What it is
Billing ARR is recurring value taken from the billing or subscription system — what customers are entitled to and billed under active contracts. For many SaaS companies it is the best candidate for ARR source of truth because it ties to cash schedules and entitlements.
How it’s calculated
Sum annualized recurring amounts on active billing subscriptions at period end, applying finance’s ARR policy (usage, discounts, free seats). Reconcile to deferred revenue and invoice activity where relevant.
Where it breaks
Billing ARR breaks when products are mis-skued, when manual invoices bypass the subscription object, or when finance “adjusts” ARR in a sheet without changing billing. It also diverges from CRM when closed-won never reaches billing.
In the board pack
State whether board ARR is billing-sourced. If CRM ARR differs, show the reconciliation — do not average the two. This is the core of billing vs CRM ARR governance.