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Overview

Like Excel and Sheets, Francis’ formulas use cell references, functions, and mathematical operators. However, Francis uses a slightly different, more human-readable syntax than the A1 notation found in other spreadsheets.

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Basics

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Syntax

Francis’s formulas follow the syntax "ROW_NAME"[RELATIVE_PERIOD]. For example, to reference the value of the row “Revenue” from 12 months earlier you would input the following: 
="Revenue"[-12]
There are several reasons for why we’ve implemented this syntax:
  • More readable references and syntax, with clearly stated names and relative periods
  • Syntax allows users to drag and drop components without breaking references
  • Simplified rolling forecasts, as all references are based on relative periods

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Comments

Inspired by programming best practices, you can insert comments directly into your formulas to add context where it matters most. Simply place a hashtag (#) at the end of your formula, and any text that follows is highlighted in green. This makes it easier to interpret complex logic by keeping context alongside the formula itself. 
= IF("Revenue"[0]=0,0,"Direct costs"[0]/"Revenue"[0])
# Function returns zero if revenue is zero to avoid dividing with zero

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Conventions

The convention in Francis is that income and balance sheet items are input as positive values (+), while expenses are input as negative values (-). This ensures compatibility with imported actuals from connected accounting systems. Consequently, subtotals like gross profit will be calculated by taking revenue and adding direct costs using a plus (+), instead of subtracting direct costs using a minus (-). In simpler terms, gross profit would be calculated as: 
="Revenue"[0] + "Direct costs"[0]
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