When you have a date filter applied, the total shown in a widget (for example the Target vs Planning bar, or a reporting widget) can be different from the Total row in the Sheet View – even though they are looking at the same plan.
This is expected. The two totals are calculated in different ways.
The short answer
Sheet View total adds up the full value of every entry that overlaps your date filter.
Widgets and reporting spread each entry's value across the days it runs, then only count the part that falls inside your selected date range.
So when your date range is shorter than your entries, the widget will show a smaller number than the Sheet View.
A simple example
Say you have one entry:
Campaign A, running 1 April – 30 June
Est. Cost to Client = £90,000 (that's £30,000 per month)
Now you set the date filter to April only:
| What it shows | Result |
Sheet View total | The full value of Campaign A, because the entry overlaps April | £90,000 |
Reporting widget | Only April's share of Campaign A (1 month out of 3) | £30,000 |
Both are correct — they're just answering different questions:
The Sheet View answers: "Which entries touch this period, and what are they worth in total?"
The widget answers: "How much of the cost actually falls inside this period?"
Why totals can still differ over the full date range
If you widen the filter to cover the whole plan and there's still a small difference, it's usually because some entries run outside the plan's date range.
The Sheet View still shows those entries at their full value.
The widget only counts the days that fall inside the selected range, so any days before the start or after the end are left out.
For example: an entry running 1 December – 31 January is only half inside a calendar-year filter, so the widget counts half of it while the Sheet View shows all of it.
Entries with missing or invalid dates (for example an end date before the start date) can also be left out of reporting while still appearing in the Sheet View.
How to check
Look at the date filter at the top of Media Overview. The shorter the range, the bigger the difference will usually be.
Check the start and end dates of your entries. Entries that run across several months, or that start before / end after your filter, are the ones that create the gap.
Remember the default date mode is Entry Covers — it includes any entry that overlaps the range.
💡 This is not a bug. To compare like-for-like, set the date filter to cover the entire date range of your entries. The two totals will then line up, apart from any entries that fall outside the plan's dates.