Why properties come firstA text property can play different roles depending on the question you are answering. Used as a dimension, it enumerates categories and creates the breakdown in a model. Used as a metric, it can return the mapped category for each underlying item.
- Department: As a dimension, it breaks payroll and operating expenses out by department. As a metric, it maps each employee to their department.
- Customer segment: As a dimension, it breaks revenue out by segment. As a metric, it maps each customer to a segment such as Enterprise or SMB.
- Account category: As a dimension, it structures the P&L into groups such as Revenue, COGS, and OpEx. As a metric, it maps each GL account to its reporting category.
One concept, two roles
A metric answers questions such as:- How much revenue did we earn?
- How many employees do we have?
- What is our gross margin?
- Revenue by which department?
- Headcount in which region?
- Gross margin for which product?
- Metrics answer “how much?” or “how many?”
- Dimensions answer “by what?”, “where?”, or “for whom?”
Properties in a financial model
A property can represent:- A financial line item, such as Revenue or Cost of Goods Sold
- A KPI or operating driver, such as Headcount or Units Sold
- An assumption, such as Price or Commission Rate
- A category, such as Department, Entity, Product, or Region
- A calculated output, such as Gross Profit or Gross Margin
- A date used to place values in time