Overview
Targets are essential for understanding whether your business is on track to meet its goals. While Polar supports simple, static targets natively, many teams need custom targets—such as monthly goals or targets that vary by brand, region, or channel.
This article explains how to create custom targets in Polar using Google Sheets, and then how to use those targets to measure performance in reports and dashboards.
Native Targets vs. Custom Targets
Polar’s built-in Targets feature allows you to set static goals for metrics in the Key Indicators tab. These targets provide a simple visual indicator showing how close you are to a predefined goal.
Native Targets are best suited for:
Fixed goals that don’t change frequently
High-level tracking of a single metric
Quick visual reference in Key Indicators
Custom targets, on the other hand, are targets you define outside of Polar and bring in as data. This approach allows you to:
Create monthly or predicted targets
Update targets without editing dashboards
Break targets down by brand, region, channel, or other dimensions
Treat targets like any other metric in Polar
Custom targets become especially powerful because they can be filtered, segmented, and analyzed alongside your actual performance data.
How to Create Custom Targets Using Google Sheets
1. Start with the Custom Google Sheet template
Begin by copying Polar’s Custom Google Sheet template.
The template is designed to work seamlessly with Polar’s Google Sheets connector and includes guidance on formatting and setup.
2. Structure your Google Sheet for targets
At a minimum, your sheet should include:
A Date column (formatted exactly as required)
One or more Target columns (e.g. Target Net Sales)
Optional (but powerful) additions:
Dimension columns such as Brand, Region, or Channel
Additional target columns for other metrics
Tip: For monthly targets, enter one row per month using the first day of the month as the date. Polar will apply that target across the entire month.
3. Connect your Google Sheet to Polar
Once your sheet is ready:
Navigate to the Connectors page in Polar
Connect your Google Sheet following the steps outlined here
After syncing, your target columns will be available in Polar as metrics.
Please allow 24 hours after connecting for the targets to appear in Polar.
Using Custom Targets in Polar Reports
Once your custom targets exist in Polar, you can begin using them in reports.
Add targets to a Custom Report
Create a Custom Report and:
Add your actual metric (e.g. Net Sales)
Add the corresponding target metric from Google Sheets
This allows you to compare actuals and targets side by side in tables or charts. Targets will respect filters, views, and dimensions just like any other metric.
Measuring Performance Against Custom Targets
Custom targets are most valuable when paired with performance calculations.
Create a Custom Metric for progress vs. target
To clearly understand how close you are to your goals, create a Custom Metric using the formula below:
(Actual Metric - Target Metric) / Target Metric
This metric shows performance as a percentage above or below target and can be added to reports for quick insights.
Example use cases:
Percent to monthly revenue target
Growth vs. regional target
Brand-level performance against forecasted goals
Advanced Use Cases and Best Practices
Segment targets by dimension:
If your Google Sheet includes dimensions like region or brand, Polar will automatically match targets when those dimensions are used in reports.Use filters and views:
Targets respond to filters the same way as other metrics, allowing you to automatically see the correct targets for a selected brand or region.Keep targets easy to update:
Because targets live in Google Sheets, teams can update goals without needing to modify Polar dashboards or reports.