Creating Metrics with the Formula Builder

A metric is a derived value — it isn't imported from a data source like a measure is. Instead, you define it with a formula that combines your existing measures and metrics.

To create one, go to the Metrics section of the Targets page and click Add. The formula builder assembles the calculation from operand chips — the measures and other metrics the formula references — chained with operators from one family (all +/−, or all ×/÷) plus plain numbers where needed (× 365, × −1). A metric can depend on both measures and other metrics, so you can layer calculations (for example, a margin metric built from revenue and cost measures, then a ratio built on top of that metric).

Each operand chip carries a time shape: this period (the default), previous period, same period last year, a trailing sum over N periods, year to date, or an average balance. This is how cross-period definitions like a depreciation rate (D&A ÷ previous-period PP&E) or DSO (AR ÷ trailing-12 Revenue × 365) are built. As you edit, a sentence preview below the builder shows the definition in words — that sentence is exactly what the formula means. See How Metrics Are Calculated for the rules.

Because a metric is defined by its formula, it recalculates automatically whenever its underlying inputs change — including when you apply an overlay to a measure it depends on. This is what lets an adjustment to a raw measure flow through to every metric built on it.

Measures, by contrast, aren't created here — they appear in the Measures section when you import data from your Sources. For how calculations propagate through the model, see Metric and Measure Dependencies.