Fiscal year setup in plan

What is a fiscal year?#

A fiscal calendar organizes reporting periods based on an organization's financial year instead of the standard January-to-December calendar year. Depending on the organization, the fiscal year might begin in April, July, August, October, or another month.

Standard calendar and fiscal calendar#

Standard calendar

A standard calendar year always begins in January.

Fiscal calendar

A fiscal calendar year begins in the month selected by the organization. Quarter boundaries move with that start month.

For an April-start fiscal calendar, the fiscal quarters and months are shown in the following table and image.

For an August-start fiscal calendar:

In Plan, you can set any month as the fiscal year start month.

You can use fiscal calendars across the following time-intelligence features:

• Forecast measures
• Time extension and future periods
• Open and closed periods
• Time-based planning

Setting up fiscal date calendar in plan#

By setting up fiscal date calendars in plan, you can organize planning and reporting around your financial year instead of the calendar year.

For this, you need to create a fiscal date table in your semantic model and map the calendar and fiscal years accordingly.

Semantic model requirements

Before configuring the visual,

• Create a fiscal date table in the semantic model that maps each calendar date to the corresponding fiscal periods.
• At a minimum, include the fiscal fields required for your reporting granularity, such as Fiscal Year, Fiscal Quarter, and Fiscal Month.
• If your organization reports at finer levels of detail, also include: Fiscal Week and Fiscal Day.

The fiscal date table should:

• Provide a complete and consistent fiscal mapping.
• Include the historical and future dates required for planning and extended forecasting.
• Include consistent fiscal labels and corresponding numeric sort fields to ensure fiscal periods are displayed in the correct order on the matrix grid.
• Follow your organization's fiscal year naming convention.

Add a numeric sort column for sorting requirements

Add numeric sort fields for the fiscal display fields. Configure each display field to use its corresponding fiscal-order field in the semantic model so that fiscal periods appear in the correct order. Otherwise, the periods are displayed in alphabetical order by default.

For an April-start fiscal calendar, the fiscal months should appear in the following order:

Similarly, sort the fiscal quarters as Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 if your sheet includes quarter-level granularity. Incorrect semantic-model sorting can result in unexpected hierarchy order in the sheet.

Build the fiscal hierarchy

Assign the fiscal fields to the sheet's Columns field in order from the highest to the lowest level of granularity:

Fiscal Year
  → Fiscal Quarter
    → Fiscal Month

The recommended hierarchy is:

Fiscal Year → Fiscal Quarter → Fiscal Month

Depending on the available data and required granularity, supported fiscal paths can also include the following:

• Fiscal Year
• Fiscal Year → Fiscal Half-Year
• Fiscal Year → Fiscal Quarter
• Fiscal Year → Fiscal Month
• Fiscal Year → Fiscal Week
• Fiscal Year → Fiscal Month → Fiscal Day
• Fiscal Year → Fiscal Quarter → Fiscal Month
• Fiscal Year → Fiscal Quarter → Fiscal Month → Fiscal Day
• Fiscal Year → Fiscal Week → Fiscal Day

Include Fiscal Year whenever the dataset spans multiple fiscal years. Keep the fiscal fields together and order them from the highest to the lowest level of granularity.

Configure the planning visual#

Configure these settings before creating forecast measures or extending time periods.

1. After assigning the fiscal hierarchy, go to Format > Appearance > Misc.
2. Configure both these fiscal settings: Fiscal Year Start Month and Fiscal Year Convention.

Fiscal Year Start Month

This option identifies the first month of the organization’s fiscal year. It determines fiscal quarter boundaries and how future fiscal periods are extended. Select the month that exactly matches the fiscal date table.

For example, when April is selected:

• Q1 is April–June.
• Q2 is July–September.
• Q3 is October–December.
• Q4 is January–March.

If the selected month does not match the semantic model, quarters and forecast periods can be interpreted incorrectly.

Fiscal Year Convention

The Fiscal Year Convention determines how fiscal year labels map to the calendar year in which the fiscal year begins.

Planning supports the following conventions: Prior and Same.

• Prior: The fiscal year begins in the calendar year immediately before the fiscal year label. For example, FY 2025 begins in April 2024. The start year is one less than the fiscal-year label.

For an April-start fiscal year when you use the Prior convention:

The fiscal label remains 2025 throughout the hierarchy, but the first nine fiscal months fall in calendar year 2024.

Forecasting under Prior

Suppose the visual contains Fiscal Year 2025, representing April 2024 through March 2025. To forecast for the next fiscal year, select the actual calendar range:

April 2025 → March 2026

Planning maps that range to Fiscal Year 2026.

• Same – The fiscal year begins in the same calendar year as the fiscal year label. Use Same when the organization expects Fiscal Year 2025 to begin in April 2025.

For an April-start fiscal year when you use the Same convention:

Quick comparison

For a fiscal year starting in April:

Tip#

Identify the first month of a known fiscal year in your source data. If Fiscal Year 2025 starts in April 2024, select Prior. If Fiscal Year 2025 starts in April 2025, select Same.

Plan maps the fiscal dates#

After these configurations, the fiscal date table connects each actual calendar date to its fiscal reporting period.

For example, for a fiscal calendar that starts in April and uses the Prior convention, the fiscal date fields appear as shown in the following image.

The following image shows the updated table after completing all the configurations mentioned so far.

Create forecast measure with a fiscal calendar#

1. Ensure you complete the requirements and configurations: Semantic model requirements, sorting requirements, building the hierarchy, and configuring the visual.
2. Select Model > Forecast.
3. Enter the measure name.
4. Select the Forecast Period using actual calendar dates.
5. Complete the remaining forecast settings and create the measure.

To learn more on creating forecast measures, see Forecast data.

Example: extend an April-start fiscal calendar

If the existing FY2027 uses Prior, it represents April 2026–March 2027. Select April 2026–March 2027 to create the next fiscal planning year.

After the time extension, the hierarchy contains FY2026 followed by FY2027. The sheet adds forecast periods under the fiscal hierarchy.

More examples#

April start with 'Prior'

April start with 'Same'

August start with 'Prior'

October start with 'Same'

Best practices#

• Use a single, authoritative fiscal date table.
• Include Fiscal Year and all lower-level fiscal fields required by the visual.
• Include future dates before users create planning periods.
• Sort fiscal labels by their corresponding numeric fiscal-order columns.
• Use fiscal fields instead of standard calendar fields in the fiscal hierarchy.
• Configure the fiscal start month before creating forecast measures.
• Validate the Prior or Same convention against a known date-to-fiscal-year mapping.
• Select forecast periods using actual calendar dates instead of fiscal period labels.
• Test fiscal year boundaries, especially the transition from Q4 to the following Q1.
• Use consistent fiscal settings across all visuals that share the same fiscal calendar.

Troubleshooting#

Forecast periods appear one year early or late

The Fiscal Year Convention is probably incorrect. Compare one known fiscal label and calendar date, then select Prior or Same accordingly.

Quarters contain the wrong months

Confirm that Fiscal Year Start Month matches the semantic model’s fiscal calendar.

Months appear alphabetically

Configure Fiscal Month to sort by a numeric fiscal-month-order field in the semantic model.

Planning sheet does not recognize the fiscal hierarchy

Verify that:

• The visual uses fiscal fields from the fiscal date table.
• The fiscal hierarchy is ordered from the highest to the lowest level of granularity.
• The fiscal fields use supported time labels consistently.
• Fiscal Year is included when the data spans multiple fiscal years.

Forecast extension starts in the wrong month

Verify both the fiscal start month and the calendar dates selected in Forecast Period.

Future fiscal periods are missing

Confirm that the fiscal date table contains mappings for the required future calendar dates.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)#

Can Planning create a fiscal calendar automatically?

No. You have to create and maintain the fiscal date mapping in the semantic model before using it for planning.

Can the fiscal year start in any month?

Yes. Select the required month in Fiscal Year Start Month and ensure the semantic model uses the same start month.

What is the difference between Prior and Same?

Prior begins the fiscal year one calendar year before its label. Same begins in the calendar year shown by its label.

For an April start:

• FY2025 + Prior = April 2024–March 2025.
• FY2025 + Same = April 2025–March 2026.

How should I select the 'Forecast Period' while configuring the forecast measures?

Select the actual calendar start and end periods to add. Don't select dates based only on the fiscal-year label.

Can calendar and fiscal fields both exist in the model?

Yes. Use the fiscal hierarchy in visuals intended for fiscal planning and the calendar hierarchy in visuals intended for standard calendar reporting. Avoid mixing calendar and fiscal levels within one time hierarchy.

What happens when the fiscal year starts in August?

Q1 becomes August–October, Q2 becomes November–January, Q3 becomes February–April, and Q4 becomes May–July. Prior or Same then determines the calendar year in which that August occurs.

Are Fiscal Quarter and Fiscal Month always mandatory?

Use the levels required by the visual’s granularity. Fiscal Year is essential for distinguishing multiple fiscal years; Quarter and Month are required when users need quarterly or monthly drill-down and forecasting.

Why does January belong to Q4 in an April-start calendar?

Fiscal quarters are counted from the selected start month. With April as month 1, January is fiscal month 10 and therefore belongs to Q4.

Configuration checklist#

• [x] A fiscal date table exists in the semantic model.
• [x] The fiscal date table includes all required historical and future dates.
• [x] The Fiscal Year, Fiscal Quarter, and Fiscal Month mappings match the organization's fiscal calendar.
• [x] Fiscal display fields are sorted by their corresponding numeric fiscal-order fields.
• [x] The visual uses the fiscal hierarchy from the highest to the lowest level of granularity.
• [x] The Fiscal Year Start Month setting matches the fiscal date table.
• [x] The Fiscal Year Convention setting matches a verified fiscal year mapping.
• [x] The Forecast Period is selected using actual calendar dates.
• [x] The fiscal hierarchy and future planning periods have been validated.

Summary#

Planning supports fiscal forecasting and time-based planning when the semantic model provides a correctly configured fiscal date table and the visual uses the appropriate fiscal settings.

Configure the Fiscal Year Start Month and Fiscal Year Convention to match your organization's fiscal calendar, and verify the mapping before creating forecast measures. The most important distinction is the meaning of Prior and Same.

After the fiscal calendar is configured correctly, select forecast periods using their actual calendar dates. Once that mapping is verified, forecast periods can be selected reliably using their actual calendar dates.