Calculating growth - result if prior year result is zero?

[Anonymous]

Hi - I'm sure this is a really simple question, but how do I get a result that isn't -100% when attempting to calculate growth when the prior year sales is zero? i.e. I have vendors that joined the company this year, and they don't have sales from last year. 

My current DAX is: 

COGS growth YTD = DIVIDE([COGS YTD],[COGS PYTD],0)-1

I appreciate the help!~ 

[srpeters · Accepted solution]

Hello,

You could try something like:

COGS growth YTD = IF([COGS PYTD] <> 0, DIVIDE([COGS YTD],[COGS PYTD],0)-1, "[NaN]")

Since you are working with percentages, having 0 as your starting point can be tricky. The above dax could be used if calculating ones growth who has no prior sales is not a requirement. If it is necessary, consider replacing "[NaN]" with a separate calculation that determines ones growth based off of different parameters. For example, you could compare their growth by comparing this month to last month. 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Anonymous]

Thank you - let me give that a shot and see how it looks. 

[srpeters]

Were you able to fix this?

[Anonymous]

Yes - it absolutely worked. Thank you!