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mmakhlo's avatar
mmakhlo
Frequent Visitor
9 years ago

Calculate difference from previous month

Hello!   I would like to display the difference in cost by month. This is the current table I have. It shows cost by year-moth by site. I would like to show the difference in cost each month in ano...
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GilbertQ's avatar
GilbertQ
Super User
9 years ago

Hi mmakhlo

 

If I was looking to solve this problem and ensure that I am using best practise as well as be able to use all the native DAX functions I would suggest first creating a Date Table. You can use the link below which explains what a date table is and how to use it.

 

http://radacad.com/do-you-need-a-date-dimension

 

Then once that has been created I would then create a measure which would represent the Previous Month using the PREVIOUSMONTH DAX function.

 

PY - Total Employee Expenses = CALCULATE([Total Employee Expenses],PREVIOUSYEAR('Date'[Calendar Date]))

 

Then it would be as simple as using your [Total Employee Expenses] - [PY - Total Employee Expenses] 

mmakhlo's avatar
mmakhlo
Frequent Visitor
9 years ago

Hi GilbertQ

 

The date table was a great suggestion. It helped fix a few other issues I am having with the report. With regards to this post/calculation, when I create the measure for the cost of the previous month, it doesn't create a value.

 

Here is my equation

 

Ext Cost Previous Month = CALCULATE([Ext Cost Sum], PREVIOUSMONTH('Date'[Date]))

 

When I try to insert the number into a table nothing appears.

 

My value for the difference between months is the same as the current month which is another indication that the previous month calculation is not working properly.

 

Any suggestions?

  • GilbertQ's avatar
    GilbertQ
    Super User
    9 years ago

    Hi mmakhlo


    Can you confirm that when creating your table or visual that you are using the Month from the DATE table you created and NOT from your data table?

     

    That is often the issue when data is not showing, due to the PREVIOUSMONTH using the DATE table, and the table or visual is using the column from the data table, so the PREVIOUSMONTH will not work as expected.