Blog · Wallet share and penetration · SaaS
The honest answer to what share of contracted seats or licences should be in use: the 70 to 85 percent figures quoted depend on what active means, on the time since the contract started, and on how use is spread across the account, because a customer at 80 percent with all use in one team is a different renewal from one at 60 percent spread across five. This page gives the ranges, the three measurable things that set the right figure for one base, and the table to compute before anyone quotes a percentage.
Seat utilisation is active seats over contracted seats. What it should be depends on three things in the usage and contract files.
| Active rule | Healthy accounts, typical | At-risk accounts, typical |
|---|---|---|
| Meaningful action, 30 days | 70 to 90 percent | Under 55 |
| Any login, 30 days | 80 to 95 percent | Under 65 |
| Any login, 90 days | 90 to 100 percent | Under 85; little separation |
In education and institutional licensing, where seats are bought in bands, 50 to 75 percent is common and the band boundary matters more than the rate. The licence utilisation worked example covers that desk.
Active seat = a named user with at least one qualifying action in the last 30 days
| Rule | Active | Contracted | Utilisation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Login, 90 days | 96 | 100 | 96% |
| Login, 30 days | 81 | 100 | 81% |
| Qualifying action, 30 days | 58 | 100 | 58% |
The same account. The third figure is the one that predicts the renewal.
| Months since start | Expected utilisation, from the base's own renewed accounts |
|---|---|
| 1 | 25% |
| 3 | 50% |
| 6 | 70% |
| 9 onward | 78% |
An account at 45 percent in month three is near the curve. At 45 percent in month nine it is thirty points under. Utilisation against the curve, not against a fixed line, is the comparison, and the curve comes from accounts that went on to renew.
| Account | Utilisation | Teams with active users | Share of use in largest team |
|---|---|---|---|
| X | 80% | 1 | 100% |
| Y | 62% | 5 | 34% |
X depends on one manager. Y is embedded. At renewal Y is the safer contract at the lower rate. The seat utilisation before renewal guide works the renewal list from these columns.
| Measure | Formula | From |
|---|---|---|
| Active seats, by rule | Users with a qualifying action in 30 days | Usage export |
| Contracted seats | From the contract in force | Contract file |
| Utilisation | Active ÷ contracted | Above |
| Gap to the curve | Utilisation − expected at months since start | Above, base history |
| Spread | Teams with active users; share in largest | Usage export with team |
| Months to renewal | From the contract end date | Contract file |
| The list | Under curve by more than 15 points and renewal inside 6 months, ranked by contract value | Above |
| Identity | Contracted = active + inactive assigned + unassigned | Usage and contract |
Unassigned seats, bought and never given to a user, are their own row. They are the purest shelfware and the first thing a customer's finance team finds.
Login as active. Ninety-six percent, a month before the downsell.
One line for all ages. New customers flagged; old ones missed.
Rate without spread. The 80 percent account that leaves with one manager.
Measured at renewal. The figure arrives with the cancellation notice.
A good seat utilisation is 70 to 90 percent on a qualifying-action rule, at or above the base's own curve for the contract's age, spread across several teams, with no unassigned block. Under 60 percent with four months to run is where most bases see reductions begin, and the base's own renewals say exactly where. Covirage computes it from the usage export and the contract file every week and ranks the list by contract value.
A user who did something the product exists for, within a stated window: created a report, closed a ticket, sent a campaign, not merely logged in. Thirty days is the usual window. The rule is per product and stated on the page. A login-only rule over a long window makes every account look healthy until it cancels.
On most bases, under 60 percent of contracted seats active with four months to renewal is where reductions start, and under 40 is where cancellations do. The thresholds for one base are measurable: take last year's renewals, their utilisation at four months out, and what happened. The base's own history sets the line.
It is an expansion signal and a compliance question. Active users above contracted seats, where the product allows it, means the customer needs more; it is on the expansion list with the overage count. Where the product should not allow it, it is shared logins, which is a different conversation.