Understand Fiscal Reports
How to use the 4-4-5 Fiscal Calendar Report for period-based financial analysis with configurable fiscal years and prior-year comparison.
The 4-4-5 Fiscal Calendar Report divides your year into 12 periods grouped into four quarters, following the 4-4-5 week pattern commonly used in retail and hospitality. Each quarter contains three periods of 4 weeks, 4 weeks, and 5 weeks respectively. This structure ensures every period contains complete weeks, making comparisons between periods and years more accurate than calendar-month comparisons.
Before you begin
- You need at least one full fiscal year of data for the report to be useful. It works with partial years, but comparison columns will show gaps.
- Know when your fiscal year starts. Many businesses use January, but seasonal businesses may use April, October, or another month. You can configure this in the report.
Steps
- In the sidebar, expand Reports and click 4-4-5 Fiscal.
- Configure the report:
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year | The fiscal year to analyze. | Current calendar year |
| Fiscal Year Starts | The calendar month your fiscal year begins. For example, if your fiscal year runs April through March, select April. | January |
| Compare to prior year | When checked, the report includes prior-year data alongside each period for direct comparison. | Enabled |
- Optionally filter by Activity IDs to focus on specific activities.
- Click Apply.
Understanding the 4-4-5 pattern
A 4-4-5 calendar splits 52 weeks into 12 periods across 4 quarters:
| Quarter | Period 1 | Period 2 | Period 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | P1 (4 weeks) | P2 (4 weeks) | P3 (5 weeks) |
| Q2 | P4 (4 weeks) | P5 (4 weeks) | P6 (5 weeks) |
| Q3 | P7 (4 weeks) | P8 (4 weeks) | P9 (5 weeks) |
| Q4 | P10 (4 weeks) | P11 (4 weeks) | P12 (5 weeks) |
Each period always starts on the same day of the week and contains a whole number of weeks. This eliminates the "extra days" problem of calendar months, making period-to-period comparisons fair.
Understanding the metrics
Year summary cards
Two cards appear at the top comparing the current and prior fiscal year:
| Metric | What it means |
|---|---|
| Total Revenue | Sum of all booking revenue in the fiscal year. |
| Total Bookings | Count of bookings in the fiscal year. |
| Avg/Period | Total revenue divided by number of periods with data. Shows your average period-level revenue run rate. |
Quarter summary cards
Four cards show each quarter with:
| Metric | What it means |
|---|---|
| Revenue | Total quarterly revenue. |
| Bookings | Total quarterly booking count. |
| Growth vs PY | Percentage change compared to the same quarter in the prior fiscal year. Green for growth, red for decline. |
Period chart
A grouped bar chart compares the current fiscal year (blue) to the prior year (gray) across all 12 periods. Instantly spot which periods outperformed or underperformed.
Period detail table
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| Period | The fiscal period number (P1 through P12). |
| Quarter | Which quarter the period belongs to (Q1 through Q4). |
| Weeks | Number of weeks in this period (4 or 5). |
| Date Range | The calendar dates the period spans. |
| Revenue | Total revenue in this period. |
| Bookings | Booking count in this period. |
| PY Revenue | Revenue in the same period of the prior fiscal year. |
| Revenue Growth | Percentage change in revenue compared to the same period last year. |
Interpreting the data
5-week periods naturally have higher absolute numbers Do not compare P3 (5 weeks) directly to P1 (4 weeks) by raw totals. Instead, divide by the number of weeks to get a weekly rate for fair intra-year comparison.
Consistent quarter-over-quarter growth Healthy growth pattern. If Q4 always outperforms Q1, that reveals your seasonal cycle within the fiscal year.
Negative growth in early periods but positive later May indicate a slow start to the season. Compare to your marketing calendar -- did campaigns launch later this year?
Prior year shows zero for some periods You did not have data for those periods last year (the business may have started mid-year). Growth percentages will show 100% for these periods, which is misleading -- ignore them.
Why use 4-4-5 instead of calendar months?
Calendar months have 28 to 31 days and different numbers of weekends. February has 4 weekends one year and could have 5 the next. For a business where weekends drive most revenue, this makes month-to-month comparison unreliable. The 4-4-5 calendar fixes this by ensuring every period has the same number of weekends.
Tips
- Align your fiscal start month with your business cycle. If your busiest season is summer, starting your fiscal year in October means Q1 is your off-season (good for planning and budgeting before the busy season).
- Use this report for budgeting. The Avg/Period metric from the prior year gives you a baseline for next year's period-level targets.
- Cross-reference with the Year-over-Year Report for a calendar-month view of the same multi-year data. The two reports complement each other -- fiscal for precise operational analysis, YoY for high-level trend spotting.
Use Year-over-Year Reports
How to use the Year-over-Year Report to compare bookings, revenue, and customer growth across multiple years.
Review Operations Metrics
How to use the Operations Report to monitor cart conversion, cancellations, payment methods, accounts receivable, gift cards, and coupon effectiveness.