Creating and Editing Variables

Getting Started

Global Functions

Administration

Extended Planning & Analysis (xP&A)

xP&A Video Tutorials

User Roles in Lucanet xP&A

Lucanet xP&A User Interface

All Steps at a Glance

Basic Concepts and Elements

Creating a Model

Integrating Data

Modeling Your Data

Creating and Editing Variables

Using Sections

Using Groups

Moving Variables

Referencing Variables From Linked Models

Aggregation Functions

Relative Time for Variables

Creating Variables Using AI

Creating and Editing Formulas

Working with Time

Using Dimensions

Using Currency and Currency Translation

Viewing and Visualizing Data

Working with Models

Using Comments and Descriptions

Comparison: xP&A vs. Excel Performance

Consolidation & Financial Planning

ESG Reporting

Disclosure Management

XBRL Tagger

Lease Accounting

Banking & Cash Management

Data Collection

Tax Compliance & Reporting

Glossary

Variables are the building blocks of your models. If you're a spreadsheet user, you can think of them a bit like spreadsheet cells. If you're a programmer, you can think of them as, well, variables.

You can define a variable using a formula. Formulas let you work with numbers, ranges, and other variables.

To create a variable:

Click New Variable at the end of a section.

The following drop-down menu is displayed:

Do one of the following:

Create a new variable

: If you select this option, enter the name of the new variable in the input field.

Create from data

: Creates a new variable from a data item. If you select this option, you can first select the desired data source and then the desired variable. For more information on this topic, see

Linking Variables to Integrated Data

Import variable

: Reference a variable from a different model. If you select this option, you can first select the desired model and then the desired variable.

If you have defined a new variable, you can then specify its format type by clicking on the icon or the icon to the left of the variable name:

There are five main format types for variables: Number, Currency, Date, Percent, and Boolean.

For quantities that aren't percentages or currencies.

The number will be formatted as a date. You can enter the date as date(yyyy,mm,dd) or as date(yyyy,mm).

Choose a specific currency (e.g. USD), or select Custom if the currency is not listed (e.g. cryptocurrencies). The currency symbol for common currencies is pre-set from the currency you select (e.g. $ for USD), but you can manually change the prefix/suffix.

To learn more about Currency and how xP&A handles FX conversion, see Using Currency and Currency Translation.

This expects the variable's value to be a decimal.

Example: 0.5 will be displayed as 50%. You can also enter directly as "50%".

A variable that can be True or False (1 or 0), displayed as a checkbox/toggle.

In addition to the standard formats, advanced formats can also be assigned to a variable. Proceed as follows to use the advanced formats:

Click to open the context menu.

Click Format..

The context menu is displayed as follows:

Choose the desired option (see Advanced formatting options).

The following advanced formatting options are available in the Format context menu:

Option	Description
Human-readable	1,000 -> 1k, 1,000,000 -> 1m, etc. Human readable is automatically on.
Comma separators	Comma separators, i.e. 1000 -> 1,000, 10000 -> 10,000, etc. Comma separators are automatically on.
Zero as	Displays cells with 0 values as -, making it easy to spot cells that have non-zero numbers.
Negatives	Accounting negatives i.e. ($100,000) not -$100,000 Red negatives i.e. -$100,000 or both ($100,000)
Precision	Automatic, or specify the number of decimal places or significant figures.
Magnitude	Automatic (as entered), or specify the 'unit' (thousand, lakh, million, crore, billion, trillion) you want to display the value in. For example, if you entered 100 but format the display as 'thousand', this will be 0.1k.
Relative time	Activate to use relative time for the variable. For more information, see Relative Time for Variables.
Lower is better	Activate if in comparisons values of the variable shall be displayed in green if they are lower than the values they are compared with.

You can set custom unit format for your variables, and set whether that unit is displayed before or after the number (prefix vs. suffix).

To add a prefix and/or a suffix:

Click to open the context menu.

If necessary, use the dropdown menu to switch to prefix or suffix.

Enter the desired prefix or suffix in the input field.

This gives you ultimate flexibility to visually distinguish the units of variables in your models (e.g. currencies, earnings multiples, ratios, time units etc). Note that custom units are purely visual and do not affect calculations whatsoever.