Excel function reference¶

All functions live in the PRECIS namespace and spill their result into the grid. Style a spilled table with the Format ribbon button; re-fetch every cell with Refresh.

Argument separator

Examples below use ;. Excel uses your locale's list separator — , in some locales, ; in others. Skip an optional middle argument with two separators, e.g. …;;…. Trailing optional arguments can simply be omitted.

Discover valid keys with =PRECIS.KPIS() (metric keys), =PRECIS.SCENARIOS() (scenario keys), and =PRECIS.HIERARCHY(…) (dimension members).

PRECIS.STATEMENT¶

A financial statement — rows are statement lines (Revenue → EBITDA), columns are scenarios.

=PRECIS.STATEMENT(statement, periodStart, periodEnd, [scenarios], [dimensions], [filters], [scale], [decimals])

Argument	Required	Description
`statement`	yes	Statement key, e.g. `"pnl"`, `"full_pnl"`.
`periodStart`	yes	Range start, `YYYY-MM`, e.g. `"2026-01"`.
`periodEnd`	yes	Range end, `YYYY-MM`.
`scenarios`	no	Comma-separated scenario keys. Optional display alias via `key as Alias`.
`dimensions`	no	Comma-separated dimensions to break by, e.g. `"cost_centre"`.
`filters`	no	`key=value` pairs, comma-separated; multi-value with `\\|`.
`scale`	no	Currency scaling power: `0`=units, `3`=thousands, `6`=millions.
`decimals`	no	Decimal places.

=PRECIS.STATEMENT("pnl";"2026-01";"2026-05")
=PRECIS.STATEMENT("pnl";"2026-01";"2026-05";"actuals as Act,budget as Bud,actuals_vs_budget as Var")
=PRECIS.STATEMENT("pnl";"2026-01";"2026-05";"actuals,actuals_vs_actuals_py as YoY")
=PRECIS.STATEMENT("pnl";"2026-01";"2026-05";"actuals";"cost_centre")
=PRECIS.STATEMENT("pnl";"2026-01";"2026-05";"actuals";;"cost_centre=CC-100|CC-200")
=PRECIS.STATEMENT("full_pnl";"2026-01";"2026-04";"actuals";;;6;1)

With a dimension breakdown and more than one scenario, the statement gains a two-row header — each dimension group sits above its scenario columns — and the total column is shaded so it stands out. Click Format to apply the full Précis styling.

PRECIS.METRIC¶

A metric breakdown — one or more metrics, broken down by dimensions (rows) and scenarios (columns).

=PRECIS.METRIC(metrics, periodStart, periodEnd, [dimensions], [scenarios], [filters], [layout], [scale], [decimals])

Argument	Required	Description
`metrics`	yes	Comma-separated metric keys, e.g. `"revenue,utilisation"`.
`periodStart`	yes	Range start, `YYYY-MM`.
`periodEnd`	yes	Range end, `YYYY-MM`.
`dimensions`	no	Comma-separated dimensions to break by.
`scenarios`	no	Comma-separated scenario keys; alias via `key as Alias`.
`filters`	no	`key=value` pairs, comma-separated; multi-value with `\\|`.
`layout`	no	`report` (default — styled, hierarchical) or `extract` (flat, formula-friendly leaf table).
`scale`	no	`0`/`3`/`6`.
`decimals`	no	Decimal places.

With more than one metric and more than one scenario, the report layout adds a two-row header: the metric label sits above its scenario columns (a spill can't merge cells, so the label appears at the start of each group). The extract layout returns a flat leaf table with the dimensions as columns — use it for downstream formulas; it isn't styled by Format.

=PRECIS.METRIC("revenue";"2026-01";"2026-05";"cost_centre")
=PRECIS.METRIC("revenue,utilisation";"2026-01";"2026-05";"department,cost_centre";"actuals as Act,budget as Bud")
=PRECIS.METRIC("revenue";"2026-01";"2026-05";"project";"actuals";;"extract")

Comparison and prior-year scenarios¶

Any scenario column in STATEMENT or METRIC can be a generated scenario, not just a real one:

Key pattern	Example	Gives you
`<alias>_py` / `<alias>_pp`	`actuals_py`	the scenario shifted a year (`_py`, −12 months) or a period (`_pp`, −1 month) back
`<left>_vs_<right>`	`actuals_vs_budget`	signed variance, `left − right`
`<left>_vs_<right>_pct`	`actuals_vs_actuals_py_pct`	percentage variance

Year-on-year is just a comparison against a period-shifted scenario — actuals_vs_actuals_py (signed) or actuals_vs_actuals_py_pct (percent). prior_year / prior_period work as aliases for actuals_py / actuals_pp.

=PRECIS.STATEMENT("pnl";"2026-01";"2026-05";"actuals,actuals_vs_actuals_py as YoY")
=PRECIS.STATEMENT("pnl";"2026-01";"2026-05";"actuals,actuals_vs_actuals_py_pct as YoY%")
=PRECIS.METRIC("revenue";"2026-01";"2026-05";"cost_centre";"actuals,budget,actuals_vs_budget as Var")

Comparison columns are colour-coded favourable/unfavourable when you click Format: green/red follows each metric's variance polarity (revenue up is green, cost up is red), so a cost variance is never mis-coloured. Discover the live keys with =PRECIS.SCENARIOS("shifted") and =PRECIS.SCENARIOS("comparisons").

PRECIS.HIERARCHY¶

List or search dimension members and ragged-hierarchy nodes.

=PRECIS.HIERARCHY(dimension, [query], [output])

Argument	Required	Description
`dimension`	yes (to list)	Dimension key, e.g. `"cost_centre"`, `"employee"`.
`query`	no	Free-text search, e.g. `"cloud"`; omit to list all members.
`output`	no	`records` (leaf members, default), `nodes` (ragged rollup nodes), or `list` (two columns — member code and display name — with no header row).

=PRECIS.HIERARCHY("cost_centre")
=PRECIS.HIERARCHY("cost_centre";;"nodes")
=PRECIS.HIERARCHY("employee";"smith")
=PRECIS.HIERARCHY("department";;"list")

list works for every dimension kind — leaf, derived, and ragged (for a hierarchy key it lists every node, all levels) — and lifts the server's default result cap so the list is complete. It is the shape behind the task pane's member drop-downs; use it directly whenever a formula needs a clean code + name lookup table.

PRECIS.KPIS¶

The metric catalogue as a flat table — keys, labels, domains, formats, and the dimensions available for each. Use it to find valid metric keys for =PRECIS.METRIC.

=PRECIS.KPIS()

=PRECIS.KPIS()

PRECIS.SCENARIOS¶

The available scenarios as a flat table — the keys/aliases to pass to =PRECIS.STATEMENT and =PRECIS.METRIC. Scope-filtered to what you can read.

=PRECIS.SCENARIOS([section])

Argument	Required	Description
`section`	no	`real` (concrete scenarios, default), `comparisons` (generated variance keys such as `actuals_vs_budget`), `shifted` (period-shifted keys such as `actuals_py`), or `aliases` (compatibility aliases, e.g. `prior_year` → `actuals_py`).

See Comparison and prior-year scenarios for what the comparisons and shifted keys mean and how to use them as columns.

=PRECIS.SCENARIOS()
=PRECIS.SCENARIOS("comparisons")
=PRECIS.SCENARIOS("shifted")