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Understanding timeframes

Learn how timeframes in Databox align goals and OKRs, simplify performance tracking, and make it easier to compare results across teams.

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Timeframes define when goals and OKRs are tracked in Databox. Unlike flexible date ranges, timeframes standardize reporting periods across your company, helping teams stay aligned while maintaining consistent progress calculations.

Definition

Timeframes replace custom date ranges in goals and OKRs. You can choose from:

  • Fiscal Year (FY)
  • Half-Year (H1, H2)
  • Quarter (Q1–Q4)
  • Continuous

Timeframes make it easier to organize and review progress. They keep your goals and objectives aligned within the same reporting cycle, so you can quickly compare results across teams and track performance over time

Progress calculation

Progress is no longer tied to a goal or objective's end date. Instead, it’s defined by the success criterion you choose:

  • Reach — achieve the target value.
  • Stay above — maintain a minimum threshold.
  • Stay below — remain under a set limit.

This makes progress tracking more accurate and keeps goals and objectives relevant throughout the selected timeframe.

The way progress is calculated depends on the type of progress source selected. See the sections below for details on how progress is measured for each source.

Metric

Progress = (current metric value / target value) * 100

  • The reference value (previous period) is used as the baseline for percentage or trend-based goals.
  • For metrics where trending down is positive (such as bounce rate or churn), the logic reverses — progress improves as the metric decreases.

Manual

Progress is updated manually by the goal owner or assigned users.

Updates are entered through the Update progress action and include a value, date, and optional note. A progress history log retains all updates, owners, and timestamps for reference.

Sub-goals

Parent progress updates automatically as linked sub-goals are updated. Aggregation depends on the selected measurement type:

  • Percentage (%): Average of sub-goal completion percentages
  • Number (#) or currency: Sum of sub-goal current values / total target * 100

Only direct sub-goals contribute to a parent’s progress (one-level rollup). Sub-goals themselves can be metric-based, manual, or sub-goal–driven.

Changing a goal’s timeframe

If you update a goal or objective's timeframe:

  • The progress recalculates automatically.
  • Goals remain grouped by the new period in all pages (My Goals, Team Goals, Company Goals, OKRs).
  • Sub-goals outside a parent’s timeframe stop contributing to its progress.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still use custom date ranges for goals?

No. Custom date ranges have been replaced by timeframes. Existing goals were migrated to the Continuous timeframe by default, and you can reassign them to a specific cycle (for example, Q1 2025 or FY 2025).

What is the difference between timeframes and date ranges?

Timeframes standardize reporting periods across your organization (for example, Q1, H1, or FY 2025), while date ranges are flexible filters used in Databoards and reports. Goals and objectives now use timeframes to ensure consistent alignment and aggregation.

Still need help?

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