> ## 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 Variable?

> Learn how a Variable gives financial and operating values a consistent meaning across formulas, tables, charts, and Scenarios.

A Variable is a named model quantity — a value you calculate, hold, or aggregate. It gives cfo.ai a consistent way to recognize, calculate, organize, and reuse that value everywhere it appears.

Examples include:

* Revenue
* Cost of Goods Sold
* Headcount
* Gross Margin
* Price

For help choosing between a value and a business category, see [Choose between a Variable and a Dimension](/formulas/core-concepts/variables-and-dimensions/choose-variable-or-dimension).

## Variables give model values meaning

A number such as `100,000` isn't useful by itself. A Variable tells you what the number represents.

When the Variable 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.

## Variables can come from data or formulas

A Variable can be:

* Imported from a source system
* Entered directly into the Model
* Calculated from other Variables with a formula

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

## Every Variable has characteristics

A Variable has a name and a data type, such as number, text, or date. Most Variables hold numbers, but a calculated Variable can also return text or a date.

## Variables are reusable

The same Revenue Variable can appear in a profit and loss statement, a chart, a forecast, and a formula. Because each place refers to the same Variable, the Model keeps a consistent meaning across Pages and calculations.

## Variables and formulas

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