INTRODUCTION
Before logging into IMPLAN, users must first have valid and active credentials. Valid IMPLAN credentials consist of two components: a username and a password, both of which are exclusive to each individual user and may not be shared across individuals or businesses. To acquire a username and password, there must already be an active IMPLAN data subscription in place. To purchase a data subscription, contact us directly at sales@implan.com.
LOGGING IN
The process begins at the login screen. This is where users will enter their email address and password. If the user has not logged into IMPLAN before, there will be a Sign Up option on the login screen that will direct the user to create a username and password in order to access the online application.
Then, click the Log In button. If the user has already logged into IMPLAN in the past, just click on the appropriate email address, and then the browser will be directed straight into IMPLAN.
To change a password, click Not your account? and then click Change or reset password.
Upon doing so, users will arrive at the Password Reset screen. Click into the empty field that says “yours@example.com” and enter the email address associated with the account. Click Send Email. This will automatically return the user to the Login screen and a message stating “We’ve just sent you an email to reset your password” will appear. Check your email inbox for a message from support@implan.com. Use the provided link to create and confirm a new password. If you don’t see the email, check your spam folder before reaching out to support@implan.com.
MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION
IMPLAN has introduced more security for your IMPLAN accounts. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) will require all IMPLAN users to use two credentials to verify their account upon login. IMPLAN’s MFA is similar to most other sites, providing various ways that users can add MFA. For information on how to activate it, please visit our article How to configure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for IMPLAN Cloud.
IMPLAN DASHBOARD
Once logged in, the first stop is the IMPLAN Dashboard. Here sit Regions, Impacts, Projects, and Data Library tiles. When navigating throughout the application, clicking the IMPLAN logo in the upper left returns to this screen.
SETTING UP A PROJECT
One way to start Projects is by clicking the Project tile on the IMPLAN dashboard or by clicking Add under Recent Projects.
Clicking on the Project tile shows all previously saved Projects as well as any folders. New Projects or Folders or folders can be created by utilizing the two teal buttons on the top right of the screen New Folder and New Project.
To start a new Project, click New Project. This prompts a pop-up asking for a Project name and Folder, Industry Set, Aggregation Scheme, and Household Set. After making your selections, click Create Project. IMPLAN will automatically navigate to the Region Screen. The new Project will now appear on the Project List or within the specified Folder.
To organize your projects into folders, click New Folder. This triggers a popup asking for a name for the New Folder, then click Save. The new folder will now appear at the top of the Project List. Add existing Projects to this folder by clicking the More Options icon to the right of the Project Name and selecting Move to Folder.
Select which folder into which to move the project. This works the opposite way as well. To remove a Project from a folder, select All Projects to place it back into the general Project List.
After clicking Save, open the New Folder and see the New Project inside of it.
Working within this new folder, there are up to five layers past the All Projects list. That is, folders can exist with up to four layers of additional folders contained within them. Folders cannot be moved to another folder contained within itself.
SELECTING A REGION
The process of selecting a Region begins at the IMPLAN Dashboard and ends at the Impacts screen.
IMPLAN needs to know the specific regional economy in which the study's real-life event will occur. So, every analysis in IMPLAN requires a Region. Thankfully, IMPLAN makes this extremely easy to do by offering a large interactive map. Start by clicking Regions from the home screen which opens up the map of the U.S.
Select a Region by either clicking on the appropriate place on the map or using the search bar in the upper left of the screen. In the search bar, type in U.S. Total or the names of states, counties, MSAs, zip codes, or congressional districts. After selecting a Region, it will become a darker shade of teal on the map and the Region name, Data Year and basic data will populate on the right side of the screen in the Selected Region tile.
Next, click the Create Impact button.
This will create a pop-up asking for the Project name. Next, click Save.
After saving, the Impacts screen opens.
CREATING AN EVENT
Now on to entering our data. An Event is arguably the most important element of any impact analysis performed with IMPLAN. When estimating the effects of an economic activity, IMPLAN relies on Events to communicate the unique quantitative characteristics of the activity.
IMPLAN calculates impact results using as few as just one data point. However, the less you tell IMPLAN about a given event, the less it knows. And the less it knows, the more it has to assume. And the more it has to assume, the less reliable its results can ultimately be in providing insights. So, it’s always best to provide IMPLAN with as much information about each Event as possible to get the most valuable results.
The page opens with a single blank event when you navigate to the Impacts screen.
In this Event, first enter a title. Make it something memorable and explanatory so you can keep track of your different Events. After naming the Event, click into the Type menu and select an Event Type from the dropdown list. The options are: Industry Output, Industry Employment, Industry Employee Compensation, Industry Proprietor Income, Industry Impact Analysis (Detailed), Industry Contribution Analysis, Commodity Output, Labor Income, Household Income, Industry Spending Pattern, and Institutional Spending Pattern. The differences between the Event Types can be found here. The most basic and frequently used are the Industry Events (Output, Employment, Employee Compensation, and Proprietor Income) and Industry Impact Analysis.
After selecting a Type, click into the Specification menu and select from the dropdown list. The options available will vary depending on which Event Type you selected from the Type menu. Industry Events will give you a list of the 546 Industries. If the name of the specification is known, type it directly into the Specification box.
After selecting a Specification, click into the Value field and enter the data point. For an Industry Employment Event, for example, the Value would be the total employment. The Advanced Menu button on the right of the Value field can be accessed to allow for further customization, duplication or deletion of the Event.
To move the event into your group, click on the event handle which will turn the event blue. Then drag it (click and hold) over to the right side of the screen into your group. When the group turns blue, drop the event by releasing the click.
Notice when adding an event to the group on the right, the little circle in the upper right of the Region Tile box changes from a 0 to a 1. This indicates how many events are in this group. Multiple Events can be dragged into a single group.
New Groups can also be added from this screen by clicking on Add New Group. Give your new group a title and select the Region for the blank drop-down menu. Because any Region available to you from the Region field of a group, this gives the alternative path of starting your Project directly from the Impacts screen when you do not need to access additional features and data available in the Regions screen. The Dollar Year will default to the current calendar year and the Data Year will default to the most current year of data available in IMPLAN, unless changed by the user through User Preferences. The menu icon allows users to Scale, Duplicate, or Remove Groups.
Now that the event is all set up in the group, click Run! IMPLAN will show how many iterations are Queued, In Progress, and Ready in the box in the lower right corner of your screen. When the analysis is finished, View Results will appear in the lower right. Clicking View Results will automatically route to the Results screen.
EXAMINING YOUR RESULTS
The Results screen will default to the Impact Results Overview showing: Economic Indicators by Impact, Tax Results, and Top 5 graphs. Scrolling down on the page shows the Top 15 Industries by Estimated Growth Percentage and a table of Industries by Estimated Growth Percentage.
IMPLAN will default to showing you results for every Region, Group and Event in the current calendar year Dollar Year. You can change what you see by clicking on Filters. The Dollar Year will default to the current calendar year, unless changed by the user through User Preferences.
Dig deeper into the Output, Employment, Value Added, and Tax, Occupation, and Environmental Results by clicking on the ribbon menu along the top of the screen.
These results show the economic impact of 1,000,000 new employees working in Sector 101 - Mayonnaise, dressing, and sauce manufacturing will have a total effect of 2,630,718.15 jobs, $142.1B in Labor Income, $302B in Value Added, and $949.3B in Output in North Carolina in 2023 Dollars.
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Written August 30, 2023