Formula agent

View how to trace any number to its source, read complex formulas in plain English and add new formulas without learning syntax.

How the formula agent works in Drivetrain

Start from any number or formula in your model. From there, you can trace it, change it or ask about it, in whatever order you need.

Explore how a metric is built

Open any metric to see its structure, the accounts that feed it and its values across every period.

Revenue to gross profit walk in Drivetrain with the right-click menu open on a metric, showing the Show calculations option

Show the calculation behind a single number

Pick one value in one period and ask Drivetrain how it was calculated.
See the formula alongside the actual input values for that period, so a sudden change has a clear explanation.

Drive AI panel breaking down how a headcount value was calculated, next to the headcount forecast model

Drill down to the source records

Break any input down one level at a time until you reach the data behind it.
When a value comes from a connected dataset, see the rule applied and the records that make up the total.

Drive AI drilling an attrition value down to the dataset rule and records behind it

Explain a complex formula in plain English

Ask Drivetrain to explain any formula, including ones you didn't write.
Get a short, readable walkthrough of what the formula takes in, how it combines the inputs and in what order.

Drive AI explaining a bonus formula in plain English beside the payroll model

Spot what a formula needs to work

Alongside the explanation, Drivetrain flags conditions to watch for, such as a formula that needs a starting value in its first period.

Formula explanation with a list of conditions to watch for, beside the payroll model

Create a new formula from a plain-English request

Describe the calculation you need, and Drivetrain writes a valid formula using metrics already in your model.

Drive AI adding a newly generated total payroll cost formula as a line in the payroll model

How Drivetrain simplifies formula auditing

See where any number comes from, down to the records behind it.
Understand formulas someone else built, explained in plain English.
Add new calculations by describing them, without learning formula syntax.

FAQs

Can Drivetrain show how a specific number in a model was calculated?

Yes. Choose any value and Drivetrain shows the formula behind it, along with the actual input values for that period.

How far down can Drivetrain trace a number?

To the data underneath it. You can break an input down level by level, and when a value comes from a connected dataset, Drivetrain shows the rule applied and the records that make up the total.

Can Drivetrain explain formulas that someone else built?

Yes. Drivetrain describes any formula's logic in plain English, including what each part does and the order it runs in. It also flags conditions to watch for, such as a formula that needs a starting value.