Mapping Units & Frequency
This article explains how to map imported series to the correct units and frequency in Model Reef and how this affects your model.
You will learn:
How units and frequency work together.
How to confirm or override detected settings.
How imported frequency interacts with model base frequency.
Common patterns for annual, quarterly and monthly data.
Units and frequency overview
Every imported series has two key properties:
Units
What each number represents in scale, for example full currency units, thousands, millions, or percentages.
Frequency
How often a value is recorded, for example yearly, quarterly, monthly or weekly.
Units affect the size of values. Frequency affects the time granularity.
Getting both correct ensures that:
Historical values appear in the right periods at the right scale.
Forecast logic builds on a consistent base.
Statements and charts compare like with like.
Confirming units
Model Reef will propose units based on header and value patterns (see Unit Detection). In the mapping step you should:
Confirm that currency values are in the expected scale (for example dollars, thousands or millions).
Confirm that percentage series are treated correctly.
Correct any misdetected units before completing the import.
The chosen unit scale is applied once at import time when creating the Data Library entry.
Confirming frequency
Model Reef will infer frequency from the pattern of dates or period labels (see Date Column Detection). In the mapping step you should:
Confirm whether the series is annual, quarterly, monthly or weekly.
Ensure the detected frequency matches how you intend to use the data.
If the model base frequency is different, Model Reef will resample internally, but it is still important to describe the original data correctly.
Interaction with model base frequency
Examples of how imported frequency interacts with a model's base frequency:
Annual data into a monthly model
Annual values will be associated with the relevant year and spread or allocated over the months for comparison and certain types of analysis.
Monthly level drivers and variables can still operate at higher resolution.
Quarterly data into a monthly model
Quarterly values can be treated as quarterly anchors with monthly interpolation or simply held flat within the quarter, depending on how you later build drivers and formulas.
Monthly data into a quarterly or annual model
Monthly values are aggregated into quarterly or annual totals for reporting.
Historical trends can be preserved even if the reporting view is coarser.
The key principle is that Model Reef respects both the imported data’s original frequency and the model’s base frequency when generating statements and charts.
Handling mixed frequencies
Sometimes one import batch contains:
Annual summary statements.
Quarterly management packs.
Monthly operational tables.
In such cases it is often clearer to:
Import each table or sheet separately with its correct frequency.
Map each series in the Data Library with accurate units and frequency.
Use variables and drivers to integrate them into a coherent model.
Avoid trying to force all series in a mixed frequency table to share one incorrect frequency just for convenience.
If you force an incorrect frequency across mixed data to simplify import, you risk misaligned historical values and incorrect driver behaviour downstream.
Practical tips
When in doubt, check the original report and confirm whether values are per year, per quarter or per month.
Be consistent about how you handle annual versus quarterly imports across related models.
Review a few key variables after import to make sure values land in the correct periods and scale.
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