Creating a Forecast

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

To create a forecast

1. Navigate to the Forecasts screen.

2. In the Forecasts list, add a new record and click the Forecast Series select button.

3. In the Pick Forecast Series dialog box, select the forecast series you are basing this forecast on, and then click OK.

4. Click the Forecast Date select button.

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

6. 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. Some fields are described in the following table.

   Field Name	Description
   Forecast Date	Indicates the start range of the forecast.
   Forecast Series	Indicates the forecast series this forecast is based on.
   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.
   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.
   Forecast Revenue	Read-only. The sum of the revenues included in this forecast, that is, the total forecast revenue.
   Total Adjustment By Subordinate	Read-only. The sum of all revenue adjustments made by all subordinates in this forecast for this manager.
   Best Case	Read-only. A best case estimate of what revenue will be produced by an opportunity.
   Expected Revenue	Expected Revenue = Win Probability * Revenue / 100.
   Updated	Read-only. Indicates the date and time the forecast was last changed.
   Status	Choose from Pending, Active, and Submitted.
   Worst Case	Read-only. A worst case estimate of what revenue will be produced by an opportunity.
   Cost	Read-only. Expense associated with an opportunity.
   Margin	Read-only. A calculated field that displays the revenue figure minus the cost.

7. Drill down on the forecast record to view revenue details.

8. Drill down on each revenue item to view further information.

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 Deactivating Auto-Forecast.