Live NRR desk with a GRR foundation peel, expansion-lift companion, and keep-vs-grow strip for starting-cohort recurring revenue.
Planning sketch only. Not GAAP/IFRS metrics, audited reporting, or investment advice. Align cohort definitions with your finance team.
By Ahmet C. Toplutaş·Site owner & editor · Business tools
Last updated May 21, 2026 · Reviewed May 21, 2026 · Planning estimates only - not tax, medical, or investment advice
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Net Revenue Retention asks how much recurring revenue you keep and grow from a starting cohort. This board’s job is to separate the keep foundation (GRR) from the expansion lift that produces NRR.
This page's framing is an NRR desk, with a GRR foundation peel, an expansion-lift companion, and a keep-vs-grow strip. It is not NDR's SaaS band ladder and net-churn mirror, not net-churn's cover-ratio hero, and not the MRR waterfall that includes new logos.
Decision framing: “Is NRR strong because we keep well, expand hard, or both?”
Planning sketch only. Not GAAP/IFRS metrics, audited reporting, tax advice, or investment advice. Align cohort windows with your finance team. See our disclaimers.
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GRR = (beginning − churned − contraction) ÷ beginning. It answers how much of the opening stock you still have before counting expansion. A shiny NRR with a weak GRR means upgrades are covering leakage, not that the book is sticky.
Tip: load Weak GRR. Expansion looks busy while the keep foundation sits in a danger zone.
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Expansion lift (pts) = NRR − GRR. It is the percentage-point contribution of expansion on top of keep. Thin lift with high GRR is a “keep-led” story. Fat lift with soft GRR is an “expansion-led” story that still needs retention work.
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The strip splits ending cohort dollars into keep (pre-expansion stock) and grow (expansion dollars). Ending = keep + grow. Use it in reviews when someone only quotes NRR % without showing whether the dollars are retained or expanded.
For band-ladder and net-churn mirror framing under the NDR label, hand off to net dollar retention.
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GRR, NRR, and lift.
Example: begin $100k, churned $6k, contraction $4k, expansion $25k → kept $90k → GRR 90%, ending $115k → NRR 115%, lift +25 pts.
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Sibling boards when the job is NDR bands, cover ratio, MRR, or logo retention.
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Scenario A: Expansion-led. GRR is decent; lift is large. NRR looks strong primarily because expansion adds points.
Load Solid GRR: keep is strong and lift is modest. NRR still clears 100% on foundation.
Scenario B: Thin lift. NRR sits near GRR. Expansion is not carrying the story; fix churn and contraction first.
Scenario C: Weak GRR. Expansion dollars cannot fully hide leakage. Narrative flags the foundation, not just the NRR headline.
Scenario D: Need band rungs. Compare the same cohort on NDR for 90/100/110/120 literacy bands.
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Stop here for GRR→NRR lift literacy. Hand off for NDR bands, cover-ratio net churn, month waterfall with new logos, or logo retention.
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It closes an NRR desk from beginning cohort MRR plus expansion, contraction, and churned. A GRR foundation peel shows retention before expansion, an expansion-lift companion prints NRR − GRR in points, and a keep-vs-grow strip separates dollars kept from dollars expanded.
Net Revenue Retention is ending cohort recurring revenue ÷ beginning cohort recurring revenue. New logos are excluded. Above 100% means the starting book grew on dollars without new sales.
Gross Revenue Retention = (beginning − churned − contraction) ÷ beginning. It is the keep foundation before expansion credit. This page makes GRR a first-class peel, not a quiet footnote.
Expansion lift (pts) = NRR − GRR. It shows how many percentage points expansion adds on top of the keep foundation. A high NRR with thin lift can mean GRR was already strong; a high lift with weak GRR means expansion is papering over leakage.
NDR owns ending÷beginning with a SaaS band ladder and net-churn mirror. Net churn owns (gross loss − expansion) ÷ begin with cover ratio. This page owns GRR foundation + expansion-lift literacy under the NRR label.
Many teams use the names interchangeably for cohort dollar retention. This board emphasizes GRR→NRR lift. Keep your finance definition consistent when comparing to the NDR page.
No. It is a planning sketch only. Not GAAP/IFRS metrics, audited reporting, or investment advice. Align cohort rules with your finance team. See our disclaimers.
LIVE NRR BOARD
NRR desk →Scene presets
From starting cohort
NRR DESK
Net revenue retention
115.0%
$115,000 end ÷ $100,000 begin
GRR FOUNDATION PEEL
GRR = (begin − churned − contraction) ÷ begin. Expansion is not in GRR.
EXPANSION-LIFT COMPANION
Lift shows how many points expansion adds on top of the keep foundation.
KEEP VS GROW STRIP
Band ladder / NDR cue depth: NDR calculator.
Updates as you type. Share writes board state; typing does not rewrite the address bar.
NRR
115.0%
GRR 90.0% · lift +25.0 pts
NRR is ending cohort MRR ÷ beginning. GRR is the keep foundation before expansion; expansion lift is how many points growth adds on top.
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