Definition
Committed Monthly Recurring Revenue (CMRR) is a forward-looking metric that adjusts MRR to include signed contracts not yet billing and exclude revenue from customers who have given notice of cancellation or downgrade. It bridges the gap between booked revenue (what sales has closed) and recognized revenue (what finance is actually billing).
The calculation starts with current MRR, adds the monthly equivalent of signed-but-not-activated deals, and subtracts the monthly value of customers who have formally communicated their intent to churn or contract. For example: $500K current MRR, plus $30K in signed deals starting next month, minus $20K from customers with pending cancellations = $510K CMRR. This tells you your revenue floor for the coming period.
CMRR is especially valuable for enterprise SaaS businesses with long implementation cycles. A company might close a $200K ACV deal in Q1 that does not go live until Q2. MRR would not reflect this deal for months. CMRR captures it immediately. You can model the downstream effects of committed revenue on customer economics with the LTV/CAC Calculator.
Why It Matters for Product Managers
CMRR gives PMs a more accurate picture of product momentum than MRR alone. When CMRR is growing faster than MRR, it means the sales pipeline is strong and new deals are closing. When CMRR is declining relative to MRR, it means pending cancellations or downgrades are stacking up.
The pending churn component of CMRR is especially actionable for PMs. If a customer has given 90-day cancellation notice, there is still time to intervene. PMs who monitor pending churn can identify at-risk accounts, understand the product gaps driving the decision, and sometimes save the account through targeted product improvements or workarounds. This is a direct lever on retention that MRR alone would not reveal until the cancellation takes effect.
How to Apply It
Implement CMRR tracking as a complement to MRR, not a replacement. Both metrics serve different purposes and should be reviewed together.
Steps to implement CMRR:
- ☐ Work with sales ops to capture signed-but-not-started contracts in your revenue system
- ☐ Build a process for logging formal cancellation and downgrade notices
- ☐ Calculate CMRR weekly and compare the trend against MRR
- ☐ Set up alerts when the gap between CMRR and MRR widens (either direction)
- ☐ Use the pending churn component as an early warning system for product discovery conversations
- ☐ Report CMRR alongside MRR in board and executive reviews to show the full revenue picture