5 steps to
recession-proof
your finance tech
stack

Macro-trends for Finance
Before:
Growth
Differentiation with
Billing
Reporting
Now:
Profitability
Tech consolidation
Reporting

Agenda
1.Macro-trends
2.Who we are
3.The Five Insights

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
300+ SaaS, subscription,
usage, and project billing
scenarios, with rev rec
200+ investor metrics
created up to 80% faster
Up and running in as little as
60 days
Costing 40% less than
buying the tech stack parts
separately
The core
essentials for
every SaaS from
startup to IPO
and beyond
Page 4

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Five Insights
Page 5
Process
Maturity
Lifecycle
Tech Stack
Checklist
Billing Use
Cases
Integrations
Report &
Forecast
1
2
3
4
5

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
1. Process Maturity Lifecycle
Stage Use of funds What to accomplish Financial Processes Key measure
Sale or IPO Expand product line, go global, acquisitions
Move to adjacent
markets and geographies
Acquisitions, International, Compliance Net Profit
Series C-F Grow to $100M in gross profit Predictable, Profitable, and Repeatable FP&A and Customer Success Gross Profit
Series B Prove Net Expansion Revenue Model Customers buying 2nd and 3rd time Amendments, rev rec, closing, forecasting CMRR per Customer
Series A Prove revenue model Growing 100% Automate cash-flow and billing Unit Economics
Seed Product market fit 10 ecstatic customers Manage cash & payroll Cash
Page 6

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
2: The Finance Tech Stack Checklist
1
2
3
4
5
6
Set up your foundation:
Build your GL
Know your billing use case
Know your revenue recognition
scenario
Where is your data coming from
for Reporting
How to anticipate exceptions in
the selling process
Compliance

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
3: Billing Use Cases
Page 8
Type / quantity of
customers (enterprise
vs. SMB vs. mixed)
Monthly, annual or
multi-year contracts?
Are contracts pure
subscription or
transactional?
Big land and expand
dynamic (e.g. POC
land)?
Young, high growth or
mature, low growth?
Seasonality /
intermittent usage?
$ churn vs.
logo churn
Renewal rate vs.
retention rate
ARR vs. recognized
revenue
Post-1st year net
retention
ARR vs. recognized
revenue
TTM-based
calculation

Hybrid Billing

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Types of Models
Page 10
Minimum:
minimum price points
based on usage
Flat Rate:
fixed fee regardless
of usage
Rollover:
usage allocated not used
in one service period is
shifted
to the next
Pay-as-you-go:
usage-based pricing,
paying as the
customers consumes
Threshold:
pricing changes
based on usage
Standard, Volume and
Flat Rate Tiered: various
price points
for ranges of usage
Time-based:
pricing set on a fixed
time, typical of
subscription offers
Overage:
fees for using more
than the allotment

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
4: The Old Way: Manual Integrations
More integrations
means
time spent being
manual
means
a delayed close
Multiple systems of
record
means
reporting delayed
and inaccurate
Page 11

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
Page 12
4: Easy Integrations, Complete Tech Stack
12
CRM
BUDGETING &
PLANNING CREDIT CARD & AR PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
HR & PAYROLL AP PO AUTOMATION
ASSET / CONTRACT
MANAGEMENT
FIELD SERVICE
MANAGEMENT
INVENTORY &
MANUFACTUING
DOCUMENT
MANAGEMENT
TIME, EXPENSE,
TRAVEL, &
ATTENDANCE
TAX MANAGEMENT
FINANCE &
ADMINISTRATION
SPEND / CASH
MANAGEMENT
RESTAURANT
MANAGEMENT
EDI & ECOMMERCE CHECKS & SUPPLIES
MIDDLEWARE
REPORTING
COMMISSIONS
PAYABLES

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
5. SaaS Metrics – a SaaS CEO’s must-have
Page 13

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
Revenues, over Cohorts, over Time
14

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
Budget v Actuals

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
Cash Forecasting
16

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved. Page 17
Sage Intacct is named
a Leader in
IDC MarketScape:
Worldwide SME-Focused
Subscription and Usage
Management
Applications 2022
Source: "IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SME-Focused
Subscription and Usage Management Applications 2022 Vendor
Assessment" by Mark Thomason, Oct 2022, IDC # US48786122
IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT suppliers in a given
market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria
that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor’s position within a given market. The Capabilities score measures
vendor product, go-to-market and business execution in the short-term. The Strategy score measures alignment of vendor
strategies with customer requirements in a 3-5-year timeframe. Vendor market share is represented by the size of the icons.
© 2022 IDC

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
Start
• Core financials
• Subscription billing
• Revenue recognition
• Dimensional,
interactive reporting
• SaaS metrics
• Project tracking
• Electronic payments
Start simple, scale big
+
Salesforce
integration
+
Planning
and budgeting
+
Multi-element arrangements
Multi-entity
Banking cloud
+
Fixed assets
Multi-currency
Pre-paids
+
International tax
Global consolidations
+
Advanced audit
SOX compliance
Page 18

© 2022 The Sage Group plc, or its licensors. All rights reserved.
Springbuk grows 400% with
Sage Intacct
Page 19
• Springbuk is the health data analytics solution that equips you with the insights and expertise you
need to sharpen your benefits strategy, advance employee health, and contain costs
• 119 employees in Indianapolis, IN
Issue Before w/ Sage Intacct Impact
Manual accounting Manual order entry Automated two different billing scenarios
- Automated invoicing as
contract volume grown 4x
- Automated renewals and upsells improving
churn 7%
No Tech Stack Quickbooks and spreadsheets
One billing system of record across
Salesforce.com, billing, and GL
- Reduced DSO 50%
- Accelerated $1M of operating cash flow
Compliance Manual rev rec Automated rev rec and tax - Passed audit for fundraising
Manual reporting Manual spreadsheets
Cut close 73%
Dimensions added on all transactions
- Build Financial Reports in seconds, not days
Manual planning
Manual reporting, starting after the
close of 21 days
1+ year visibility on revenue,
billings, and cash
- Invested in engineering ahead of plan to
improve Gross Margin 8%
- Reduced Variance 50%

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Sage logos, and Sage product and service names mentioned herein are
the trademarks of Sage Global Services Limited or its licensors. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Thank you!
David.Appel@Sage.com

5 steps to
recession-proof
your finance tech
stack