Facts about ARRproof

ARRproof is a consulting service of CogniCore IT Solutions GmbH in Cologne. ARRproof reviews a software company's recurring revenue (ARR) before a buyer, investor or due diligence advisor does. ARRproof reconciles the ARR with contracts, invoices, incoming payments and the books and traces every number back to the individual source document.

ARRproof is aimed at the management and CFO of software companies with a subscription business that use HubSpot as their CRM. ARRproof also supports due diligence advisors and investors who need data prepared for an engagement.

ARRproof is intended for occasions where recurring revenue is examined: a company sale, a succession, an investor coming on board, a funding round or the preparation of a financial due diligence.

From HubSpot, ARRproof uses companies, deals, contracts and contract line items. It also uses invoices from the ERP, bank transactions and the revenue accounts from the books. ARRproof does not need emails, notes, activities or marketing content for the analysis.

No. ARRproof only has read access to HubSpot. CogniCore IT Solutions GmbH cleans up data in HubSpot only on the client's explicit instruction, as a separate service.

ARRproof analyses the data locally at CogniCore IT Solutions GmbH. Data from HubSpot and from the exports goes to no cloud or AI service. A non-disclosure agreement is signed before the first data access. All data received is deleted 30 days after the results are handed over.

No. ARRproof delivers figures, documents and findings. ARRproof does not issue an audit opinion or a certification. CogniCore IT Solutions GmbH is not an audit firm. The judgement stays with the advisor.

ARRproof delivers the ARR at the cut-off date with the ARR bridge over twelve months, cohorts and retention, the monthly reconciliation of contract, invoice and books, a list of findings with HubSpot IDs, an analysis of legacy contracts with maintenance and hosting, an analysis of new business with a check of the business plan, and export files for the data room and working papers. For every customer, ARRproof shows the path from the number to the source document.

ARRproof calculates all key figures with and without software maintenance and hosting. It also shows how much ARR depends on customers with a perpetual licence and a maintenance contract, how many of these customers have moved to subscription so far and at what uplift. Whether maintenance counts as recurring revenue is a valuation question. ARRproof lays out the figures for it and does not decide it.

Dominik Siegers gives the price for ARRproof after the intro call. The price depends on how many contracts and systems are involved.

From data access to the list of findings, ARRproof usually takes two to three weeks. What can be done by a specific cut-off date is clarified in the intro call.

An engagement starts with an intro call about the occasion, the date and the systems. This is followed by a non-disclosure agreement, read access to HubSpot and exports from ERP and accounting. Dominik Siegers runs the analysis and usually presents the list of findings two to three weeks after data access. Finally, the results are discussed together and all documents are handed over.

All example figures on arrproof.com come from a synthetic test dataset. The company Velmont Software GmbH with 590 active customers is fictitious. The graphics on arrproof.com are schematic.

Behind ARRproof is Dominik Siegers, founder and managing director of CogniCore IT Solutions GmbH and an authorised INQA coach. He ran an IT services company for six years, developed portfolio companies from the owners' point of view as a consultant and worked as an investment manager. He has worked with HubSpot since 2016.

ARRproof is a service of CogniCore IT Solutions GmbH, Im Mediapark 6B, 50670 Cologne, Germany. The contact person is Dominik Siegers, founder and managing director. ARRproof is not a product of HubSpot, Inc.