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Siebel Forecasting Guide > Forecasting >

Creating a Forecast

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A forecast is a snapshot of revenues over time. The following procedure explains how to create a forecast.

To create a forecast

From the application-level menu, choose View > Site Map > Forecasts > My Forecasts.
In the Forecasts list, click the menu button, and then click New Record.
Click the Forecast Series select button.
In the Pick Forecast Series dialog box, select the forecast series you are basing this forecast on, and then click OK.
Click the Forecast Date select button.

NOTE:  By default, when a forecast is issued for the first time, the Siebel application uses the system date as well as the date for the master forecast and bases the forecast on the nearest future date. For instance, the end user creates a master forecast, named Revenue, and enters three master forecast dates: 05/01/2001, 06/01/2001, and 07/01/2001. If the end user forecasts on 5/22/01, then the forecast is for the period 06/01/2001. If the end user forecasts on 06/01/2001, then the forecast is for the period 06/01/2001. Forecasting always uses a future date. End users can override the forecast date by changing it. End users can even change one that is for a date that has already passed, and then generate the forecast.

In the Pick Forecast Date dialog box, select the forecast date you want to apply to this forecast, and then click OK.

Step off the forecast or save the record to generate the forecast.

The forecast record's revenue fields (revenue, cost, margin, and expected revenue) are calculated. See the following table for more information about what information is contained in each field:

Field Name	Comments
Forecast Date	Indicates the start range of the forecast.
Forecast Series	Indicates the forecast series this forecast is based on.
Owner	Indicates the person who owns or is responsible for this forecast.
Position	Read-only. Indicates the position of the owner of this forecast.
Organization	Read-only. Indicates what organization the owner of this forecast belongs to.
Total Forecast Revenue	Read-only. The sum the revenues included in this forecast.
Cost	Read-only. Expense associated with an opportunity.
Margin	Read-only. A calculated field that displays the revenue figure minus the cost.
Best Case	Read-only. A best case estimate of what revenue will be produced by an opportunity.
Worst Case	Read-only. A worst case estimate of what revenue will be produced by an opportunity.
Status	Choose from Pending, Active, and Submitted.
Created By	Read-only. Indicates the name of the person who created the forecast. In some cases the owner of a forecast is not the creator of the forecast.
Submitted By	Read-only. Indicates the name of the person who submitted the forecast.
Updated	Read-only. Indicates the date and time the forecast was last changed.

NOTE:  When a manager forecasts, the application automatically creates forecasts for subordinates who are listed as participants of that series that have not already been forecasted. To disable this feature, see Inactivating Auto-Forecast (Administrator).

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