stage funding.​ The most well-known is the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive , which refunds up to 43.5% of eligible R&D expenses. If your startup is working on new technologies, this can significantly reduce burn. Another popular program is the Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) , which helps cover international expansion costs.​ There are also many state-level grants and startup challenges. For instance, LaunchVic in Victoria offers funding and support for innovation-focused businesses. In New South Wales, the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Ventures Program provides grants ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 to help startups commercialise innovative products or processes. ​ These grants often require businesses to meet criteria around location, industry, or stage.​ If you haven’t already, check out the government’s Grants and Programs Finder to see if there could be something suitable for you. Applying can be time-consuming, but the payoff is often worth it. Be ready to justify how the funds would be used and how they’d contribute to your growth. Startup accelerators and incubators. Accelerators and incubators support early-stage founders through mentoring, resources, and often seed funding. Accelerators typically run structured programs over a few months, ending in a pitch event or demo day. In exchange for equity, they may offer anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000, alongside  intensive business dev elopment support. Well-known Australian accelerators include Startmate, muru-D, and BlueChilli. These programs are competitive, but graduating from one can significantly boost your credibility and access to investors. Incubators are less structured and may not offer funding but provide office space, mentoring, and networking opportunities. Some are affiliated with universities or corporates and help commercialise research or develop early-stage ideas. The non-monetary benefits of these programs – exposure, mentorship and networking – can be just as valuable as the funding itself. Crowdfunding. Crowdfunding has grown as a legitimate funding path for startups, and there are two main types: Product crowdfunding: Platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo let you pre-sell a product in exchange for future delivery or rewards. It’s ideal for consumer goods, gadgets, or creative projects, and helps validate market demand, but it requires a strong campaign and careful fulfillment planning. Most platforms are all-or-nothing – if you don’t hit your goal, you get nothing. Equity crowdfunding: Since 2018, Australian startups can raise up to $5 million per year from retail investors in exchange for equity, using platforms like Birchal, Equitise, and OnMarket. This opens up your funding to the general public, and is especially effective if your brand has community appeal. Crowdfunding is a marketing effort as much as a fundraising one. You'll need a compelling story, strong visual assets, and a plan to engage directly with supporters to maximise your investment potential. It can be a good option if you want to build brand awareness while raising capital. Angel investors. Angel investors are high-net-worth individuals who fund startups, usually in early stages, with investments ranging from $10,000 to several hundred thousand dollars. Australian groups like Sydney Angels and Melbourne Angels are actively investing in startups across various sectors. Angels are often former founders or industry veterans, and many provide mentorship and strategic guidance in addition to capital. They typically invest via SAFE notes or convertible notes, which delay equity valuation until a future round. To attract angels, have a solid pitch deck, an early product or traction, and a clear growth plan. Research angels who align with your sector or business model. Getting an angel on board can lend your startup credibility and help you reach larger investors down the track. Venture capital. Venture capital funding in Australia is competitive, but thriving. Firms like Square Peg, Apex Capital Partners, Blackbird Ventures, and AirTree back high-growth companies with multi-million-dollar investments across a longer-term partnership. VCs (venture capitalists) are looking for businesses with large addressable markets, scalable models, and traction – not just ideas. You'll need a proven team, a strong product, and revenue or growth metrics (be it firm projections, or realised figures). The VC process includes extensive due diligence, so be ready to share your financials, projections, and cap table. VCs may sometimes also take a board seat and expect a say in key decisions. While they can accelerate growth, VC funds come at a price – dilution and control. Be sure that venture funding aligns with your company’s goals before pursuing it. If you’re looking at getting VC investment, warm introductions through other founders, angels, or accelerators can significantly improve your chances of getting a meeting. Business loans for startups. Loans offer a non-dilutive path to funding, which can be attractive to startup founders who want to retain full ownership and control.   Traditional lenders may require a trading history, collateral, or a personal guarantee. These hurdles can make loans difficult to secure early on. However, if you have existing revenue, purchase orders, or assets, you might qualify. Alternative and fintech lenders, like Prospa or Capify, offer faster application processes and unsecured options. Be cautious – interest rates can be higher, and repayments start immediately. Some founders use credit cards or overdrafts to manage short-term cash flow. While risky, it can work if the borrowed funds drive growth that covers the debt. Only borrow what you can realistically repay, and make sure any debt supports revenue-generating activities. Pitch competitions and startup events. Startup pitch events can be a great opportunity to refine your pitch, build visibility, and meet investors. Across Australia, competitions range from university challenges to major events like StartCon or SXSW Sydney, where prize pools can reach six figures. You might not win every contest, but participating builds your confidence, sharpens your story, and connects you with the ecosystem. Winning smaller awards can also add up and provide early, non-dilutive capital. If you decide to compete, make sure to tailor your pitch to the judges and practice until it’s smooth. Use any prize money strategically to hit meaningful milestones, like launching your product or scaling up your marketing. Set yourself up for financial success. Raising capital is only half the equation. Once you have funds, managing them wisely is equally crucial. Many founders struggle with outdated banking tools and disjointed systems when they simply don’t have to. Modern platforms like Zeller for Startups provide banking, payments, and expense management all in one place, streamlining the finance side of things considerably.   Pro tip: Be sure to open a dedicated business account, like a Zeller Business Transaction Account , to keep your personal and business separate. Plus, you can integrate it with accounting tools like Xero or MYOB to streamline your tracking and reporting. Make it work for you. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to raising funds. Most startups use a combination of bootstrapping, grants, investors, and competitions to grow. Stay flexible, persistent, and realistic. Every rejection is an opportunity to learn something – about your pitch, your timing, or your market. Finally, remember that the end goal isn’t securing funding, it’s building a successful, sustainable business, so make sure your capital is always fuelling progress, not just buying time.

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