Top Use Cases for Running Totals in Power BI

PowerBI Course.

Running totals, also known as cumulative totals, are a powerful analytical tool in Power BI that provide insight into the accumulation of a measure over time or another dimension.

Use Cases-

1. Sales and Revenue Tracking

• Use Case: Tracking cumulative sales or revenue over time to see growth trends and seasonal patterns.
• Example: Displaying cumulative monthly sales to visualize the total sales progression throughout the year.

2. Expense and Budget Monitoring

• Use Case: Monitoring cumulative expenses against a budget over time to identify overspending or underspending.
• Example: Showing a running total of expenses to track how much of the budget has been utilized.

3. Inventory Management

• Use Case: Tracking inventory levels over time to ensure adequate stock levels and avoid stockouts.
• Example: Cumulative inventory levels are tracked by deducting sales from initial stock and adding new purchases.

4. Customer Acquisition and Retention

• Use Case: Monitoring the cumulative number of new customers acquired or retained over a period.
• Example: A running total of new customer sign-ups to analyze growth trends and marketing campaign effectiveness.

5. Project Management and Progress Tracking

• Use Case: Measuring the cumulative progress of a project or tasks completed over time.
• Example: Cumulative hours logged on a project to track progress and estimate completion time.

6. Financial Analysis

• Use Case: Tracking cumulative profit or loss over time to analyze financial health and trends.
• Example: Displaying a running total of net profit or loss to understand the overall financial performance.

7. Web Traffic and User Engagement

• Use Case: Analyzing cumulative web traffic or user engagement metrics over time.
• Example: Cumulative page views or unique visitors to evaluate the effectiveness of a marketing campaign.

8. Event and Ticket Sales Tracking

• Use Case: Monitoring the cumulative number of tickets sold for events.
• Example: A running total of ticket sales to track the progress toward selling out an event.

9. Production and Manufacturing

• Use Case: Tracking cumulative production output over time to measure productivity and efficiency.
• Example: Cumulative units produced in a factory to analyze production trends and identify bottlenecks.

Join My PowerBI Group.