Qu'est-ce que le carnet de commandes récurrentes SaaS?

SaaS revenue backlog refers to the money that a company has not yet billed but that it has more or less ‘committed’ to earning based on existing contracts. It applies to subscription and project-based businesses, which earn revenue on delivery. Workday’s total subscription revenue backlog, which also counts billed amounts, was $27.403 billion for the quarter ended July 31, 2026.

Bien que les arriérés de revenus puissent aider à évaluer le potentiel des futures opportunités commerciales numériques et la santé globale de l'entreprise, il est important de se rappeler qu'il ne s'agit que de projections et que les résultats réels peuvent varier.

A revenue backlog refers to the estimated earnings to be realized, whereas deferred revenue refers to cash received for revenue not yet earned.

A revenue backlog is contracted future revenue from subscriptions or the sale of equipment or services that have not yet been invoiced or recognized in the records following US GAAP or IFRS.

Deferred revenue, on the other hand, refers to the amount paid for a product or service that has not yet been rendered. This income is recognized as revenue only upon completing an underlying transaction, that is, on delivering the goods or services.

The major difference is payment: revenue backlog is contracted revenue not yet billed, while deferred revenue has been paid but not yet earned. Together, they make up remaining performance obligations (RPO).

Revenue backlog is one important component in SaaS businesses as it considers revenues that are yet to be recognized in the existing customer contracts. The reason why revenue backlog is important is because of the popularity of the subscription-based model.

Though an organization keeps a relatively accurate picture of its revenue over a period, revenue can only be recognized, under IFRS 15, as the promised service is delivered (IFRS Foundation), not when the contract is signed.

Revenue backlog can be a factor in a company’s public standing, operational consistency, and resource utilization.

Monitoring revenue backlog has notable advantages for businesses, yet there are also some difficulties. It is necessary to comprehend both to make proper decisions as far as backlog management is concerned.

Avantages :

• La compréhension des entrées de trésorerie futures, telles qu'indiquées par le carnet de commandes, permet une allocation éclairée des ressources et une gestion optimisée des flux de trésorerie.
• La référence aux carnets de commandes basés sur les ventes potentielles peut améliorer la fiabilité des prévisions financières, mais cela peut également avoir des limites en fonction de l'évolution du marché et d'autres facteurs.
• Le suivi du carnet de commandes peut alerter les entreprises sur les clients présentant un risque de churn élevé.
• Le suivi du carnet de commandes fournit aux entreprises une méthode pour se conformer aux normes comptables en matière de La comptabilisation des revenus; US public companies disclose backlog and deferred revenue together as RPO under ASC 606 (The SaaS CFO).

Inconvénients :

• Les arriérés de chiffre d'affaires présentent divers risques potentiels, allant de la défection des clients et des fluctuations du secteur aux retards de livraison.
• Pour garantir des analyses précises, il est essentiel de tenir à jour des données précises sur les arriérés de chiffre d'affaires, car des incohérences peuvent entraîner des interprétations erronées.
• Le suivi des arriérés de chiffre d'affaires est un domaine qui nécessite des ressources et des processus spécifiques.

Revenue backlog shows how much of a revenue goal is already under contract, a starting point for les prévisions de revenus. By estimating revenue backlog, SaaS businesses can evaluate the concentration risk of their customer base. This helps identify possible Attrition points where clients stop or reduce their contracts.

Revenue backlog measurement deals with identifying unearned committed revenue. Incorporating backlog data into customer success and sales processes may influence their outcomes. Depicting revenue backlogs in the appropriate management leads to truthful representation of the current and future state of the company.

L'utilisation des méthodes décrites pourrait avoir un impact sur la probabilité que les entreprises atteignent leurs objectifs de revenus; cependant, de nombreux autres facteurs peuvent également contribuer au succès.

An example of revenue backlog classification would be based on a SaaS business that has obtained a contract valued at 120,000 dollars for 12 months. In this situation, the company’s backlog would contain the full amount of the contract, which is one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. This backlog could also be further segmented by customer, contract size, or time to evaluate risks and discover growth opportunities.

For instance, imagine that a customer signs up for a one-year plan costing $1200 and pays for it in installments every month. After the first installment is paid, there is a revenue backlog of $1100 due to this arrangement.

Public companies classify backlog by timing: Workday reported $9.034 billion of its $27.403 billion subscription revenue backlog (its RPO, billed and unbilled) as 12-month backlog for the quarter ended July 31, 2026 (Workday, quarterly filing).