If you are part of an NBDA P2 Group, here are answers to your questions
Automated Email Notifications
Automated email notifications are sent on the following schedule:
- On the 10th of each month, an email will be sent to all users with worksheet permissions with a reminder to enter the previous month’s data.
- On the 15th of each month, an email will be sent to all users of a member company that have submitted less than 50% of the required fields with a request to complete the worksheet.
- On the 25th of each month, an email with a snapshot of report data and a link to month-end dashboard reports will be sent to all users with dashboard permissions.
P2 Menu
The P2 Program section in the sidebar has four links:
- The Dashboard is the collection of all of the KPI visualizations in the program. This is the page you will likely visit the most.
- The Worksheet contains input fields for the metrics to be completed
- Most are required, and some not required but still valuable.
- If your point-of-sale system is connected, most required fields will be completed for you.
- Lightspeed users, click here for instructions to connect.
- Ascend users, click here.
- If you don't have a compatible point of sale, you'll be able to enter your information manually each month.
The P2 Dashboard
Dashboard Navigation
The P2 Dashboard is a representation of how your KPIs compare to your fellow group members, calculated for each calendar month or on a rolling twelve-month basis. Select the month to view or switch to a rolling calculation using the dropdowns near the top-right of the screen.
Once selected, the dashboard will populate with the relevant data, updated live as new figures are imported from point-of-sale or added to the worksheet.
The tabs across the top of the dashboard allow quick access to the KPI categories available, starting with an Overview that displays the most important KPIs at a glance.
The Sales and Inventory tabs allow you to display each product category by KPI, or each KPI by category. Use the KPI/Category switch and dropdown to change this view.
KPI Visualizations
Each KPI is displayed in its own section.
The KPI name and value are shown at the top-left, as well as a "data richness" indicator showing what percentage of group members have completed the fields necessary to calculate this KPI. If fewer than one-third have completed it, the graph will be red; fewer than two-thirds completed, the graph will be yellow; and greater than two-thirds, green. This is a quick way to get insight into the confidence level of the comparison, measured by how much data has been made available by each member.
- The first visualization is a line chart comparing your KPI performance over time to the group average, either monthly or as a rolling twelve-month average as selected above.
- The second is a chart called a “polar area” chart. This is a way to compare member data at a glance.
- Each "slice" represents an individual member. The distance from the center is the "amplitude" of the KPI. For example, Member A with a gross margin of 45% will reach further from the center than Member B whose gross margin is 42%. The colors will correspond with the retailer name in the rank chart described below.
- When the data is "weighted", the width of the slice represents the sales volume during the selected period. When "simple" is selected, the widths will be the same.
- Finally, the group members are ranked according to their KPI for a simple evaluation, and their group's average displayed.
The Worksheet
The Worksheet page provides an easy way to verify and/or enter data to be included in the KPI calculations, with the ability to sort fields by data category or by metric by clicking the toggle at the top-right of the form.
To populate data for past months, simply click the month/year dropdown, also located in the top-right of the screen.
- This Worksheet has all the metrics listed on the left, and the previous two months displayed for reference.
- Input your information for each data point in the fields on the right.
- Remember to save your work as you go along by clicking the ‘Save’ icon.
- Metrics with a blue background and * are required. These metrics are important in calculating the KPIs that P2 has deemed most valuable.
- Review the data for accuracy and make adjustments as needed, if you have a connected point of sale. A common example is “Hours Worked” where you may have to add salaried employees’ hours if they normally are not clocking in.
If you prefer to use a spreadsheet format to enter your data, you may download your data as an Excel spreadsheet, edit it, and then re-import it into the P2 Portal. The Export/Import buttons are at the top of the worksheet
Category Definitions
P2's KPI calculations have the most relevance when the data and metrics that inform them are consistently defined across all members of the group.
Understanding that each member maintains their own data and category structure within their point-of-sale system, the intent is to filter and report data such that it can consistently be reported to P2.
Category Depth
Many sales-related KPIs offer deep levels of detail, so members are encouraged to report their data to the finest level of data possible. For example, here is how P2 defines the Non-Bike category:
If a member only has the ability to report Non-Bikes, they should.
If a member has the ability to break out Non-Bikes into Accessories, Clothing, and Parts, they should.
If a member has the ability to further break out Helmets, Locks, Lights, and Car Racks out of the Accessory category, they should.
Note: The sum of sub-categories does not always equal the parent-level total.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has access to P2?
Any of your users with the “P2 - Full Access” permission will be able to view both the raw data and the dashboards. Please review your user permissions here.
I’m lost. Where do I start?
A great place to start is the raw data. You access your raw data on the Worksheet.
What is the difference between a metric and a KPI?
For purposes of P2, a metric is a raw data point. A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a calculated number based on underlying metrics.
How do I know what data should be included for each metric?
The definitions of each metric are available here. The intent of the P2 definitions is to establish a standard so the reported metrics are as similar as possible across the group.
Since every business is run slightly differently, there may be variations in how certain products are categorized across the group. For example, some business owners may be paid as normal employees, other owners may only take distributions. When reporting payroll to the P2 program, the metric requires owners' compensation should be included, regardless of how they are paid.
If I don't offer a particular service or product, what should I put in its field in the worksheet?
Common sense might say to put $0 for any service, activity, or product you don't offer, but as a data point, 0 is a real value and will be averaged with the rest of the group, potentially throwing off the comparisons. In this case, it's better to leave the field blank, whether you're using the worksheet page or an exported Excel spreadsheet.
Leave the field blank if:
- The value is unknown, or
- Service, activity, or category is not offered
Enter a 0 in the field if:
- Service, activity, or category is offered, and
- The value is truly 0
Let's use bike fit as an example:
- If your shop doesn't offer bike fittings, you would leave the fittings field blank.
- If you offer fittings, but don't know the value, you would leave the fittings field blank.
- If you offer fittings, and none were performed, you would enter a 0 in the fittings field.
- And, obviously, if you offer fittings and know the value, you would enter the relevant amount.
Am I really expected to enter over 70 metrics?
It is recommended to complete every metric, every month. This will result in the richest, fullest dataset for comparison. If providing the detail to the subcategories is not feasible, at least populate the parent categories. For example, report an “Accessories” total even if you cannot report “Helmets”, “Locks”, or “Lights”.
The most important metrics are labeled in blue on the worksheet.
Do the best you can.
Note: If you are on a compatible point-of-sale such as Ascend or Lightspeed and have connected to RTK, much of the detailed, category-level data is automatically pulled into P2.
I entered my data, now what?
The new dashboards are “live” which means they are always up-to-date with the most current worksheet data available. Click to access your Dashboard.
What is the little green/yellow/red circle next to my KPI?
This represents the "richness" of the underlying data. A higher number means more members have reported their data and thus is a more reliable result.
What is this pie chart thing?
The “polar area” chart is a novel way to visualize the data.
- Each ‘slice’ represents an individual member.
- Distance from the center is the ‘amplitude’ of the KPI. For example, Member A with a gross margin of 45% will be further from the center than Member B whose gross margin is 42%
- The size of the slice varies depending on which mode you are toggled in (average vs. weighted according to sales volume)
This is a lot of work, is it worth it?
Being able to dive deeper into financial results is necessary to expose opportunities and highlight trouble spots. It may be a lot of work, but it will definitely be worth it. The analysis is richest when all members report to the greatest level of detail possible.