Set targets and track pace through the month

Targets turn into a running answer to one question: will this month, quarter and year land where they should? This guide follows the whole loop, from entering targets to reading pace in every place it appears.

Before you start

• Targets and pacing is not on every plan. On a plan without it, the Targets page shows a lock naming the plan that includes it.
• Who can set targets: agency staff on a client their agency manages, and the owner of a brand that runs itself. Other client users can read targets and pace.
• Check Financial year starts and the Reporting currency in Settings, Financial. Money targets are in the reporting currency, and quarters follow the financial year.

1. Enter the year's targets

1. Open the brand and choose Settings, then Financial. The Targets card is on that tab. (On Trading, Targets, the Set targets button opens it too.)
2. Use the arrows beside the year to pick the financial year.
3. Under Metric, choose what to target. Start with the figure your plan is written in, such as net sales, then add total ad spend and a return measure such as blended ROAS or MER %.
4. Fill the months one of three ways:
   • type each month (press Enter to save a cell);
   • choose Paste from spreadsheet, or click the grid and press Ctrl+V, to paste a row of monthly figures;
   • under Enter by, choose Quarter, Half year or Year, type the figure, check the split shown and choose Save followed by the number of monthly targets.
5. To roll last year forward, choose Import last year +10% (for a rate or ratio, Import last year), then adjust any month.

How a period figure is split is written under the preview: by each month's expected share from the stored forecast, else by the same months last year, else evenly. A rate or ratio is not split: every month takes the same target.

2. The forecast does the rest

You do nothing here. Each hour, and within about ten minutes of new figures, Fabrik Analytics works out for every brand and metric:

• the month in progress: what has arrived plus the expected rest of the month, shaped by the same month last year, the last three months and the pace so far;
• each month not started: the same month last year adjusted for the recent year-on-year trend;
• quarters, halves and the year, built from those months.

Total ad spend follows its plan: for the rest of the month, its target. See How the forecast works.

3. Read pace where you work

Status uses one rule everywhere: a projected finish of 95% of target or more is On track, 75% to 95% At risk, under 75% Off track. For costs, where lower is better, at or under target is On track.

4. A mid-month routine

1. Each Monday, open Trading, Overview with Month chosen and read Pace against plan.
2. For any metric At risk or Off track, hover the cell on Trading, Targets to see actual so far, the projected finish and how it was worked out.
3. Read What moved net sales on the Overview and Trading's open actions to see what is behind the gap.
4. Decide what to change this week (spend, promotion, stock) and record it on the timeline so the next forecast's movement makes sense.

Portfolios with pooled targets

A portfolio whose brands share one target can switch on Pool targets across brands in the portfolio's Settings, Financial. Spend can then move between brands: each brand's spend plan is the portfolio's target split by its recent share of spend, so the brands add up to the portfolio's target. See Portfolio targets and pooled targets.

Troubleshooting

• "No targets set for this year" on Targets: no target is stored for this financial year. Set them in Settings, Financial.
• The Set targets button opens a page I cannot use. Your role cannot set targets for this brand. Ask your agency.
• A month shows Forecast instead of an actual. It has not started. Its forecast is shown beside its target.
• Pace jumped after one big day. Early in a month a single day moves the projected finish most. It settles as the month goes on.