Elements: Drivers (powerful & effective)

Driver Elements

Drivers are simple elements with a powerful purpose. They are an easy way of introducing non-financial data into a Castaway forecast, but can also be used for many advanced modelling tasks.

Driver elements can be used in 3 main ways:

1. To calculate forecast data in each element
2. To add powerful insights to reporting
3. To enable variance analysis of non-financial data

Adding a Driver

1. Navigate to Forecast > Element Settings (or if using Integrations, Forecast > External Sources > connect to Source > Map)
2. Collapse the P&L and BS sections by selecting the respective headers and scroll to the bottom of the Chart of Accounts to locate the Drivers section
3. Similar to adding an element manually, hover over Drivers and select the + sign to add a new Driver
4. Rename the Driver and hit Enter to Save

Once a Driver element is created, you can tailor the element properties:

• Set the Driver Input method 
• Apply a rounding treatment
• Set constraints (maximum, minimum, max & min)
• Set cumulative method (non or cumulative)

Using Drivers to Calculate Forecast Data

Most types of Castaway elements offer several Driver-based calculation methods. Here are some examples:

1. Driver x Rate
   e.g. Use a Driver to record the Headcount of salespeople and set the rate as the expected monthly sales per salesperson
2. % of Drivers
   e.g. Use a Driver to record the total Funds Under Management for an investment advisory firm and set the rate as the % administration fee collected by the firm
3. Formula (to create long-chain calculations including Drivers, constants and/or other elements)
   e.g. Calculate revenue for a coffee shop by multiplying 3 Drivers (# Trading Days per Month, # Coffees Served per day, Selling Price per Cup)

Beyond these simple examples, there are many more powerful ways of using Driver elements in element calculations. Drivers can also be used as inflation indices, as control switches for scenario modelling, or for calculating complex constraint-based production volumes.

Using Drivers in Reporting

There are many ways to use Drivers to add powerful insights to your reporting.

1. The Drivers Report
   Found under Reporting > Reports > Other Reports > Driver Report, the Drivers Report displays the values of each of the Drivers in your forecast. This can be an effective way of reporting the assumptions underlying the forecast.
2. Using Driver Elements in Report Formulas
   Driver elements can be used to calculate custom Report Formulas, which can then be displayed on any of Castaway's key financial reports. And because Report Formulas are flexible, they are ideal for reporting KPIs and other key metrics, bank covenant ratios, or operations numbers.
3. Adding Drivers to Dashboards
   Driver elements and Report Formulas based on Drivers can be added to any of the widgets available on Dashboards. Simply choose the Driver elements from the Drivers Report list on the Add Data screen or select Report Formulas from the report they were originally added to.

Using Drivers in Variance Analysis

One of our favourite features of Driver elements is that Actuals data can be entered for them. This means that the Drivers Variance Report will display variances for the Drivers you have created. It also means that variances will be displayed for any Report Formulas in other reports that were created based on Driver elements.

To add Actuals data for Driver elements (assuming that Actuals are enabled in the forecast), go to Forecast > Opening & Actuals > Other Data. Actual data for Drivers can also be imported from Excel, via Integrations.