Non-Financial Indicators, explained.
Headcount, transactions, website visits, enquiries: numbers that matter to a business but never appear in its accounts. Actuly keeps them beside the financials as non-financial indicators. This guide covers choosing them for a company, entering them each month, and reading, forecasting and reporting them.
The Indicators tab in Performance. Headcount and loyalty members are levels; transactions and enquiries are counts for the month. Plain numbers, with no currency and no thousands. Sales per employee is an example calculation, and Home & Garden Retail Co is an example company.
1. What they are
Numbers that matter, but are not in the accounts.
Headcount, transactions, website visits, enquiries: whatever the business counts. You type them in each month and they sit beside the financials.
Actuly calls these non-financial indicators. Most screens call them simply Indicators: the Indicators tab in Performance and in every forecast, and the Indicators page in a company's Settings. A few places use the longer name, such as the title of an exported report and the monthly workflow. When this guide says "open the Indicators tab", that is the one it means.
Typed in, never imported. Indicator lines are not part of the chart of accounts, and no trial balance ever feeds one. You enter the figures month by month (section 3), and they always show as plain numbers, never as money.
Two kinds. Some indicators are a level at month end, such as headcount: 46 people in June is a reading taken on the last day. Others are a count for the month, such as units sold: 11960 transactions in June happened across the month. Actuly treats the two differently whenever it adds up more than one month, so a year-to-date or trailing twelve months column always means something.
Where the categories come from. Actuly provides seven indicator categories. A new company starts with one line in each, named after its category. If the Indicators page says "No indicator reporting lines yet", add lines under the Non-Financial categories from Reporting Lines. Add lines of your own the same way, such as Transactions under Units Sold. A line takes its kind and its number format from its category.
A level at month end
Headcount, customers on the books, contractors. Year to date and trailing twelve months both show the level, because three month-end headcounts added together mean nothing.
A count for the month
Units sold, transactions, hours billed, enquiries. Year to date adds the months since the start of the financial year, and trailing twelve months adds the last twelve.
The seven categories
Actuly sets each category's kind and format. Every line you add under one takes them on.
| Category | Kind | Shows as |
|---|---|---|
| Employees | Level | 46 |
| Contractors | Level | 4 |
| Customers | Level | 2600 |
| Units Sold | Count | 11960 |
| Hours Billed | Count | 312.5 |
| Other (stock) | Level | 4.75 |
| Other (flow) | Count | 231.00 |
How each kind reads in a column
Home & Garden Retail Co, June 2026, with a December year end.
| Column | Employees (level) | Transactions (count) |
|---|---|---|
| Month | 46 | 11960, June's own |
| Year to date | 46, the level | 56130, Jan to Jun |
| TTM | 46, the level | The last twelve added |
2. Setting them up
Tick the indicators each company records.
Everything starts on the company's Indicators page: which lines are live, how each one breaks down, and a grid for the figures.
Open the company, then Settings, then the Indicators tab. The table lists every indicator line with its Category, a Live tick box and a Breakdown by dropdown.
What live means. Tick Live for each indicator the company records. Live lines are the ones you are asked for, in the grid on this page and in the monthly task. A live line with nothing entered yet says No figures yet. Untick a line and its figures are kept and still show in the reports, as long as at least one indicator stays live; it simply stops being asked for.
Before anything is live, the Indicators tab in Performance shows "No indicators are live for this company yet", with a link to Settings > Indicators, and Documents offers no indicators for that company.
Breaking a line down. Breakdown by offers None, or any of the company's enabled dimensions, such as Region. Choose one and you enter a figure for each Unit, and the line is their sum. There is no typed total beside the parts, so an indicator never has an Uncategorised row. Change or remove the breakdown on a line that is already broken down and has figures, and Actuly asks first: each month's parts are folded into one total, and the totals are kept. Add a breakdown to a line that already has figures and each earlier month keeps its total, shown read only as "Entered before the breakdown".
Entering figures here. The Enter figures card below the table is a grid of the live lines over the last twelve months, up to this month. Type, then Save; Discard throws away anything not yet saved. A blank cell means no figure, and 0 is a figure.
Indicators for this company
Start this month's entrySwitch on the indicators this company records. A breakdown dimension lets you enter the parts, and the total is their sum.
| Indicator | Category | Live | Breakdown by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | Employees | None | |
| Contractors | Contractors | None | |
| Loyalty members | Customers | None | |
| Units Sold | Units Sold | None | |
| Transactions | Units Sold | Region | |
| Enquiries | Other (flow) | None | |
| Website visits No figures yet | Other (flow) | None |
Settings, then Indicators. The Enter figures grid sits below this card. Rows for the other default lines are left out here.
Start this month's entry, at the top right of the card, starts the monthly indicators job for the company and takes you to it (section 3). If the company already has one running, it opens that one instead of starting another.
Why some figures show two decimal places. The format belongs to the category. Other (stock) and Other (flow) show two decimal places, Hours Billed one, and the rest whole numbers, so 231 enquiries under Other (flow) reads 231.00.
3. Entering the figures each month
Each month a job asks for last month's figures.
The Enter Non Financial Indicators workflow turns the month's figures into a task, with the grid right on it.
How the job starts. Press Start this month's entry on the Indicators page, add a schedule for Enter Non Financial Indicators on the Schedules sub-tab of the company's Jobs tab, or use New job on the Jobs tab. The workflow comes with no default schedule, so you choose the due day and recurrence yourself.
Which month it asks for. The month before the due date's month. A job due on 15 October 2026 asks for September 2026. A job with no due date, such as one started from the Indicators page, asks for the month before the current one.
The grid. Three months ending at that month, with the month asked for highlighted and anything already entered filled in. Only live lines appear. A broken-down line shows its Units beneath a total you cannot type in, which adds them up as you go. Paste a row from a spreadsheet into a cell and it fills across the months from there.
Saving. Save keeps the figures and leaves the task open, so you can come back when the last number arrives. Save and complete saves and completes the task. Beside the buttons, a count such as "2 of 4 entered for September 2026" says how many live lines have a figure for the month.
Enter Non Financial Indicators
ActiveStarted 5 Oct 2026 · 0 of 2 tasks completed · Due 15 Oct 2026
Stage 1 - Enter your Non Financial Indicators
| Indicator | Jul 26 | Aug 26 | Sep 26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 45 | 44 | |
| Loyalty members | 2680 | 2710 | 2745 |
| Transactions | 10120 | 9340 | 7810 |
| North | 4210 | 3890 | 3260 |
| South | 3480 | 3200 | 2700 |
| Midlands | 2430 | 2250 | 1850 |
| Enquiries | 205.00 | 188.00 |
Stage 2 - Refresh
Due 15 October, so the task asks for September. Transactions is broken down by Region, so its total adds up the three Units.
Enter Non Financial Indicators, stage by stage
- Enter your Non Financial Indicators. The Enter Non Financial Indicators task, with the grid. Done with Save and complete.
- Refresh. Refresh Performance Data rebuilds the company's reports with the new figures, on its own.
Every save, from the task or from anywhere else, also queues a refresh of the reports.
The quicker route: Indicator Values
To correct a figure, or add one outside the monthly job, go to the Indicators tab in Performance and click the indicator's name. The line window opens with an Indicator Values tab beside Performance. It holds the same grid for that one line, from the window's Start Date up to this month. The Start Date is the one you last picked for this company, or the first month on the line if you have never picked one.
Opened on a Unit row, it shows just that Unit with the line's total. Save keeps the figure straight away, and the reports rebuild in the background. The page behind the window does not update on its own, so reload it after a moment to see the new figure.
Employees
✕Figures are for the month. Blank means no value. A level at month end, such as headcount.
| Indicator | Jul 26 | Aug 26 | Sep 26 | Oct 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 45 | 44 | 45 |
The last four months of the grid. Scroll it left for the earlier ones.
4. Reading them
The Indicators tab reads like the P&L, in plain numbers.
Monthly, TTM and Annual work as they do on the P&L, and because every line knows its kind, the totals across months come out right.
Financial History. The Indicators tab sits after Key Metrics. Monthly shows each month's figure. TTM shows the level for a headcount and the last twelve months added up for a count. Annual shows the year to date at each year end. There is no Total column, because adding a headcount across months means nothing.
Plain numbers. No "In thousands of" banner, and the units, currency symbol and decimal options are hidden in Display Preferences on this tab. Each line keeps its category's format. Negative figures, such as a variance below plan, always show with a minus sign.
Performance vs Plan. Its Indicators tab has the same month, year to date and trailing twelve months groups as the P&L, with the actual, the plan, the prior year and the variances, as on the P&L. The plan comes from the indicator lines of the adopted budget or revised forecast (section 5).
Its own Report Format. Indicators have their own Report Format, so you can rename, reorder, style and hide lines exactly as on the P&L. The Default lists the seven categories, each opening to its lines.
Indicator calculations turn indicators into ratios, such as sales per employee: sales divided by employees. Actuly adds them, and none come as standard. Each is one formula, a whole number unless set otherwise, and is worked out after every other calculation, so it can read indicators alongside any P&L, balance sheet, cash flow or Key Metrics figure. They show as rows on the Indicators tab and forecast with everything else.
September against the budget. Headcount's year to date is the level; transactions add up from January. Prior Year columns are left out, and the TTM group sits to the right of this excerpt.
Which rows show
The Live tick decides what you are asked for. The figures decide what you see.
| Row | With no figures in the period |
|---|---|
| Category | Hidden |
| Indicator line | Hidden, and so is a line whose figures are all 0 |
| Unit under a line | Hidden |
| Indicator calculation | Shown, at 0 |
Why calculations always show. Sales per employee with no employees entered computes 0, and a row that vanished would look like a broken calculation. Leaving it on screen at 0 tells you which input is missing.
Keeping an empty line on screen. Choose report lines, in the Report Options menu on the Indicators tab of Financial History or Performance vs Plan, keeps a line or Unit showing even while it is empty.
5. Forecasting them
Indicators forecast like any other line.
Every forecast has an Indicators tab. Click an indicator, pick a method or type the months in, and the totals follow.
Rolling 12 Months, Budget and Revised Forecast each have an Indicators tab after Key Metrics. Click an indicator's name and the Forecast Options tab works exactly as it does for a P&L line, chart preview and all. The Forecasting guide covers it in full.
A level carries forward. Headcount, customers and the other levels are offered Same as Prior Month, their default: the last headcount carries on until you say otherwise. A count repeats last year. Units sold, hours billed and the other counts are offered Same as Prior Month and Same as Prior Year, which is their default: each forecast month takes the same month last year, so the spring rush comes round again. Every indicator also takes Manual Entry, Manual + Forecast Method and No Forecast.
The columns behave as they do in actuals. In forecast months a level's year to date and trailing twelve months are still the level, and a count's still add up.
An indicator with no history. It joins the forecast once it is kept with Choose report lines on the Indicators tab in Performance, as on the P&L, and forecasts zero until you give it a method or type its months in.
Calculations use the forecast figures. In each forecast month, sales per employee divides that month's budgeted sales by its budgeted headcount.
Headcount carries September's 45 forward. Transactions and enquiries repeat October to December 2025. Sales per employee follows the budgeted sales.
The methods at a glance
| Method | Offered on | What a forecast month gets |
|---|---|---|
| Same as Prior Month | Every indicator. The default for a level. | Last month's figure, carried on. |
| Same as Prior Year | Counts. Their default. | The same month last year. |
| Manual Entry | Every indicator | The figures you type, such as a planned hire in March. |
| Manual + Forecast Method | Every indicator | Your figures for the first months, then a method from the month after the Final Manual one. |
| No Forecast | Every indicator | Nothing: the line stays empty in forecast months. |
6. In documents
Put indicators in front of the board.
An Indicators block for the table, and indicator lines in charts, trends, Custom Tables and Generate Text.
When documents offer them. Only when your workspace has indicators switched on and the company has at least one live indicator. For any other company, Documents looks exactly as if indicators did not exist.
The Indicators block. In the Add block menu, after Key Metrics. It is the Balance Sheet block over your indicators: one month at a time, showing that month's own figure for a headcount and a transactions count alike. The Columns choices are the Balance Sheet's: Results vs Prior Year, Results vs Forecast, Variance from Budget and Variance from Prior Year. Its Report Format dropdown lists the company's Indicators formats.
Plain numbers. Every row keeps its own format. The block never shows an "In thousands of" subtitle or a currency symbol, and the editor hides those options. The commentary button works as on other tables, and the AI is told the figures are counts, not money.
Indicator lines anywhere you pick lines. The line picker has an Indicators tab after Key Metrics. A Chart reads an indicator Monthly, TTM or Annual, as it would a P&L line, and a Trends block shows it with its trailing twelve months. A Custom Table offers Indicators as a statement, with every column: a count's quarter adds its months, a level's quarter is its level at the last month. Generate Text offers Indicators as a block type and in Lines mode, and the document assistant can add and edit an Indicators block too.
Indicators✕ Close
Key indicators
| 30 September 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Actual | Prior Year | Variance | |
| Employees | |||
| Employees | 45 | 41 | 4 |
| Units Sold | |||
| Transactions | 7810 | 7240 | 570 |
| Other (flow) | |||
| Enquiries | 214.00 | 187.00 | 27.00 |
An Indicators block for September against a year before. No currency and no "In thousands of" line.
Where indicators can go
| Block | With indicators |
|---|---|
| Indicators | The whole indicators table, one month at a time |
| Chart | Indicator lines, Monthly, TTM or Annual |
| Trends | One indicator, with its trailing twelve months |
| Custom Table | Indicators as a statement, every column |
| Generate Text | Indicators as a block type, and in Lines mode |
| Full Report | Not offered: P&L and the other statements only |
In short
Tick what the company counts. Type it in monthly. Read it everywhere.
- Indicators are numbers outside the accounts. On screen they are the Indicators tab and page, switched on per workspace.
- A level, such as headcount, stays a level in year to date and TTM. A count, such as transactions, adds up.
- Tick Live on Settings > Indicators for what the company records, and break a line down by a dimension if you need the parts.
- The Enter Non Financial Indicators job asks for last month in a three-month grid; Indicator Values corrects a figure any time.
- Indicators forecast like any other line, and go into documents as an Indicators block or as lines in charts, trends and Custom Tables.
More guides
Keep going
Performance
Financial History, Performance vs Plan, and building Report Formats.
Dimensions
Where dimensions come from, Standard and Split, the Dimensions view, forecasting by dimension.
Forecasting
Versions, the three ways a line gets its numbers, special lines, and why everything balances.
Documents
Getting the data right, blocks, your own calculations, AI text and the AI Assistant, saving, locking and exporting.
Workflows
Schedules, jobs and tasks, assignments and notifications, and where to see everything.
Dashboards and the Scorecard
The Overview, the Companies list, the Scorecard's colours, and keeping them fresh.
All help guides
Every guide, grouped by what you are doing.
Still stuck? Contact support and we will get back to you.