Creating and Updating KPIs

Learn how to create, manage, and update your organization's KPIs.

Written by Tommy Mains

Updated at September 5th, 2025

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Table of Contents

Video Overview of the Data Tool Understanding User Permissions Adding KPIs to Your Team's Scorecard Editing KPIs Managing Measurables Across Teams Maintaining Your KPIs Inputting Scorecard Data, Best Practices Adding Notes to a KPI's Entry KPI Examples Troubleshooting Common Issues Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Any licensed user can update KPIs on one of their team's Scorecards, but only users with Manager or higher permissions can create new KPIs and organize Scorecards.

 

Video Overview of the Data Tool

 

Understanding User Permissions

Before working with Measurables, it's important to understand what your role allows you to do:

  • Admin, Owner, and Coach Roles: Complete access to create, edit, and manage Measurables across all teams.
  • Manager Role: Full editing power for all teams they're assigned to, including creating and managing Measurables.
  • Team Member/Managee Role: Can input data for assigned Measurables but cannot create new ones.
  • Observer Role: View-only access to Scorecard data from their assigned teams.

Need a role change? Contact your Admin or Owner to update your permissions through the Directory tool.

 

Adding KPIs to Your Team's Scorecard

There are two ways to populate your team's Scorecard with KPIs:

  • Creating brand new KPIs.
  • Adding KPIs already created by your organization.

 

Creating New KPIs

To create a new KPI in a group:

  1. Click the New KPI button on the top right of the group's card.
  2. Select Create New KPI from the dropdown.
  3. Enter the title and other information.
  4. Click Save.

 

Can't see the "New KPI" button? This means your user role doesn't have permissions to create KPIs. Contact your Admin or Owner for role access.

📖 Read this article to learn about smart KPIs.

 
 

Adding Existing KPIs

To add a KPI from another team's Scorecard or a previously created KPI to your team's Scorecard, click Add existing KPI at the bottom left of the card, or:

  1. Click the New KPI button on the top right of the group's card.
  2. Click Add Existing KPI.
  3. Search for and then click the KPI you wish to add.
  4. Click Add.
 
 

 

Editing KPIs

To edit an existing KPI:

  1. Click Data from the left navigation.
  2. Select a team from the dropdown.
  3. Click on a KPI's title to open its details card.
  4. Change details like title, description, unit of measurement, goal information, or owner.
  5. Click Save.

 

Learn how to use your existing KPIs as variables to automatically calculate KPI data from the article below.

Read More

 

 

Managing Measurables Across Teams

Organizations often need to share essential metrics across multiple teams or move Measurables between departments. Here's how to manage measurables efficiently in these scenarios.

Sharing Measurables Across Teams

When you want the same Measurable to appear on multiple team Scorecards with shared data:

  1. Navigate to the target team's Scorecard using the Team dropdown.
  2. Click New Measurable and select Add Existing Measurable.
  3. Search for and select the desired Measurable.
  4. Click Add.

Important: Updates to shared Measurables reflect across all teams where they're displayed. Historical data and user assignments are preserved.

 
 

Moving Measurables Between Teams

To transfer a Measurable from one team to another:

  1. Navigate to the target team where the Measurable should be moved.
  2. Add the Measurable to the appropriate group.
  3. Remove the Measurable from the original team by deleting it from that team's Scorecard.

Note: The Measurable remains available in the organization's Measurable Manager and can be added to other teams as needed.

 
 

Removing Measurables from Specific Teams

To remove a Measurable from a particular team without deleting it entirely:

  1. Navigate to the group where the Measurable is located.
  2. Click the checkbox on the far left of its row.
  3. Click the Select action button at the top of the group or right-click the Measurable.
  4. Select Remove from group from the options shown.

Note: The Measurable remains available in the organization's Measurable Manager and can be added to other teams as needed.

 
 

 

Maintaining Your KPIs

Inputting Scorecard Data, Best Practices

All licensed users can be assigned KPIs and input data for any of their team's KPIs. You can input scores for your KPIs from the My 90 page or the Data tool page. Your My 90 workspace shows all the KPIs you own across every team. 

To add scores in My 90

  1. Click My 90 from the left navigation.
  2. Scroll to the Scorecard section.
  3. Type in your scores to the corresponding KPI and reporting period cell.
    1. Click the Period Interval dropdown to access your Monthly, Quarterly, and Annual Scorecards.

To enter scores using the Data tool

  1. Click Data from the left navigation.
  2. Choose a team from the Team dropdown.
  3. Choose a Scorecard (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual).
  4. Locate the KPI.
  5. Type the score in the reporting period cell.

Navigation Tips

  • Use Tab to move one cell to the right
  • Use Shift + Tab to move one cell to the left
  • Right-click any cell to set custom goals or add notes
  • Double-click column headers to auto-resize them based on content length

 

Adding Notes to a KPI's Entry

All licensed users can add notes to KPIs. Having notes available to provide extra context for a KPI's progress over time helps save time in meetings by having documentation readily available.

To add a note to a KPI:

  1. Click Data from the left navigation.
  2. Choose your team from the dropdown.
  3. Choose a Scorecard (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual).
  4. Right-click a cell.
  5. Click Set custom Goal or note.
  6. Write your note.
  7. Click Save.

 

Editing any instance of a KPI changes it on every Scorecard.

 

 

KPI Examples

Ninety's leadership team recommends having every Seat in the organization own 3-5 KPIs. While KPIs can look different depending on your industry and many other factors, we wanted to offer some examples.

 

Net profit example

To create a pre-calculated metric tracking your company's Net Profit, you can create a smart KPI using pre-existing KPIs tracking your Total Revenue and Total Expenses over a given time period.

Step 1

First, you'll need to decide the time scope for your Net Profit KPI by selecting one of the following Scorecards:

  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Annual

Step 2

Next, create KPIs for Total Revenue and Total Expenses.

  1. Click Data from the left navigation.
  2. Click the desired Scorecard to add the KPIs to (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual).
  3. Click New KPI.
  4. Write the KPI's title.
  5. Add the KPI's owner using the person icon on the top left of the details card or with the corresponding dropdown.
  6. Write a goal for the KPI.
  7. Click Save.
  8. Populate any number of reporting periods for each KPI.

Step 3

Finally, create the Net Profit smart KPI.

  1. Click New KPI.
  2. Add a title, goal, and accountable team member.
  3. Toggle on Smart KPI.
  4. Click Add KPI.
  5. Click your Total Revenue KPI from the list.
  6. Click the minus (-) sign.
  7. Click Add KPI.
  8. Click your Total Expenses KPI from the list.
  9. Click Save.

The new KPI will automatically calculate your Net Profit for every reporting period, using data from the previous two KPIs.

 
 

Expenses as a percentage of revenue Example

To create a pre-calculated metric tracking your company's expenses as a percentage of revenue, you can create a smart KPI using pre-existing KPIs tracking your Total Revenue and Total Expenses over a given time period.

Step 1

First, you'll need to decide the time scope for your Expenses as a Percentage of Revenue KPI by selecting one of the following Scorecards:

  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Annual

Step 2

Next, create KPIs for Total Revenue and Total Expenses.

  1. Click Data from the left navigation.
  2. Click the desired Scorecard to add the KPIs to (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual).
  3. Click New KPI.
  4. Write the KPI's title.
  5. Add the KPI's owner using the person icon on the top left of the details card or with the corresponding dropdown.
  6. Write a goal for the KPI.
  7. Click Save.
  8. Populate any number of reporting periods for each KPI.

Step 3

Finally, create the Expenses as a Percentage of Revenue smart KPI.

  1. Click New KPI.
  2. Add a title, goal, and accountable team member.
  3. Toggle on Smart KPI.
  4. Click Add KPI.
  5. Click your Total Expenses KPI from the list.
  6. Click the division (/) sign.
  7. Click Add KPI.
  8. Click your Total Revenue KPI from the list.
  9. Click the multiply (*) sign.
  10. Click Add Number
  11. Type in “100”.
  12. Click the check mark or press your enter/return key.
  13. Click Save.

The new KPI will automatically calculate your Expenses as a Percentage of Revenue for every reporting period, using data from the previous two KPIs.

 
 

 

Troubleshooting Common Issues

I can't see "New Measurable" button: Check your user role permissions with an Admin or Owner.

Measurable not appearing in search: Ensure you're searching across the correct organizational scope and that you have access to the source team.

Data not syncing between teams: Shared Measurables update in real-time; refresh your browser if data isn't appearing.

Need Excel-like navigation: While our current navigation uses Tab/Shift+Tab, we're continuously improving the user experience based on feedback.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What does it mean to own a Measurable?

To “own” a Measurable means to be accountable for its success. Each Measurable’s owner has their profile picture featured on the Scorecard. Measurable owners should create an Issue about their Measurable whenever it’s off track, needs updating, or has consistently surpassed its target.

 
 

How do I change a Measurable's owner?

There are two ways to change a Measurable’s owner:

  1. Click the Measurable to open its details card.
  2. Click the profile photo on the top right of the card.
  3. Hover over a Seat from the dropdown.
  4. Click one of the users who occupy that Seat.

Or:

  1. Click the Measurable to open its details card.
  2. Click the Measurable Owner dropdown toward the bottom of the details card.
  3. Choose a Managee.
  4. (Optional) Select the relevant Seat from the Seat dropdown if this user sits in multiple Seats.
 
 

What currencies are supported in the Scorecard?

A Measurable using currency for its goal can use one of the following symbols:

  • $
  • €
  • £
 
 

What about OKRs, or how can I use a Scorecard to monitor my OKRs?

Objectives and Key Results (OKR) is a popular framework for focusing resources on completing specific goals. Our users can capture their OKRs as Rocks or goals in their team's Vision and turn several of the listed key results into Measurables to monitor on their Scorecard.

For example, if you're projecting an incoming growth and hiring period, you may want to ensure your onboarding process is effective, so you could have a version of the following OKR: 

Objective: We will improve our onboarding process by the end of the quarter.
Key Results: 

  • Conduct stay interviews with existing team members.
  • Create Seat-specific onboarding checklists.
  • Obtain above 90% completion rates on onboarding checklists.

All three of these key results can be turned into Measurables. Here's an example of a Measurable from the first key result:

  1. Stay Interviews
    1. Description: Complete a stay interview with each team member to inform new onboarding processes. Our goal is to conduct five interviews each week throughout the quarter.
    2. Unit: Number
    3. Goal: 5
    4. Goal orientation: Greater than or equal to goal
 
 
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