Docs · Visuals
Variance guide
Where you beat last year or the plan, and by how much.
Fields
| Field well | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Category | Months, quarters or years, or regions, products or customers. |
| Actual | The measure, such as revenue. |
| Previous year | Optional: last year’s figure, such as a SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR measure. |
| Plan | Optional: plan or budget. |
| Forecast (Pro) | A forecast for the periods that have no actual yet. |
Set it up
- Add Variance to the report page (see Install the visuals) and drag in the fields above.
- In Format › Chart, pick what to compare with (Auto uses the plan when there is one), whether higher or lower is better, and which variance charts to show: absolute and percent, one of them, or none.
- In Format › Categories, sort by value, variance or variance percent, show the top N, and add a total. The total uses the measure’s own total, so a margin stays right. When some months have no actual yet, it compares the same months of last year or the plan.
In the report
- Hover a month or region for the actual, the comparisons and both variances.
- Click one to filter the report to it; the others dim.
- Light or dark background, high-contrast mode, and your own colours.
- Tab into the chart and move between categories with the arrow keys; screen readers hear each one as a sentence.
- The format pane, the labels and the messages are in English and Norwegian.
Pro features
- Forecast: the rest of the year, hatched, in the chart and in the total
- Both comparisons: variance against plan and previous year at once
- Line chart with the gap to the comparison shaded
- Top N with Others for long lists of regions or products
Pro features need a licence key for Variance or Everything, or a 14-day trial key. Without a valid key, Variance leaves out the forecast, shows one comparison, draws columns instead of a line and shows every category, with a short notice above the chart and a “Try Pro free” button. Everything else keeps working. See Add your licence key.
Something not right?
Check Questions and answers, or write to support@getgrafpoint.com saying which visual and where the report runs (Desktop, the Power BI service or Report Server), with a screenshot made with sample data.