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Mickey_mi's avatar
Mickey_mi
Frequent Visitor
8 months ago
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Hello. Am looking if i can get help to take a look at my simple data. I am new to pbi and have problems fetching accurate numbers in a variance kpi card. Your little help will be a huge help to me. T...
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  • Tahreem24's avatar
    Tahreem24
    8 months ago

    Mickey_mi  Welcome to Power BI Community. If you could share the test/sample data input along with expected output (ofcourse do not share your actual data) so we certain could help you.

     

     

  • Amar_Kumar's avatar
    Amar_Kumar
    8 months ago

    Assumptions:

    • You have a Date table with Date, Month, Year, Quarter

    • Actual and Planned are identifiable (separate columns or a type flag)

    Step 1: Actual Paid measure (current context)

    Actual Paid = SUM ( Fact[ActualPaid] )

    Step 2: Planned value from first month of the same quarter (Oct for 3Q)

    Planned (Quarter Base Month) =
    VAR CurrYear = SELECTEDVALUE ( 'Date'[Year] )
    VAR CurrQuarter = SELECTEDVALUE ( 'Date'[Quarter] )
    VAR BaseMonth =
    SWITCH (
    CurrQuarter,
    "Q1", 1,
    "Q2", 4,
    "Q3", 10,
    "Q4", 7)
    RETURN CALCULATE ( SUM ( Fact[Planned] ), FILTER (ALL ( 'Date' ), 'Date'[Year] = CurrYear && 'Date'[MonthNumber] = BaseMonth))

    Step 3: Variance

    Variance = [Actual Paid] - [Planned (Quarter Base Month)]

    Result for your example:

    • Actual Paid (Dec 2025) = 18

    • Planned (Oct 2025, same quarter) = 56

    • Variance = 18 - 56 = -38

praveen_511's avatar
praveen_511
Icon for Advocate I rankAdvocate I
8 months ago

Hi Mickey, welcome to Power BI 

 

Sure, happy to help. Variance KPI cards usually give incorrect numbers due to a few common reasons like filter context, incorrect measures, or date relationships.

To understand the issue better, could you please share:

What variance you are trying to calculate (e.g., Actual vs Target, Current vs Previous period)?

The DAX measure you are using for the KPI card

Whether your data has a date table and relationships

A small sample of your data (or a screenshot of the model / visual settings)

In the meantime, a quick checklist:

Always calculate variance using measures, not columns

Verify that both base measures (Actual, Target / Previous) are correct individually

Check if any slicers or visual-level filters are affecting the KPI card

For time-based variance, ensure DATEADD, SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR, etc. are used with a proper date table

Once you share the details, we can fix the issue step by step 

 

Cheers!