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If you are familiar with business intelligence or dimensional modeling, cfo.ai uses many of the same ideas with finance-friendly language.

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Common translations

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Variables are the values being measured

Revenue, Expenses, Units Sold, Headcount, and Gross Margin are examples of Variables. They occupy the value being calculated or displayed.

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Dimensions identify business context

Department, Region, Product, Customer, Account, and Date identify where a Variable’s value belongs. For example:
Revenue = 100,000 at Department = Sales, Region = West, Date = January 2026, Scenario = Plan
Revenue is the Variable. Department, Region, and Date identify the cell address. Plan provides Scenario context.

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Grain explains what one value represents

Revenue by month has a different grain from Revenue by day. Revenue by Department and month has a different grain from company-wide Revenue by month. Formulas recalculate at the requested grain. A margin shown by Department is calculated for each department rather than taking a company-wide margin and dividing it afterward.

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You do not need a data-warehouse design

Users do not need to build a star schema or cube to work in cfo.ai. The useful mental model is simpler:
  • Variables are calculated values
  • Dimensions organize those values
  • A segment identifies a slice of a Variable’s data.
  • A cell address identifies one complete result, including its period.