PARALLELPERIOD() in Power BI DAX

Here’s a short description and example of PARALLELPERIOD() in Power BI DAX:


🔁 What it does:

PARALLELPERIOD() shifts the dates in the current context by a specified number of intervals (month, quarter, or year) — but keeps the same length of period.


🧮 Syntax:

PARALLELPERIOD(<dates>, <number of intervals>, <interval type>)
  • <dates> → a date column (e.g., 'DateTable'[Date])
  • <number of intervals>-1 for previous, 1 for next
  • <interval type>"month", "quarter", "year"

🧮 Example: Previous Year Sales

Sales PY = 
CALCULATE(
    SUM(Sales[Sales]),
    PARALLELPERIOD('DateTable'[Date], -1, YEAR)
)

📊 How it works:

YearMonthSalesSales PY (ParallelPeriod -1 Year)
2025Jan24,00022,000 (from Jan 2024)
2025Feb15,80013,000 (from Feb 2024)

Tip: Unlike SAMEPERIODLASTYEAR(), PARALLELPERIOD() doesn’t preserve day granularity — it just shifts the whole month/quarter/year.