A quick-reference guide to the key terms and concepts used throughout Fran Metrics. If you see a word in the app or this KB that you're not sure about, check here first.
Access Token — A unique key generated by an admin that allows reports to be embedded on external websites without requiring a Fran Metrics login. Managed in Organization Settings. See Report Embedding.
Acceptable Variance — A percentage range set on a KPI that defines how far a unit's value can deviate from the benchmark before it triggers yellow color coding on scorecards. See the Color Coding & Thresholds section in KPIs.
Alert Threshold — A minimum or maximum value set on a KPI. When a unit's value falls outside this range, it is flagged in red on scorecards and can trigger alert notifications. See the Color Coding & Thresholds section in KPIs.
Auto-Fail — A setting on evaluation form fields that causes the entire evaluation to fail if the field receives a failing answer, regardless of the overall score. Used for critical compliance items. See Evaluations & Forms.
Budget & Forecast — A reporting feature that forecasts each unit's performance using its territory demographics and tracks Budget vs. Actual side by side. Forecasted values include a confidence band, and FRAN can summarize the report in plain language. Part of Fran Metrics' Predictive Analytics. See Global Reports.
Chart of Accounts (COA) — A hierarchical list of all financial accounts used by a business for bookkeeping and reporting (e.g., Revenue, Expenses, Assets). In Fran Metrics, the Standard Chart of Accounts (SCOA) feature lets organizations define a centralized COA that standardizes reporting across all units. See Standard Chart of Accounts (SCOA).
Chart Color — A custom color assigned to an individual KPI that controls how it appears in dashboard charts and visualizations. Set per-KPI in Report Settings.
Class (QuickBooks) — A QuickBooks Online feature that tags transactions by location or department. When connecting QBO, basic users select the class that corresponds to their Fran Metrics unit so only that location's data syncs. (QBO can also be connected by Location — the same pattern works for either Class- or Location-based QBO setups.)
Cohort — A grouping of units used as a comparison set in scorecards and rankings. Cohorts can be set manually or built automatically from the demographic profile of each unit's territory (a Geographic Cohort). A Default Cohort can be set so it auto-applies whenever scorecards are opened. See Global Reports.
Cohort Ranking — A report that ranks and benchmarks units against their demographic peer cohort rather than the whole network, with an AI summary and drill-down into the units inside each cohort. See Global Reports.
Confidence Band — The range shown around a forecasted value in Budget & Forecast reports that indicates how much certainty to place in that forecast. See Global Reports.