Standard Drivers

Overview of Standard Drivers and the logic behind these drivers

 

Annual Target

The annual target driver allows you to input an annual amount which will spread over the year either evenly or based on the prior year trend. The annual target will then adjust dynamically for YTD Actuals as the forecast is rolled forward.

For example, if you set an annual target at the beginning of the year of $12,000 with the even split option, the forecast will be $1,000 per month. Then, if actuals come in in for January and February of $1,500 & $1,200, the remaining plan months will automatically recalculate to $930 per month (($12,000-($1500+$1,200))/10)) so that the forecast remains at $12,000 for the year. 

The input fields for the annual target driver are:

• Driver Name: Text field
• Apply to Account(s) & Department(s): Select the desired accounts & departments this driver should apply to
• Fiscal years(s): Defaults to all forecast years, optionally limit the driver to a single year 
• Annual Target: Input annual target
• Monthly Allocation: Choose from Evenly split across months or Seasonality of prior year
• Optionally access More Options to edit the Start & End Dates for the driver and add a Description 
• Explicit Spend: Optionally choose to override the calculation in a specific month - for example, in the below screenshot we can see the explicit spend for July 2021 is $1,000. This results in the spend in July 2021 being equal to $1,000, then the other months are calculated as ($5,000 Annual Target - $1,000 Explicit Spend) / 11 Months = $364.
  
  
  Explicit Spend can either be input directly in to the Driver or linked to a line within a Custom Table. As a best practice, the Custom Table link should be used when collaborating with other users.  Select Link Custom Table Line to choose the appropriate input line. 
  
  
  If there is not a line already available that you'd like to use for Explicit Spend, select the gear icon to navigate to Custom Table setup and add the desired line. 

 

Fixed Spread

The fixed spread driver allows you to input an annual amount which will then spread over the year either evenly or based on the prior year trend. The fixed spread will not adjust when the forecast is rolled forward. 

For example, if you set an annual target at the beginning of the year of $12,000, the forecast will be $1,000 per month. Then, if actuals come in in for January and February of $1,500 & $1,200, the remaining plan months will remain at $1,000 per month  so that the forecast becomes $12,700 for the year. 

The input fields for the fixed spread driver are:

• Driver Name: Text field
• Apply to Account(s) & Department(s): Select the desired accounts & departments this driver should apply to
• Fiscal years(s): Defaults to all forecast years, optionally limit the driver to a single year 
• Annual Amount: Input annual amount
• Monthly Allocation: Choose from Evenly split across months or  Seasonality of prior year
• Optionally access More Options to edit the Start & End Dates for the driver and add a Description 
• Explicit Spend: Optionally choose to override the calculation in a specific month. The Explicit Spend can either be input directly to the Driver, or linked to a line within a Custom Table. Note, Explicit Spend greater than the Annual Amount is permitted. The

 

Growth on Historicals

The growth on historicals driver produces a forecast by applying an assumed growth factor to the selected historical period. 

For example, if actuals for 2 years ago were $10,000 and actuals for last year were $12,000, the calculated growth % would be 20% (($12.000-$10,000)/$10,000). Then, if actuals for February of last year were $1,200, the forecast for February of this year will be $1,440 ($1,200 * (1+20%)). 

 

The input fields for the growth on historicals driver are:

• Driver Name: Text field
• Apply to Account(s) & Department(s): Select the desired accounts & departments this driver should apply to
• Optionally access More Options to edit the Start & End Dates for the driver and add a Description 
• Growth Assumptions: Choose from one of the following
  • Historical Period Over Period % Change (default): Takes the monthly or annual amount from the prior period and increases based on the historical year over year growth %.
    For example, if actuals for 2 years ago were $10,000 and actuals for last year were $12,000, the calculated growth % would be 20% (($12.000-$10,000)/$10,000). Then, if actuals for February of last year were $1,200, the forecast for February of this year will be $1,440 ($1,200 * (1+20%)). 
     
    • Growth % Formula: Displays formula used to calculate % Change
    • Base to Grow: Choose from Same Month Last Year or Last Year (Full Year) or input a Constant 
    • Driver Output Allocation (only available for Base to Grow=Last Year (Full Year): Choose Evenly Split Across Months or Seasonality of Prior Year
  • Periodic # Increase Going Forward: Takes the previous monthly or historical average and increases periodically by a #. 
    For example, the forecast could be calculated as trailing 3 month average of an account plus $500 every quarter.  
    • Increase by __ every __ Months: Enter the amount the account should increase by and how frequently
    • Increase Start Month
      Choose one of the following:
      • Default
        Applies the first increase in the month of the start of the Forecast Period + the input # of Months . For example, if the Forecast Period starts in February 2021 and the increase is set to apply every 3 months, the first increase will occur in May 2021. 
      • Specific Month
        Select the desired month the increase should start.
      • Relative Month: 1st month of the following quarter
        Applies the first increase in the 1st month of the following quarter. For example, if the Forecast Period starts in February 2021, the first increase will occur in April 2021. 
    • Base to Grow 
      Choose one of the following:
      • Select a Particular Month
        
        • Last Month

• • • • • Same Month Last Year
      • Historical Average
        • Trailing 3 Month Average (default)
        • Trailing 6 Month Average
        • Trailing 12 Month Average
      • Constant

• • Periodic % Increase Going Forward: Takes the previous monthly or historical average and increases periodically by a %. 
    For example, the forecast could be calculated as trailing 3 month average of an account and increase by 10% quarterly. 
    
    • Increase by __% every __ Months: Enter the amount the account should increase by and how frequently
    • Increase Start Month
      Choose one of the following:
      • Default
        Applies the first increase in the month of the start of the Forecast Period + the input # of Months . For example, if the Forecast Period starts in February 2021 and the increase is set to apply every 3 months, the first increase will occur in May 2021. 
      • Specific Month
        Select the desired month the increase should start.
      • Relative Month: 1st month of the following quarter
        Applies the first increase in the 1st month of the following quarter. For example, if the Forecast Period starts in February 2021, the first increase will occur in April 2021. 
    • Base to Grow 
      Choose one of the following:
      • Select a Particular Month
        
        • Last Month
        • Same Month Last Year
      • Historical Average
        • Trailing 3 Month Average (default)
        • Trailing 6 Month Average
        • Trailing 12 Month Average
      • Constant

 

Amount per Headcount

The Amount per Headcount driver allows you to reference either the Cumulative Headcount or New Headcount metric from the Staffing module and then multiply by an input rate or assumption. 

The input fields for the Amount per Headcount driver are:

• Driver Name: Text field
• Apply to Account(s) & Department(s): Select the desired accounts & departments this driver should apply to
• Select Headcount Type: Choose Cumulative or New Headcount from the Staffing module
• Headcount Type Department: Select the desired Department - This Department should be used if applying the driver to multiple Departments at once
• Amount per Headcount: Choose to enter a hardcoded number or select an assumption 
• Optionally access More Options to edit the Start & End Dates for the driver and add a Description 
  
  

 

% of Another Account

The % of Another Account driver allows you to reference another account of your choosing and then multiply by an input % or assumption. 

The input fields for the % of Another Account driver are:

• Driver Name: Text field
• Apply to Account(s) & Department(s): Select the desired accounts & departments this driver should apply to
• Select Account: Choose the desired Account & Department to reference - This Department should be used if applying the driver to multiple Departments at once
• % of Another Account: Choose to enter a hardcoded number or select an assumption 
• Optionally access More Options to edit the Start & End Dates for the driver and add a Description 

 

Custom

A custom driver allows you to customize the selected inputs and function.  

For example, if you wanted to calculate Advertising as a % of Revenue, Input 1 would point to the Revenue account, fx would be x and Input 2 would be the desired Constant %. 

The input fields for the custom driver are:

• Driver Name: Text field
• Apply to Account(s) & Department(s): Select the desired accounts & departments this driver should apply to
• Input 1: Select a variable from within Jirav, e.g., Revenue, Headcount, Custom Lines or Key Assumptions, or enter a Constant
• fx: Choose addition, subtraction, multiplication or division
• Input 2: Select a variable from within Jirav, e.g., Revenue, Headcount, Custom Lines or Key Assumptions, or enter a Constant
• Optionally access More Options for:
  • Rounding:
    • Defaults to none
    • Optionally choose to round, round up or round down the output of the driver
  • Frequency
    • Defaults to 1
    • Optionally choose to alter how often the the driver evaluates
    • For example, a frequency of 1 means the driver will evaluate monthly whereas a frequency of 3 means the driver will evaluate quarterly
  • Start & End Dates
  • Description 
    
    

Updated for May 2021 Product Release.