cust.co / Glossary / Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO)

Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO)

Total contracted-but-not-yet-recognized revenue. The renewal pipeline visible on the balance sheet.

Also known as: RPO, Backlog, Forward-Booked Revenue

Definition

RPO is the total dollar amount of contracted future revenue that hasn't been recognized yet - multi-year contracts where the company has booked the deal but the service hasn't been delivered. Disclosed quarterly by public SaaS. Often broken out as cRPO (current = next 12 months) and long-term RPO (>12 months). Higher RPO relative to ARR = stronger renewal visibility.

Related terms

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See how public B2B SaaS companies disclose this metric, with full historical time series.