Free Tool · No signup
ACV & TCV. The fundraising numbers.
Annual recurring vs total contract value. The two numbers VCs and your CFO actually care about.
Inputs
Results
Gross annual
$102,000
before discount
ACV (net)
$91,800
recurring only
TCV
$290,400
36 mo + one-time
TCV / ACV
3.2×
commitment multiple
Benchmark
Multi-year locked
TCV/ACV 3.2× — long-term commitment, predictable revenue.
How it works.
VCs apply multiples to ARR (derived from ACV), not TCV. A $1M TCV deal with $200K ACV is valued like a $200K-ACV company, not a $1M one.
FAQ.
What's the difference between ACV and TCV?+
ACV = Annual Contract Value (recurring revenue per year). TCV = Total Contract Value (all revenue over the contract lifetime, including one-time fees). A 3-year $100K/year deal = $100K ACV, $300K+ TCV.
Does ACV include one-time fees?+
Usually not. ACV is recurring-only. One-time setup, services, training go into TCV but are excluded from ACV by SaaS reporting convention.
How is ACV used in valuation?+
ARR multiples (5-15× for SaaS) are based on ARR derived from ACV — recurring revenue gets the multiple. One-time revenue rarely does, which is why services-heavy SaaS gets lower multiples.
ACV vs ARPU vs ARPA?+
ACV = per-contract annual value. ARPU = avg revenue per user (per-seat metric). ARPA = avg revenue per account. All measure different cuts; don't conflate them.
Should I report ACV gross or net?+
Gross ACV (before discounts) for sales benchmarks; net ACV (after discounts) for financial reporting. Investors expect net. Always specify which you're showing.