How to show verified MRR for your SaaS, store or app
October 29, 2026
Screenshots don't convince anyone. A practical guide to showing verified MRR, ARR and revenue from Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, the App Store and more.
"We hit $5k MRR" is the most-posted and least-believed sentence on the internet. Screenshots can be cropped, edited or cherry-picked, and everyone reading knows it. If your revenue is a reason to trust you — for customers, buyers, partners or press — it's worth showing it in a way nobody has to take on faith.
This guide covers what "verified" actually means, what you need from each billing tool, and what ends up public.
What "verified MRR" means
Verified means the numbers come straight from your billing provider, through an API, and refresh on their own. Nobody — including you — types them in.
On BootstrapArena, we read three things:
- MRR: what your active subscriptions bill per month, tax excluded. Active and past-due subscriptions count; cancelled and lapsed ones don't. Annual plans count as one twelfth per month. This matches how Stripe's own dashboard computes MRR.
- ARR: MRR × 12.
- Revenue over the last 12 months: every paid charge minus refunds, shown as a chart.
Read-only keys, and why they're safe
You connect with an API key that can only read. Where a provider offers restricted keys (Stripe does, for example), the key physically can't create charges, refunds or payouts. Keys are encrypted at rest, and disconnecting removes the key and the imported data.
What you need, tool by tool
Stripe. Create a restricted key with read access to charges, subscriptions and invoices. Our submit form opens Stripe with the right permissions already ticked — you just click "Create key" and paste it. Live keys only (rk_live_…); test-mode keys are rejected, because test payments can be faked.
Lemon Squeezy, Paddle, Polar. An API key from the developer settings of each. We import paid orders and refunds and compute MRR from active subscriptions.
Chargebee and Recurly. An API key (Chargebee also needs your site name). Same import.
RevenueCat, ChartMogul, Baremetrics. These already compute MRR, so we read their monthly totals. RevenueCat is the easy route for mobile apps that sell subscriptions on both iOS and Android.
App Store. In App Store Connect, create a team API key with the Sales role. You'll paste the .p8 key plus your Issuer ID, Key ID and vendor number. We read the sales reports; revenue is Apple's proceeds (after their commission), converted to USD.
Shopify Partners (for Shopify app makers). Create a Partner API client with only the View financials permission, and copy its token and your Partner ID. We read your app's subscription, one-time and usage charges.
What's public, and what isn't
Public: your MRR, ARR, 12-month revenue and the revenue chart, on your listing. That's the point — it's proof.
Not public: your key, customer names, emails, individual transactions or anything else from your billing account.
"But I'm at $0"
Good — list now. A verified $0 today followed by a rising line is more convincing than any launch-day claim. Your listing appears in the revenue race as soon as your first payment lands.
Where to show it
Your BootstrapArena listing becomes the public, always-current proof you can link from your site, your X bio or a pitch to buyers. Next to the numbers, the same page can carry your screenshots, demo videos, pricing plans and links — so the visitor who arrives for the proof also sees what you sell.