Introduction
Quantrix is a powerful multi-dimensional tool designed for scalability and adaptability.
One of the ways that Quantrix is able to successfully scale is the software’s ability to link categories.
Categories are “buckets” that organize all the items within a model. Some examples of categories are Products, Years, Quarters, and Regions.
While some categories stay consistent over time, others may be required to evolve. Further, a category that expands in one part of a model, may need to expand elsewhere. For instance, the category “Year” may show up in a forecast model and a budget model. In an ideal world, categories like “Year,” would remain consistent in every part of the model.
Real Life Example
Imagine this common scenario: a financial modeling expert has been told by a manager that their business will be expanding into a new region. As a result, their forecast model must be updated to incorporate the new region.
In traditional spreadsheets, adding that type of item could be time consuming and prone to errors – but not in Quantrix!
When categories are linked in Modeler, new items can be added to all the linked connections at once. Even better, the formulas (which are separated from the cells) will continue to work.
See category linking in action:
How Does it Work?
Linking categories is easy! Simply drag the category tile from one matrix to another. In the animation above, one matrix contains a forecast, while the other contains growth rate assumptions. In this example, the region category is linked. As a result, when the new region “West” is added in the growth rate matrix, the same region populates in the forecast. It’s also notable that when items are renamed (in this case from “Region4” to “West”), then the changes are updated everywhere they are linked.
Not only does this help to scale models, it also helps to maintain consistency. As models get more complex, it’s nice to know that all connected aspects of that Region category are the same.
Searching various tabs within a traditional 2-dimensional tool to ensure consistency can cause headaches and unnecessary stress. It’s equally critical that the formulas are transferred accurately. The complexity of doing this is compounded by the fact that many formulas in spreadsheets are cell-based. That means it can be harder to audit and ensure a formula is calculating in the correct manner.
Although this example only shows a connection between two matrices, there is no limit on how many times a category can be linked within a model.
Additionally, Quantrix offers a few visuals to help users learn more about their linked categories. First, all linked categories will display an arrow icon within the category tile. And second, when a user hovers over the tile, they will be able to see all the places that category is linked.
Conclusion
Linking categories not only saves times, it also ensures consistency and accuracy. In today’s fast changing business environment, this feature is invaluable. Want to find out how Quantrix can transform your business? We offer a free 30-day trial and personalized demos.
