Boardroom pressure is real and rising
During M&A processes, fundraising cycles, and strategic planning reviews, RevOps leaders are expected to present revenue movements with accuracy and confidence. Stakeholders want clarity. Specifically, they want the kind of clarity that supports decisions and drives alignment. ARR Waterfalls offer the structure to deliver that clarity consistently, serving as both a manual board reporting alternative and a key driver of sales forecasting accuracy within the broader push toward strategic RevOps leadership.
It’s time to organize revenue movement into clear, trusted views
ARR Waterfalls map changes in revenue across new business, expansion, contraction, and churn. They enable leaders to track performance and identify trends with a consistent framework. These views are generated from system-level data, helping organizations rely on a shared understanding of what’s happening and why.
How to support the highest-stakes conversations
M&A teams, board members, and investors frequently ask: how sustainable is this revenue? ARR Waterfalls answer that with precision.
Will Sullivan, founder of Predictive Analytics Partners and a veteran of over 25 tech transactions, frames it this way:
“It is so important when you go to sell your business, or go to acquire another business. This is what you’re going to look at. You’re going to look at an ARR Waterfall table, and you’re going to look at the net retention rate, and that tells you how sustainable the revenue is.”
AccountAim customers use ARR Waterfalls to consolidate revenue reporting, replacing static spreadsheets with dynamic, system-driven views that reflect real-time conditions.
Build cross-functional trust
Finance leaders, board members, and operators often approach data from different angles. ARR Waterfalls create a unified reference point. They present data that is granular, audit-friendly, and segmented in ways that matter to decision-makers.
Will Sullivan emphasizes this point:
“The more RevOps is knowledgeable on finance and can work with finance, the better you work together as a strategy team.”
Clear waterfalls improve visibility into revenue motions and help operational teams communicate effectively with finance counterparts.
The foundation for operational alignment
When embedded into broader reporting systems, ARR Waterfalls support:
- Monthly pipeline snapshots that provide a rolling view of deal progress
- Revenue forecasting that reflects current conditions and projected trends
- Segmentation analysis to understand performance by region, product, or persona
These structures help RevOps teams:
- Track performance in real time
- Adjust targets based on data, not assumptions
- Evaluate initiatives in the context of actual revenue movement
The goal is to understand what’s working, where gaps exist, and what changes are needed to drive sustainable growth.
ARR Waterfalls support confident reporting, whenever it’s needed
Revenue leaders need data structures that help them lead. ARR Waterfalls provide a practical, reliable, and repeatable way to track and present recurring revenue performance. They equip teams to show how the business is performing, and where it’s heading.
Read more about the benefits of ARR Waterfalls in this blog post, and check out our conversation with Will Sullivan.
