Change the period
Use the Period menu to change the date range that applies to the data in the grid.
Periods are a core concept in Phocas. Read the Periods page to learn how periods work and about the different types of periods.
In Phocas, a period defines the range of dates included in your analysis. You can select a predefined period that's available in the database, add your own user-defined period, or apply a custom period.
Apply a predefined period
Apply a predefined period to quickly view your data for a date range set up for the database by your administrator.
Click the Period menu.
Select the period you want to apply.
The selected period displays in the Period menu and the grid updates with data for that date range.
Apply a custom period
Apply a custom period when you want to use your own date range for the current analysis without adding it permanently to the Period menu.
Click the Period menu > Select dates.
Select the period type: Year, Quarter, Month, Week, or Day. Quarter (calendar year) and Week (Sunday to Saturday) are default period types. To customize these period types, add a user-defined period instead.
Select the Start and End of the date range. You can use fixed or dynamic dates.
Click Apply.
The custom period displays temporarily in the Period menu and the grid updates with data for that date range.
Use a fixed date range
Use a fixed date range when you need precision, repeatability or historical consistency.
A fixed date range has a set start and end date. The dates don't change when you redo the analysis or open a favorite later.
Examples include:
Annual sales for the 2025 financial year.
A marketing campaign that ran from March 15 to April 30, 2025.
Sales in January 2024 compared with January 2025.
Example: Analyze sales during the summer
Suppose you want to identify customers who purchased products during the summer season (in the northern hemisphere).
Select the Month period type.
Select June 2025 as the Start month and August 2025 as the End month.
Click Apply.
Use a dynamic date range
Use a dynamic date range when you need automation, recency or ongoing monitoring.
A dynamic date range updates automatically based on when you run the analysis.
If you save the view as a favorite, you get a set-and-forget analysis that continues to update with the latest applicable data.
Examples include:
A sales dashboard showing the last 7 days' revenue.
An inventory report tracking stock levels in the month to date (MTD) or quarter to date (QTD).
A weekly performance review always looking at the previous week.
Common dynamic date ranges include Last 30 days, Month to date (MTD), and Year to date (YTD). For the Day period type, you can also select special dynamic dates:
First day: Always the first day of the month.
Last day: Always the last day of the month.
Match today: The same day number as today. For example, the 29th of each month.
Match yesterday: The same day number as yesterday. For example, the 28th of each month.
The following examples show some common dynamic periods you can add to your analysis:
Example 1: Last month
Suppose today is in the month of September and you want to view the Sales performance of the previous month. Next month (October), you'll want to see September's sales values, and so on.
Select the Month period type.
Click Use dynamic dates at the bottom of both the Start and End calendars. By default, the Relative dynamic option is selected for both.
Leave Last month selected for the Start and change the End to Last month.
Click Apply.
Example 2: Rolling 12 months
Suppose you want to view sales data for the current month and previous 11 months. Going forward, you want this 12-month period to update automatically.
Select the Month period type.
Click Use dynamic dates at the bottom of both the Start and End calendars. By default, the Relative dynamic option is selected for both.
Change the Start to 11 months ago and the End to This month.
Click Apply.
Example 3: Last 3 years
Suppose today is in the month of September and you want to view the sales data for the last 3 years. Going forward, you want to see the current year and previous 2 years' sales data on any given day.
Select the Year period type.
Click Use dynamic dates at the bottom of both the Start and End calendars.
Change the Start to 2 years ago and the End to This year.
Click Apply.
Example 4: Last 7 days
Suppose today is September 29 and you want to view the sales data for the last week (7 days). Going forward, you want to see the past weeks' sales data on any given day.
Select the Day period type.
Click Use dynamic dates at the bottom of both the Start and End calendars. By default, the Relative dynamic option is selected for both.
Change the Start to 6 days ago and leave the End as Today (default).
Click Apply.
Example 5: Financial year-to-date
Suppose your financial year runs from April to March and you want to see this year's financial performance so far (September). Going forward, you want to see data for the financial year to date on any given day.
Select the Month period type.
Click Use dynamic dates at the bottom of both the Start and End calendars. By default, the Relative dynamic option is selected for both.
Select Recent > Most recent > April for the Start.
Leave Relative > This month (default) selected for the End.
Click Apply.
Example 6: Yesterday
Suppose you want to quickly review the previous day's data on any given day.
Select the Day period type.
Click Use dynamic dates at the bottom of both the Start and End calendars. By default, the Relative dynamic option is selected for both.
Select Special > Match yesterday for both the Start and End.
Click Apply.
Add a user-defined period
Add a user-defined period when you want to save a date range and make it available for reuse in the Period menu.
Click the Period menu, then click Add.
Enter a name for the period.
Select how you want to define the period:
Year, Month (calendar year) or Day (Sunday to Saturday): Set the start and end using fixed or dynamic dates. See the examples in Apply a custom period above, which also apply to user-defined periods.
Custom period types: Select a period type set up by your administrator, then select the start and end periods. To make the range dynamic, select Dynamic and set the start or end period relative to the current period. See the examples below.
Custom period types are set up and managed in the Administration module
Click Add.
The grid updates with data for that date range and the new period displays under User defined in the Period menu, where you can select it whenever you want to use it.
You can edit or delete a user-defined period from the Period menu.
The following examples show how to use Custom period types:
Example 1: Financial quarter
Suppose your administrator has set up Quarters as a custom period type and you want a user-defined period for the second half of the financial year.
On the Custom period types tab, select Quarters.
Select 2026-Q3 as the Start period.
Select 2026-Q4 as the End period.
Click Add.
The user-defined period includes both quarters.
Example 2: Rolling 4-4-5 periods
Suppose your administrator has set up a 4-4-5 Periods custom period type and you want a rolling user-defined period covering the current accounting period and the previous three periods.
On the Custom period types tab, select 4-4-5 Periods.
For Start period, select Dynamic, then select 3 periods ago.
For End period, select Dynamic, then select This period.
Click Add.
The user-defined period always covers the current accounting period and the previous three periods.
Do more with periods
You can use periods in other ways to customize your analysis. Explore these related options:
Use Variance mode to compare two periods and analyze the variance between them. Turn on Show all periods to break down the selected period and identify where the variance occurred.
In any mode, add a measure column to the grid, then change the period that applies to that column. This allows you to view the same stream of data for two different periods.
In the grid settings:
Turn on Reverse the period to reverse the order of the period columns in the grid.
Turn on Period to date to include transactions up to the same date in each comparison period. This aligns the periods to the same point in time.
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