Where KPIs come from
aiGust takes its KPIs from four sources:
For the definition of each ratio, see the ratio reference.
The aiGust chart of accounts has many more labels, but only this selection of 61 profit and loss labels is available as KPIs. aiGust doesn’t calculate KPIs for balance sheet labels.
Why you can’t change the standard definitions
The standard profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow are the same for every administration, and you can’t change their definitions. aiGust calculates the KPIs of all administrations in the background. Every administration must follow the same definitions, or its KPIs can’t be compared with those of its peers. To report in your own format, use custom reports. They live next to the standard reports and don’t change the standard KPIs.KPI types
Most KPIs can be shown in four forms. You switch between them with the KPI type selector, a row of four icons.
The KPI type selector (highlighted) on the administration dashboard. EBITDA is shown as a vertical value: a percentage of turnover, compared with the peer group.
Not every KPI has all four types. A ratio like customer credit, for example, has no vertical value.
Absolute value
The value of the KPI itself. The icon shows its unit:- An amount in euro, such as turnover. This applies to most KPIs.
- A number, such as customer credit in days or the number of employees.
- A percentage, for KPIs that are percentages by nature.
Horizontal delta
The relative change compared with the previous year:Vertical value
The KPI as a percentage of a reference value. Each standard report defines its own reference value:
Label KPIs, such as energy costs, also have a vertical value: their share of turnover. Ratios like customer credit or solvability don’t have one.
Vertical delta
The change in the vertical value compared with the previous year, in percentage points (pp). If gross margin drops from 45% of turnover to 40%, the vertical delta is −5 pp. A vertical delta is an absolute difference between two percentages, not a relative change. The same drop as a horizontal delta would be −11%.Choose the right KPI type
Which type tells you the most depends on the KPI and on your question:- Costs and margins: look at the vertical value rather than the absolute value. Personnel costs of €400,000 say little by themselves. Personnel costs of 35% of turnover can be compared across years and with other companies.
- Rising costs: look at the vertical delta. It tells you whether a cost is growing faster than turnover. For example, are personnel costs rising compared with turnover, or does the company keep them in line?
- Growth: look at the horizontal delta, for example for turnover.
KPI types in benchmarking
The choice matters even more when you benchmark an administration against a peer group:- Comparing absolute values of costs is rarely useful. Peers differ in size, so benchmark personnel costs or margins as a vertical value.
- To see how margins moved in the sector, benchmark the vertical delta, not the vertical value. The benchmark of the vertical delta shows whether most peers kept their margins stable, or whether margins dropped across the board.
- To see whether peers grew, benchmark the horizontal delta. A benchmark of absolute turnover can’t tell you whether most companies grew. A rising median turnover doesn’t mean that most peers grew. Only the benchmark of the horizontal delta tells you that.
Where you use KPIs
Advanced search
Find administrations by KPI, for example all companies whose turnover grew by more than 10%.
Triggers and alerts
Get alerts when a KPI meets a rule, across all your administrations.
Administration dashboard
Follow the most important KPIs of an administration at a glance.
Benchmarking
Compare an administration’s KPIs with those of a peer group.