Creating a breakdown takes a few seconds and sets up a dimension you can split any KPI by. You name the breakdown, then add the items that live inside it: the individual products, places or projects you'll record data against.

What is a breakdown?

A breakdown is a dimension you split a KPI's numbers by, so one KPI tells you not just how much, but where it came from. Instead of a single Sales figure, a breakdown gives you the same KPI split into the pieces that make it up.

  • Sales broken down by Products: record a value per product each period, then chart the total, compare products side by side, or filter to just one.
  • Revenue broken down by Clients or Services: see which clients or service lines actually drive the number, and spot the ones slipping.
  • Leads broken down by Channel: see whether your enquiries come from the website, referrals or events, and where to spend next.

The breakdown itself is just a named list (Products, Clients, Services), and its items are the entries inside it. Once a KPI is split by a breakdown, the KPI Sheet gives you a row for each item, and your charts and reports can total, compare or filter by them. You can split one KPI by more than one breakdown (Products and Regions, for example), and each combination you track gets its own row.

Create a breakdown

Head to the KPIs page and open the Breakdowns tab. You'll see your existing breakdowns listed as expandable sections, each with a count of its items.

  1. Click Add a Breakdown, above the list.
  2. Pick one of the starting-point examples (Products, Services, Projects) or just type your own name. An example only fills in the name and a matching icon. Nothing else is created.
  3. Choose an icon if you'd like one, then press Enter or click Save. Press Escape to cancel.

Your new breakdown appears in the list, already open and ready for items.

Add items

Items are the entries inside a breakdown. Add as many as you need. This is the list you'll pick from when you split a KPI.

  1. Expand the breakdown and click Add an item.
  2. Type the item's name, for example Nike Project.
  3. Press Enter to save. The row stays open, so you can keep typing the next item and hit Enter again for each one.
Add items back to back: save one and the field clears itself, ready for the next. To reorder your breakdowns, grab the drag handle on the left of each section. That order carries through to the KPI Sheet and breadcrumbs.

Rename or remove

Use the pencil icon to rename a breakdown or item, and the bin icon to delete one. Deleting takes it out of pickers, the KPI Sheet and breakdown charts, so it only works on something that has no figures entered against it. If figures exist, the delete is refused and you'll be told which KPIs still hold them. Clear those figures on the KPI Sheet first, or leave the item in place.