Some numbers matter more than others.
You can track CAC, ARR, and cash flow, but unless those metrics reflect how your business actually works, they’re just numbers. The formula might be clean, but the signal is off. You end up spending more time explaining than analyzing.
So finance teams build their own financial models.
Custom metrics, edge-case logic, team-specific definitions. Not because they want to be clever, but because they need the model to match reality.
And that’s where things slow down.
Most tools don’t flex. They lock you into templates. You have to pick between speed or specificity. So you go back to spreadsheets. You build what you need, by hand, every time. Until it breaks.
We built Runway to change that.
Your business isn’t generic. Your metrics shouldn’t be either.
Every company has its own logic regarding how revenue gets recognized, what counts as COGS, and how costs flow through the org.
SaaS teams care about CAC, net burn rate, and net retention by cohort. Marketplaces track take rate and supply-demand balance. Hardware companies model warranty costs and return rates. Agencies live and die by utilization and backlog burn.
Templates don’t cover these edge cases. And when your tool can’t model your business, you stop trusting it. Custom metrics solve that. You define the rules, the structure, the drivers. You decide what counts.
Operational vs. reported metrics
Finance often needs two views of the same metric.
Gross profit for the board might exclude payment fees. But the ops team needs to see the full picture of the financial data, including returns, chargebacks, gross burn rate, and contractor costs.
With Runway, you can build both. One for external reporting. One for internal decision making. No more rewriting formulas between decks.
Real metrics, not just renamed rows
Custom metrics in Runway aren’t just new labels on existing data.
You can build from raw transactions, apply formulas, and roll up results however you want. Use lookups, filters, logic gates. Then drill all the way back down to the data that drives them.
It’s your model, your rules.
Custom metric examples
Gross profit
Define what belongs in cost of goods sold for your model. For example, services include contractor costs while e-commerce includes payment fees and returns. Manufacturers focus on direct labor and materials. Maintain two views: reported gross profit for external stakeholders and operational gross profit for internal decisions.
Annual recurring revenue (ARR)
Set clear rules for what counts, such as subscription only versus including services. Handle usage-based pricing, multi-year contracts, discounts, and proration. Track variants like new, expansion, churn, and net ARR to drive forecasting and retention strategy.
AR turnover ratio
Measure how fast you collect cash, adjusted for billing cycles, seasonality, and payment terms. Segment by customer, region, or product to spot bottlenecks and improve collections.
Build custom metrics using smart, intuitive formulas
Understanding formulas shouldn’t be hard. Whether you need to track efficiency or calculate cash runway, formulas in Runway are human-readable. They feature driver names instead of cell references. No more hunting through tabs to find the right cell.
You can also search for drivers:
- Type “rev” and see all revenue drivers, grouped by hierarchy
- Select a metric, and it inserts the reference with correct syntax
- Point-and-click if you don’t want to type at all
You can build fast without breaking things.
Formula basics and editing features
In Runway, formulas have three main components:
- Operators for math and logic
- Functions for complex calculations
- Data references that connect your model
You can write formulas wherever you need. Use driver table blocks for focused calculations, or add default formulas to database columns. Override any rows when the numbers need extra context.
Split actuals and forecast logic
Forecasts don’t always follow history. Solid scenario planning relies on the ability to treat past data and future assumptions differently. That’s why formulas in Runway handle this split automatically.
Pull real data from your accounting system for actuals.
Use growth rates, assumptions, or lookups for forecasts.
And when the future shifts, you don’t overwrite the past.
Last close: bridging actuals and forecasts
Every model needs to know where actuals stop and forecasts begin. In Runway, that’s the last close.
- Update last close monthly after books close
- Move it forward to add real time data mid-month
This flexibility lets you compare budget vs. actuals or track targets throughout the month. Actuals pull from accounting. Forecasts use the logic you define.
One model, clean split. No more duplicating sheets.
Advanced formula features
Recent upgrades to Runway’s formula editor make complex formulas easy.
- Draggable editor stays open as you work
- Point-and-click building ends typing mistakes
- Click drivers or data cells to add them instantly
- Expanded math functions for advanced calculations
- Color-coded parentheses for untangling deep logic
Building even the most advanced formulas now feels simple and visual.
Build once. Use everywhere.
With Runway’s smart formulas, your custom metrics flow through the entire model:
- Revenue forecasts reflect your real logic, not a template
- Expense planning mirrors your cost centers and rules
- Headcount models match your actual team and pay structures
- Board metrics match internal ops metrics; no translation needed
Other teams benefit too. Sales sees ARR calculated their way. Marketing sees CAC based on their campaigns. Everyone works off the same source of truth, just filtered through their lens.
And because Runway integrates with 750+ data sources, your metrics can combine accounting, CRM, and ops data; no manual patchwork required.
Governance and ownership of custom metrics
Flexibility shouldn't mean chaos. You need clear lines of ownership so you can trust your numbers every time.
Finance owns the definition
You define the source of truth. The finance team creates the formulas and sets the logic for metrics like Gross Margin or CAC. Other teams, such as Marketing or Product, consume these metrics safely. They see the data they need to operate, but they cannot alter the underlying definitions. This keeps your reporting consistent across the organization.
Versioning and auditability
Trust relies on transparency. Runway tracks every change made to your model. You can view a complete history of who updated a formula, when they did it, and what the value looked like previously. This audit trail allows you to investigate anomalies instantly. You always know exactly how your metrics have changed over time.
Prevent metric drift
Spreadsheets create disconnected islands of data that drift apart. Runway centralizes your logic. When you update a metric to reflect a new business reality, that change reflects everywhere instantly. Your model evolves as your strategy shifts. You stop explaining why the numbers don't match and start driving the business forward.
Why custom metrics enable better decisions
Reporting tells you what happened in the past. Scenario planning helps you decide what to do next. When your numbers reflect how your business actually behaves, you stop interpreting proxies and start managing reality.
Unlock precise decisions
Generic templates offer generic insights. Tailored metrics let you answer specific questions:
- Pricing: You see the immediate impact on expansion revenue when you track cohorts by specific contract terms.
- Hiring: You validate headcount requests faster when capacity models link directly to pipeline coverage.
- Spending: You cut costs without hurting growth because your payback formulas account for every variable expense.
Shorten feedback loops
Operational metrics close the gap between action and result. You don't wait for the accounting close to see if a strategy worked. You track changes as they happen. This speed turns your model into a navigation tool. You fix small issues before they become big trends.
Tools for action
Metrics serve a purpose beyond the board deck. They are active instruments you use daily. You define the logic, you trust the data, and you use it to steer the company with confidence.
Model faster and smarter
In a perfect world, every metric would be standard.
But in the real world, finance is custom work. You build the numbers that matter. You define what’s true. You can’t wait for someone else to make a template for you.
That’s what Runway is for: custom metrics, smarter formulas, and a shared understanding of your business. No more spreadsheet chaos. Just a model that works the way your business works.
Want to see it live? Book a demo and we’ll walk you through it.