A cohort is a saved group of locations that share something in common, such as annual revenue, years in operation, state, or owner. Once saved, you can pick a cohort in reports like Benchmarks to see how that group performs, instead of selecting locations one by one.
Why use cohorts
Common uses:
- Compare locations of similar size (for example, "Revenue Under $500K Annually").
- Compare locations at a similar stage (for example, "Age: 3–5 Years").
- Give owners a fair peer group to compare their business against, without exposing other owners' individual locations.
Cohorts are dynamic. Filters like revenue and months in operation are re-checked over time, so locations move in and out of a cohort as they grow.
Finding and managing your cohorts
Select Cohorts in the left-hand menu of Insights. The Cohorts page lists every cohort saved for your brand.
| Column or control | What it shows or does |
|---|---|
| Search Cohort Names | Filters the list by name. |
| Name | The cohort's name. Click the header to sort. |
| Details | How many filters define the cohort (for example, "1 filter"). |
| Shared with Owners | "Shared" if owners can use the cohort in comparison reports. Use the filter icon to show only shared or unshared cohorts. |
| Edit | Opens the cohort so you can change its name, sharing, or filters. |
| Delete | Removes the cohort. |
| New Cohort | Opens the form to build a new cohort. |
Cohorts are managed by brand administrators. Changes are visible to other users in your brand, so check before editing or deleting a cohort others may rely on.
Creating a cohort
- On the Cohorts page, click New Cohort. A panel opens on the right.
- Enter a Name that says what the group is, such as "Revenue from $500–750K Annually."
- Decide whether to check Share with owners for comparison reports. Owners can then compare against the cohort as a whole, but can't see which locations are in it.
- Set the filters you need. Leave any filter at its default ("All") to include everything.
- Expand Preview Locations to see how many locations match, for example "Found 22 matching locations."
- Click Save Cohort.
Filter reference
| Filter | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Locations | Pick specific locations to include. Default is All Locations. |
| Owners | Limit to locations belonging to selected owners. |
| States | Limit to locations in selected states. |
| Location Tags | Limit to locations with selected tags. Choose Any to match locations with at least one tag, or All to match only locations with every selected tag. |
| Months in Operation | A from–to range of location age in months. For 3–5 years, enter 36 to 60. |
| Revenue Range | A from–to dollar range. For under $500K, enter $0 to $499,999. |
| Revenue Period | The time frame the revenue range is measured over: Previous Period, Previous 3 Periods, Fiscal Year to Date, Previous Quarter, Previous Fiscal Year, Rolling Periods, or Custom Range. For annual revenue, choose Rolling Periods and enter 12. |
| Include Holding Companies | Check to include holding-company entities, which are left out by default. |
To change a cohort later, click Edit next to it, update the fields, and click Save Cohort.
Using a cohort in a report
This example uses Benchmarks; other reports with the same location selector work the same way.
- Select Benchmarks in the left-hand menu.
- Click the small circle icon at the left of the location selector and choose Cohorts. (The other options are Locations, Owners, and States.)
- Open the selector and pick one or more cohorts. Each appears as a tag you can remove with its ×.
- Set the start and end months.
- Click Run Benchmarks.
Owners see only cohorts that have been shared with them. Results show the cohort as a group, never its individual locations.
Tips and FAQ
I see "There are no locations matching your selected filters."
No locations fit the cohort for the months you picked. Widen the date range, or edit the cohort and use Preview Locations to check the match count.
Can owners see which locations are in a shared cohort?
No. Owners can only use a shared cohort for group comparisons.
Why did my cohort's match count change?
Revenue and age filters are re-checked as new financials come in, so locations can enter or leave the cohort.
Tips
- Name cohorts after their filters ("Revenue Under $500K Annually") so everyone knows what's inside.
- Keep cohorts large enough to be meaningful; a cohort of 2–3 locations can make comparisons noisy.
- Use Location Tags with All for tight groups and Any for broader ones.
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