One of the main ways DLAR reporting tracks store performance is through activations.

Store level activations are a key focus for store health and productivity - and very telling of how well a store is executing the promotions available.

Because of this, DLAR displays a few metrics that are meant to help drive activations throughout the month. One number that is key to this is Projection.

Your Projection number is the number of activations you are predicted to hit if your month continues along its current trajectory. Projection is calculated using the formula below:

For example, if on the 21st of September your store had 42 activations, your projection would be: 42/21 x 30 = 60

In short, Projection averages your MTD activations to help you predict where you will end up at the end of the month.

Ideally, your Projection number should be the same or higher than your monthly activations goal. This would tell you that you are on track to meet or surpass your goal. If your Projection number is below where you want to be towards the end of the month, then you may have some additional work to do.

Projection can be misleading, though. If your projection is high or low at the very beginning of the month, it wouldn't be fair to judge the entire month on the performance of just a couple days. Checking Projection mid-month can give you a better idea of where you may end up.

Elevate GO has several reports that help you track your store activity in various ways. If you find Projection is low mid-month, you may want to take a look at the Calendar report or the Daily Sales Dashboard to see which days saw more traffic and which days saw less. This may help you spot weekly trends so you can capitalize on busier days with additional staffing or special promotions to help drive traffic on slower days.

Going back through previous months' reports may also help you spot trends. Elevate GO carries historical DLAR data back to April of 2019, so it may be worth taking a deeper dive into your previous months daily reports to see if certain days or weeks of the month need more staff on hand to capitalize on higher payment traffic.

You can find your Projection numbers within your DLAR report within Elevate GO. You'll see Projection displayed in the top widgets AND in the columns below.

On DLAR, You will also see the Average Projection widget which will show you average projection across multiple locations.

If you'd like to track monthly Projection trends, head over to the Projections report which will show you a graph of Projection trends over the past 4 months by default, or by any span you choose in the filters at the top of the report.

Looking for more ways to use Elevate GO reporting to hit your goals? Check out our Sales Metrics & Reporting collection.