Many businesses operate on a fiscal year that does not follow the standard Gregorian calendar, which runs from January 1 to December 31. A fiscal calendar allows you to align reporting with your organization's financial year instead of the default Gregorian structure. This makes it easier to compare performance across fiscal quarters, measure progress against targets, and prepare financial reports using the time periods that match your internal planning and accounting cycles.
Databox offers three calendar options to support different reporting structures. Each option determines how year-to-date, quarters, and comparisons are calculated.
This is the default calendar type. It follows the standard Gregorian calendar year, running from January 1 to December 31.
Use this option if your organization reports on a traditional calendar-year basis.
Time periods such as This Year, Year to Date, and Quarter to Date follow standard calendar definitions:
- Q1: January – March
- Q2: April – June
- Q3: July – September
- Q4: October – December
This option allows you to define a fiscal year that starts on the first day of any month.
For example, if you select Apr 1 – Mar 31, your fiscal:
- Q1 runs from April – June
- Q2 runs from July – September
- Q3 runs from October – December
- Q4 runs from January – March
Use this option if your financial planning, budgeting, or reporting does not align with the standard Gregorian year.
This option aligns fiscal quarters based on full weeks instead of calendar months. Each quarter contains a consistent number of weeks, which helps maintain comparable reporting periods year over year.
This structure is commonly used in retail, ecommerce, and operational reporting where performance is measured in weekly cycles.
For example, if your fiscal year starts on February 1 and uses week-aligned quarters:
- Q1 may run for 13 full weeks, ending on the same weekday across years
- Q2, Q3, and Q4 each contain the same number of full weeks
- Quarter comparisons align by week count instead of month boundaries
This ensures that when you compare Q1 this year to Q1 last year, both periods contain the same number of weeks and weekdays.
Week-aligned calendars may cause quarter start and end dates to shift slightly each year to preserve full-week alignment.
Follow these steps to switch from the default Gregorian calendar to a fiscal calendar.
- Go to Account Management > Company information.
- Under Account settings, locate Calendar.
- Select Custom fiscal (financial) year.
- Click Yes, change in the confirmation prompt.
- In the newly displayed Fiscal year period dropdown, choose your fiscal year range (for example, Apr 1 – Mar 31).
A custom fiscal year with week-aligned quarters allows you to align reporting by full weeks instead of calendar months. This ensures that week-based comparisons remain consistent year over year, such as comparing week 1 this year to week 1 last year.
This calendar type requires additional configuration.
To request a custom fiscal year with week-aligned quarters calendar, contact Support via chat or email at help@databox.com to begin the setup process.
Be prepared to provide the following information:
- Fiscal year definition — How is your fiscal year structured? Does it follow a 12-month cycle starting in a specific month? Is it fully week-aligned?
- Fiscal year start and end dates — Specify the first and last day of your fiscal year.
- Quarter, month, and week definitions — Explain how quarters, months, and weeks are structured within your fiscal year.
- Account scope (agency accounts only) — Indicate whether the fiscal calendar should be applied to the agency account, specific client accounts, or both.
Support will review your requirements and complete the configuration for you.
FAQ
Can each client account have a different fiscal calendar?
Yes. Fiscal calendars are configured at the account level. Each account can define its own fiscal calendar independently.
Can I switch back to the Gregorian calendar year?
Yes. You can revert your account to the standard calendar year structure at any time.
Can my fiscal year start on a date other than the 1st of the month?
No. Databox currently supports fiscal calendars that begin on the 1st day of a month. Fiscal years that start on any other date (for example, the 15th) are not supported. If your fiscal year begins on a different date, you can submit a request using our Roadmap Request form.
Does switching to a fiscal calendar change my data?
No. Switching to a fiscal calendar does not modify your raw or historical data. It only changes how time periods such as years, quarters, and year-to-date ranges are calculated and displayed in visualizations.
