> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.cfo.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# What is a property?

A property is a named piece of information in your model. It gives cfo.ai a consistent way to recognize, calculate, organize, and reuse that information.

Examples include:

* Revenue
* Cost of Goods Sold
* Headcount
* Department
* Legal Entity
* Product
* Date
* Gross Margin

## Properties give model values meaning

A number such as `100,000` is not useful by itself. A property tells you what the number represents.

When the property is Revenue, the value becomes Revenue of 100,000. Dimensions, Date, and scenario add more context: Revenue of 100,000 for Sales in January 2026 in the Plan scenario.

## Properties can come from data or formulas

A property can be:

* Imported from a source system
* Entered or managed in the model
* Calculated from other properties with a formula

The source can change without changing the business meaning of the property. Revenue remains Revenue whether it is imported, planned, or calculated.

## Every property has characteristics

A property has a name and a primary role. It also has a data type, such as number, text, or date.

Its primary role determines how cfo.ai uses it:

* As a **metric**, it is calculated or aggregated
* As a **dimension**, it groups or filters other values

The role and data type are related, but they are not the same. An Account Code can be numeric and still be a dimension.

## Properties are reusable

The same Revenue property can appear in a P\&L, a chart, a forecast, and a formula. Because each place refers to the same property, the model keeps a consistent meaning across pages and calculations.

## Properties and formulas

A formula belongs to the property it calculates. A Gross Profit formula targets the Gross Profit property and references Revenue and Cost of Goods Sold properties.