Comp metrics such as Comp Gross Sales Retail show how much of a plan value comes from stores that have reached their comp date. When your plan is set up correctly, Toolio calculates them for you: you plan the total, and Toolio splits it between comp stores and non-comp (spread) stores automatically.
This article explains what you need in place for that to work, what Toolio does with comp metrics behind the scenes, and how to check that everything is set up correctly. Comp metrics are linked to the metric they come from through a setting called compMetricOf.
If you are looking for how to plan comp and spread stores in Merchandise Plan, see Comp Store Planning in MP.
Use Cases
Plan or reconcile gross sales and returns in a store plan and have Toolio split the values between comp and non-comp stores.
Keep Spread Volume Retail accurate, so it reflects only the stores that are not yet comp instead of absorbing every plan value.
Report comp and non-comp results at any level of your plan, such as by category, month, or channel, without losing the store-level split.
Work out why a comp metric shows the value it does, or why it is not updating.
Key Terms
Term | What It Means |
Comp Date | The date a location becomes a comparable ("comp") store. It is a field on each location. |
Comp metric | A metric that holds only the comp portion of another metric, such as Comp Gross Sales Retail. |
Source metric | The metric a comp metric is calculated from, such as Gross Sales Retail. |
| The setting on a comp metric that names its source metric. Without it, Toolio treats the comp metric as unrelated to any other metric. |
Spread (non-comp) | Whatever is left after the comp portion is removed: the source metric minus the comp metric. |
Location-based plan | A plan that is planned by location, such as a Store Plan. |
What You Need
Comp metrics only calculate when all of the following components are in place.
Component | What It Is | Where It Comes From |
Comp Date on your locations | Every location that should be treated as spread until a certain date needs a Comp Date. | Set it on the location, or import it with the |
A location-based plan | The plan must be planned by location. In plans without a location, comp metrics have nothing to split. | Your plan setup, such as an Omni Store Plan. |
A stored source metric | The metric the comp metric is calculated from, such as Gross Sales Retail, must be a stored metric with values in the plan. | Your sales and returns imports. Calculated metrics such as net sales cannot be used as a source. |
A comp metric with | The comp metric must name its source metric. | Toolio configures this for you. Contact your Customer Success Manager to enable it. |
The comp metric on your view | Add the comp metrics you want to see to your view. | Settings > Metrics and your view layout. You do not need to add the source metric to the view. |
How Comp Metrics Work
A comp metric is linked to a source metric through compMetricOf. For example, Comp Gross Sales Units is linked to Gross Sales Units. Toolio then does the following whenever the plan is loaded.
Toolio Compares Each Week to Each Location's Comp Date
For every location and week in the plan:
If the week starts on or after the location's Comp Date, the comp metric equals the source metric.
If the week starts before the location's Comp Date, the comp metric is 0.
If the location has no Comp Date, Toolio treats it as comp.
Toolio Recalculates Comp Metrics Every Time
Comp metrics are calculated fresh each time the plan is read, so you do not type values into them. After you save a change to a source metric, refresh the page to see the updated comp values.
Toolio Rolls Comp Up to Any Level
Toolio always works out comp at the location level first, then adds it up to whatever level you are viewing. You can group your view by category, month, channel, or anything else and the comp and non-comp totals stay correct. If your view does not show locations, Toolio still uses them behind the scenes.
Spread Is What Is Left Over
Comp and non-comp always add up to the source metric, so the non-comp portion is the source metric minus the comp metric. This is how Spread Volume Retail is calculated: {gross_sales_retail} - {comp_gross_sales_retail}. As soon as a comp metric has compMetricOf set, spread stops absorbing the whole plan value.
Example
Say you plan $20,000 of Gross Sales Retail for the week starting March 3, 2026 across three stores.
Store | Comp Date | Planned Gross Sales Retail | Comp? | Comp Gross Sales Retail |
Store A | Jan 1, 2025 | $10,000 | Yes, the week is after the comp date | $10,000 |
Store B | Jun 1, 2026 | $4,000 | No, the week is before the comp date | $0 |
Store C | (blank) | $6,000 | Yes, no comp date means comp | $6,000 |
Total | $20,000 | $16,000 |
Comp Gross Sales Retail is $16,000. Spread Volume Retail is $20,000 - $16,000 = $4,000, which is Store B, the only store that is not comp yet.
Comp Metric and Source Metric Pairs
The standard set of pairs is below. Each comp metric points to the slug of its source metric. You can see slugs in Settings > Metrics.
Comp Metric | Source Metric ( |
Comp Gross Sales Units |
|
Comp Gross Sales Retail |
|
Comp Gross Sales Cost |
|
Comp Returns Units |
|
Comp Returns Retail |
|
Comp Returns Cost |
|
Net metrics such as Net Sales Retail are calculated from other metrics, so they cannot be linked directly. You get net comp by subtracting the comp returns metric from the comp gross sales metric, for example Comp Gross Sales Retail minus Comp Returns Retail.
Actuals vs. Plan
Comp values for actuals and comp values for plans come from two separate settings:
Actuals: the comp metric has its own import formula that checks the location's comp date against the sale date as sales are imported.
Plan: the comp metric's
compMetricOfsetting derives comp values from the source metric using the comp date.
Both are needed for a complete setup. If actuals show correct comp values but your plan pushes everything into spread, the comp metric is most likely missing its compMetricOf setting.
Reconciling Between Plans
When you reconcile a plan that has comp metrics, Toolio uses the comp date to decide where values go:
Comp values are spread only to locations that are comp for that week.
The remainder (the source metric minus the comp metric) is spread only to locations that are not comp for that week.
This keeps store-level values consistent with the comp and non-comp totals in Merchandise Plan.
How to Check Your Setup
Open your location-based plan and add Gross Sales Retail, Comp Gross Sales Retail, and Spread Volume Retail to a view.
Filter to a week in the future and a location with a Comp Date after that week. Its Comp Gross Sales Retail should be 0.
Filter to a location with a Comp Date before that week. Its Comp Gross Sales Retail should equal its Gross Sales Retail.
Check that Comp Gross Sales Retail plus Spread Volume Retail equals Gross Sales Retail.
If comp is 0 everywhere, or spread equals the full plan value, refresh the page and then contact your Customer Success Manager.
FAQs
Why are all my plan values landing in Spread?
The comp metric is probably not linked to its source metric. Without compMetricOf, Toolio treats the comp metric as independent, so nothing is split by comp date and the full plan value falls into spread. Contact your Customer Success Manager to have it configured.
Why is a comp metric 0 or blank in my view?
Check that the plan is location-based, that the source metric has values for those weeks, and that your locations have a Comp Date on or before the weeks you are looking at. Refresh the page after saving a change.
Do I need a formula or a read-only setting on the comp metric?
No. Do not add a formula to a comp metric, because formulas do not know about comp dates. Toolio recalculates comp metrics on every read, so no read-only setting is needed.
What happens to locations with no Comp Date?
Toolio treats a location with no Comp Date as comp for the plan calculation. Add a Comp Date to any location you want treated as a spread store.
How do I treat closed stores as non-comp?
The plan calculation looks only at the Comp Date, so it does not use any close-date rule from your import formulas. To keep a closed store out of comp, set its Comp Date equal to its close date.
Why does the comp metric not change when I edit it directly?
Comp metrics are calculated from their source metric. Edit the source metric, for example Gross Sales Retail, and the comp metric updates after you save and refresh.
Can I get Net Comp metrics?
Yes. Net comp is calculated from the comp gross sales and comp returns metrics. This requires the comp returns metrics to be set up, so ask your Customer Success Manager if they are not in your metric list.
Can I set up compMetricOf myself?
Not from the Toolio interface. It is a metric configuration that Toolio sets up, so contact your Customer Success Manager and tell them which comp metrics you want linked.