Helper variables

Helper variables are built-in functions that make it easier to work with time, conditions, and model logic. They help you write cleaner formulas without manually calculating common values like month, year, or number of time steps.

Cohort

• cohort
  Creates a cohort dimension for cohort-based modeling and analysis.

Time & Calendar

• month
  Returns the month index (Jan = 1, Feb = 2…). Useful for seasonality or month-based logic.

• quarter
  Returns the quarter (1–4). Helps apply logic specific to quarters.

• year
  Returns the calendar year of the current time step.

• daysinmonth
  Returns the total number of days in the current month.

• today
  Returns the current time step index based on today’s date.

Fiscal

• fiscalmonth
  Returns the fiscal month (1–12), based on your fiscal year settings.

• fiscalyear
  Returns the fiscal year of the current time step (requires fiscal year to be enabled).

Time Index & Model Scope

• timestep
  Returns the index of the current time step (e.g., 0, 1, 2…).

• date
  Alias of timestep; also returns the current time step index.

• numtimesteps
  Returns the total number of time steps in the model.

Model Logic

• lastActualDate
  Returns the index of the last actual date set in model settings. Useful for separating actuals vs forecast logic.

• blank
  Represents an empty value. Commonly used in conditional formulas.