How to Calculate Total Cost in Power BI
Calculating total cost in Power BI involves using measures and aggregating data. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Open Power BI and load your data source.
- Create a new measure by going to the “Modeling” tab and clicking on “New Measure”.
- Name your measure, for example, “Total Cost”.
- Enter the formula to calculate the total cost. This formula will depend on the structure of your data, but generally, you’ll need to multiply a unit cost by a quantity or volume.
- For example, if you have a “Unit Cost” column and a “Quantity” column, the formula for total cost would be:
Total Cost = SUM('Table'[Unit Cost] * 'Table'[Quantity]) - Once you’ve entered the formula, click on “Check Formula” to make sure it doesn’t contain any errors.
- Click on “Apply” to save the measure.
- You can now add the “Total Cost” measure to your visuals, such as tables or charts, to display the calculated total cost.
Here’s an example:
| Product Name | Unit Cost | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Product A | 10 | 5 |
| Product B | 8 | 3 |
| Product C | 15 | 2 |
To calculate the total cost for the above example, you would use the formula:
Total Cost = (10 * 5) + (8 * 3) + (15 * 2) = 50 + 24 + 30 = 104
In Power BI, you can create visuals to show this total cost, such as a card visual that displays the value “104”.