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Defining Forecast Series Dates

Forecast series dates determine when each forecast of that series occurs. Create a record in the Forecast Series Dates view for each date a forecast is to be run in that series. Forecasts typically occur according to a set pattern or frequency (for example: weekly, monthly, or quarterly) determined by the Interval and Interval Period Type fields in the Forecast Series form, and include some range of revenue records (for example, January 1 through June 30).

Forecasts can be static, with the user almost always seeing the same range of dates, or rolling, with the user seeing the effective date range for the forecast move each week or month. Typically, forecasts within a series involve some set amount of time, covering a range of six months or one year.

The forecast Start Date, End Date, History View Date, and History Edit Date are established using entries in the Siebel Periods table (see About Using the Periods Table in Forecasting). While the Start Date and End Date provide the range of dates for active (future) forecasting, the History View Date and History Edit Date provide the range of dates for historical forecasting. The historical information allows the user to spot trends in opportunity, account, or product-related revenues when creating a forecast.

The Archive Date is the date on which a forecast is deemed to be completed and ready for archival in the data warehouse.

To define dates for a forecast series, complete the steps in the following procedure.

To define dates for a forecast series

1. Navigate to the Administration - Forecast screen, then the Forecast Administration view.
2. In the Forecast Series list, select the forecast series for which you want to define dates.
3. Click the Forecast Series Dates tab.
4. In the Forecast Series Dates list, add a new record and complete the necessary fields. Some fields are described in the following table.

   Field Name	Description
   Forecast Date	The date for which the forecast is created. Typically, this is the beginning or end of some logical period. Some organizations forecast on the first of every month. Other organizations forecast at the end of each week.
   Start Date	The beginning of the date range for a selected forecast. This is the first date for which Siebel Forecasting pulls revenue records into the forecast.
   End Date	The end of the date range for a selected forecast. The last date for which revenues are pulled into the forecast.
   History View Date	The first date for which forecast information appears in the forecast. The periods between this date and the History Edit Date are read-only. This allows users to view their earlier month's performance when creating a new forecast.
   History Edit Date	The first date for which forecast information is editable. Typically, the History Edit Date occurs a period or two before the Forecast Start Date. This allows a user to fill in actual revenue from the earlier period during the current forecast.
   Archive Date	The date on which to freeze a forecast snapshot completely so that the forecast: Cannot be changed at all after this date Can be pulled into the Oracle Business Intelligence data warehouse In this way, data warehouse reports remain consistent over time. Once a forecast passes its archive date, the forecast is not editable or usable, and the archive date is not editable either.

NOTE:  When you change the value in the Start Date field, the value in the End Date field is updated automatically. However, when you change the value in the End Date field, the value in the Start Date field remains the same.

TIP:   To produce multiple forecast start dates, you can copy the first record or click Add Next Date and it automatically moves the forecast date forward according to the defined interval. This only applies if it is set up as such by the Siebel administrator. For information on setting this up, see Deactivating Auto-Forecast.