What if I know some costs but not all?
Start with GPM estimation for missing costs. You can add known costs (like infrastructure) as a column and let us estimate the rest. Growth users can use the detailed wizard to mix known and estimated costs.
How accurate are these estimates?
GPM-based estimates are directionally correct but not precise. They work well for identifying Head vs Tail customers. For board-level decisions, use actual costs or the Growth detailed calculator.
What counts as cost of goods sold (COGS)?
For SaaS: hosting, third-party API costs, customer support salaries, customer success salaries, onboarding costs, payment processing fees. NOT: sales, marketing, engineering (R&D), or G&A.
Why does GPM vary by business model?
PLG SaaS has minimal touch per customer (85%+ GPM). SMB SaaS requires some sales assist (75-87% GPM). Enterprise requires dedicated support and implementation (70-85% GPM). Hybrid models fall in between depending on self-serve vs sales-assisted mix (72-85% GPM).