Definition

Verified MRR: what it means.

Monthly recurring revenue that was read from the company’s own billing, through a connection that can only read, and counted under a rule published before anyone connected. Three conditions. A figure that meets all three can be checked; one that meets fewer is a claim.

The three conditions

1. Read from the source, not typed in

The figure comes from the payment processor that took the money — Stripe, Paddle, Polar and the like — through their API. The company never enters a number. If it did, the figure is reported, however accurate it may be.

2. Through a connection that can only read

A restricted or read-scoped key. It can see subscriptions and customers and nothing else, and the company can revoke it from its own dashboard at any time. A product that asks for a secret key is asking for more than measurement needs.

3. Counted by a published rule

MRR has no single definition. Annual plans, trials, discounts, tax, refunds and usage charges each have several defensible treatments, and a figure is only checkable if the treatment is written down in advance and applied identically to every company. Thonest’s is published and versioned (currently thonest.mrr.v1).

What the word does not claim

Verified is not an endorsement. It does not say the business is good, growing, profitable or worth buying. It does not say the processor vouches for anything: Stripe supplies data and has no opinion about the result. And it does not say the figure is comparable to another company’s unless both were counted the same way. It says one thing — this number was measured, not asserted — and that one thing is what a reader cannot get from a screenshot.

The words that get confused with it

Reported: A figure the company published about itself, with a link to where. Useful, citable, and a claim rather than a measurement.
Self-reported: The same thing, as directories tend to call it when it sits next to a verified figure.
Reconstructed: History rebuilt from subscription records at connect time. Measured from the source, but with today’s prices carried backwards, so it is labelled separately and never settles a goal.
Stripe-verified: Verified MRR where the processor happens to be Stripe. What that phrase does and does not mean.

How to check a verified figure

Ask three questions of whoever is showing it. Where was it read from, and could the company have typed it? What could the key it was read with do besides read? And which rule counted it — is the rule written down, and is it the same rule for everyone on the page? A figure with a good answer to all three is verified. Anything else is reported, whatever the badge says.

Questions founders ask

What is verified MRR?: Monthly recurring revenue that was read from the company's own payment processor through a read-only connection and counted under a rule that is published in advance, rather than typed in by the company. It is a statement about where the figure came from and how it was counted, not a judgement about the business.
Who does the verifying?: The product that holds the read-only connection. Stripe, Paddle and the others supply subscription data through their APIs; they do not verify anything and have no view on the result. Any badge implying the processor itself vouches for a figure is overreaching.
How is verified MRR different from reported MRR?: A reported figure is one the company published about itself — on its own site, in a post, or on a listing — and the reader has to trust the company's counting. A verified figure was measured from the billing system that took the money. Thonest shows both, and labels every figure with which it is, because the difference is the whole point.
What does self-reported mean, then?: The same as reported: a figure the company stated. Directories that show self-reported and verified figures side by side are being honest, but it means a reader has to check the label on every row before deciding what to believe.
Are two verified figures comparable?: Only if both were counted by the same rule. MRR has no universal definition — annual plans, trials, discounts, tax, refunds and usage-based charges can each be handled several defensible ways. Two verified figures counted differently are not comparable, which is why the rule has to be published and versioned.
What is reconstructed MRR?: History rebuilt from a processor's subscription records at the moment the company connects, before any live measurement existed. It carries today's prices backwards, so it flatters the past. Thonest labels every reconstructed month as such, and a reconstructed figure never settles a goal.

The counting rule · Self-reported vs verified revenue · What the mark claims · Put your company on the record

The three conditions

1. Read from the source, not typed in

2. Through a connection that can only read

3. Counted by a published rule

What the word does not claim

The words that get confused with it

Reported

A figure the company published about itself, with a link to where. Useful, citable, and a claim rather than a measurement.

Self-reported

The same thing, as directories tend to call it when it sits next to a verified figure.

Reconstructed

History rebuilt from subscription records at connect time. Measured from the source, but with today’s prices carried backwards, so it is labelled separately and never settles a goal.

Stripe-verified

Verified MRR where the processor happens to be Stripe. What that phrase does and does not mean.

How to check a verified figure

Questions founders ask

What is verified MRR?

Monthly recurring revenue that was read from the company's own payment processor through a read-only connection and counted under a rule that is published in advance, rather than typed in by the company. It is a statement about where the figure came from and how it was counted, not a judgement about the business.

Who does the verifying?

The product that holds the read-only connection. Stripe, Paddle and the others supply subscription data through their APIs; they do not verify anything and have no view on the result. Any badge implying the processor itself vouches for a figure is overreaching.

How is verified MRR different from reported MRR?

A reported figure is one the company published about itself — on its own site, in a post, or on a listing — and the reader has to trust the company's counting. A verified figure was measured from the billing system that took the money. Thonest shows both, and labels every figure with which it is, because the difference is the whole point.

What does self-reported mean, then?

The same as reported: a figure the company stated. Directories that show self-reported and verified figures side by side are being honest, but it means a reader has to check the label on every row before deciding what to believe.

Are two verified figures comparable?

Only if both were counted by the same rule. MRR has no universal definition — annual plans, trials, discounts, tax, refunds and usage-based charges can each be handled several defensible ways. Two verified figures counted differently are not comparable, which is why the rule has to be published and versioned.

What is reconstructed MRR?

History rebuilt from a processor's subscription records at the moment the company connects, before any live measurement existed. It carries today's prices backwards, so it flatters the past. Thonest labels every reconstructed month as such, and a reconstructed figure never settles a goal.