ABC analysis
ABC analysis breaks down products or clients by their contribution to revenue. Line items are sorted from the most profitable to the least and split into three groups:
| Group | Label in the report | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| A | Leaders: the core of revenue | Line items that together make up the first 80% of revenue |
| B | Middle: steady contribution | The next 15% of revenue, from 80% to 95% |
| C | Tail: minimal contribution | The remaining 5% of revenue |
This is usually the Pareto principle at work: a small share of products or clients brings in most of the money. The report shows exactly which ones.
What you can do
- Read the report
- Switch between products and clients
- Select a period
- Set the line item source and the payment criterion
- Understand why the report total differs from finance
Report
Open Analytics → Sales → ABC analysis.
| Element | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Line under the heading | A Pareto conclusion in real numbers, for example "12 of 140 products bring in 80% of revenue" |
| Settings line | Which line item source and which payment criterion are currently applied; see Report settings |
| Share bar | All revenue for the period broken down into A, B, and C; the width of each segment equals the group's share |
| Group card | The group's share of revenue, the number of line items and their share of the total, and the group's revenue amount |
| Line item row | The name of the product or client, its revenue, and a bar showing its contribution compared with the most profitable line item |
The line item at which the cumulative share crosses the threshold stays in the current group. That is why group A can make up slightly more than 80%.
If there are no line items with revenue for the period, the report shows "No data for the selected period." Change the period or the settings.
Products or clients
The Products / Clients switch in the top panel changes the dimension:
- Products (default): which products and services generate revenue. It suggests what to keep in stock and promote, and what to reconsider.
- Clients: which clients bring in more money. It suggests who needs a dedicated manager and who can be handled with a standard scenario.
Period
On the right side of the top panel there are preset periods (Today, Yesterday, Week, Month, Year, All) and date fields for a custom range. The default is Month. The calendar icon next to the dates rebuilds the report.
Report settings
The gear button in the top panel opens the Report settings wizard. It has two steps and a summary.
Step 1. Line item source
Products and services are stored inside documents and deals, so first choose where to take them from:
| Source | When to choose it |
|---|---|
| Documents (default) | Sales are processed with invoices, delivery notes, and acts |
| Deals | Products and services are selected directly in deals |
The Any toggle in the Types field counts all types of the source. Turn it off to select specific ones, for example, only Invoice among documents.
Step 2. Payment criterion
What counts as a sale:
| Criterion | How it is counted |
|---|---|
| Document status / Deal status (default) | By the status of the record itself. With the Any toggle on, all statuses are counted; turn it off and select, for example, Paid |
| Finance: income | By income transactions in finance linked to a document or deal |
Warning
Linking income to a document or deal is optional. Transactions without a link are not included in the report; their total is shown at the bottom of the report, see below.
Summary
The last step is a summary: the source with the selected types and the payment criterion with the selected statuses. Review it and click Apply.
A record's type and status can change over time. The report only uses their current values.
The settings are saved individually for you: the next time you open the report, it is built the same way, and your colleagues keep their own settings.
Why the total differs from finance
The report only sees money linked to documents or deals. In the lower-right corner there is a line that explains the difference from income in finance for the same period:
| What it says | What it means |
|---|---|
| "The report does not include incoming payments not linked to documents (deals)" | Finance has income that is not linked to a source, so this money cannot be allocated to products and clients |
| "Total income for the period… some amounts have not been paid yet" | The report total is higher than the incoming payments: documents have been issued but not paid yet. This happens when the payment criterion is the source status with the Any toggle on |
Access rights
Report data is shown according to your access level: you see revenue only for the records you are allowed to see. If your group does not have access to the report, you see the "No access" screen instead. Contact your administrator; see Access rights.
What to read next
- XYZ analysis: how steadily each line item sells. Together with ABC, it gives you a matrix: for example, AX is the key, stable line items, and CZ is the rare, small ones.
- Customer journey: where clients drop off on the way to payment.