Which usage sources work?

PostHog for flat and seat plans, Stripe Meters for usage-based and fixed + usage plans, and both for accounts with both. Usage-billed customers can fall back to invoice history, one billing period late. Setup is covered on integrations.

What if my business is seasonal?

Mark the months you know are quiet. A drop inside them shows as "Seasonal?" and doesn't raise a customer's risk on its own, so a slow month won't fill your list.

Usage drops,before the invoice.

See which customers are quietly using less, from PostHog or Stripe Meters, before billing shows it.

Get your free churn report →Actions off until you turn them on

IN SHORT

A usage drop is a steady decline in a customer's product usage data, measured against their own baseline.

It predicts churn because customers often stop using a product before they stop paying: logins and usage fall before a seat cut, a smaller invoice or a cancel. North Metric reads usage drops from PostHog or Stripe Meters.

ONE CUSTOMER · THEIR OWN BASELINEEXAMPLE

OWN BASELINE

12 WEEKS AGONOW

A normal weekBelow their baseline

01WHY USAGE

Why usage fallsbefore billing does.

Among churn indicators, usage often moves first. Billing changes later, when a customer cuts seats, pays a smaller usage invoice or cancels.

SAME CUSTOMER, TWO SIGNALSEXAMPLE

USAGE

BILLING

the quiet weeks before itseat cut · cancel

2usage sources, set by pricingWhat it readsReads usage from PostHog or Stripe Meters, matched to each customer and how they pay.STRIPE ALONE · Stripe shows a seat cut or a cancel, not the quiet weeks before it.integrations →

0⁠–⁠100risk score, usage includedWhat it decidesFlags a steady decline against their own baseline and raises their risk score.One quiet week is noise. A steady slide is a customer drifting away.churn indicators →

3reasons at most, each datedWhat you seeThe customer ranked by money at risk, the drop as a dated reason, a check-in drafted.A chart of falling logins doesn't say who to contact first.usage-based SaaS →

02USAGE SOURCES

PostHog or StripeMeters, by pricing.

PostHog or Stripe Meters, matched to your pricing: flat and seat plans read PostHog, usage plans read Meters, accounts with both read both.

Flat and seat plans→PostHogUsage plans→Stripe MetersBoth→PostHog + Meters

Brightfold · $2.4K/mo · seat planEXAMPLE

MARAPRMAYJUN

APR 6 · First seen in usageMAY 4 · First seen at the cut

THE USUAL WAYStripe only

Mar 2Logins start to fallStripe sees the same paid invoice

Apr 1Invoice paid in fullNothing in billing looks wrong

May 4Seats cut from 12 to 5First sign in Stripe: contraction

Jun 1Cancel scheduledReason given: not using it

First seen at the cutMay 4

NORTH METRICPostHog

Mar 2Logins start to fallRead from PostHog, matched to Stripe

Apr 6Steady decline flaggedBelow their own baseline, risk rises

Apr 6Check-in draftedNames the activity that fell

Apr 7You approve, it sendsIn your name, with one question

First seen in usageApr 6

03FADING

Fading customers andusage contraction.

Fading customers and contraction on usage plans rarely look like a cancel, so North Metric names them for what they are.

A USAGE-ONLY CUSTOMER · STILL SUBSCRIBEDEXAMPLE

ACTIVEUsage steady

FADINGUsage slides

CHURNEDReason: stopped using

01Fading, not cancelingIn usage-based SaaS a customer can drift away without ever canceling. While their usage slides, they show as fading.

02Zero usage counts as churnedUsage at zero for whole billing periods, with the subscription still active, counts as churned: reason "stopped using".

03Usage MRR you can checkUsage MRR is the average of their last 3 metered invoices, labeled on their page, so money at risk matches billing.

04Contraction on usage plansA sustained fall in that average counts as contraction, the way a seat cut does on a seat plan.

05Moves that fit usage pricingUsage-only customers are never offered a pause. On fixed + usage plans, a discount applies to the fixed fee only.

06Invoice history as a fallbackNo Meters or PostHog yet? Usage-billed customers are read from invoice history, one billing period late.

See which customers are quietly using your product less, before billing shows it.Get your free churn report →Actions off until you turn them onOr try the demo →

04THE MOVE

The check-inthat goes out.

When usage drops, the default move is a short check-in in your name that names the activity that fell. No offer, no discount.

CHECK-IN · DRAFTEXAMPLE

FROMYouTO

the activity that fellone question ?

✕ No offer✕ No discount✓ Sends when you approve

01Approved by youIt asks one question and goes out only when you approve it, or under a rule you set.

02A credit, within your limitOn usage plans, a valuable customer at risk can get a one-off usage credit instead, within the limit you set.

03Measured against their baselineAfterward, usage is compared with the customer's own baseline, and Kept MRR counts only customers still paying. Read how we measure money kept.

05FAQ

Questions aboutusage drops.

A steady decline in a customer's usage against their own baseline, held over weeks, not one quiet day. Usage-only customers in that state show as fading. The drop appears as a dated reason behind their risk score.

FREE CHURN REPORT

Usage drops,before the invoice.

Get your free churn report →Actions off until you turn them on