How can I adjust forecasting windows and set forecasting options?

You can adjust the monthly forecast submission windows the application generated, change the criteria for including opportunities in forecasts, and set other forecasting options.

After you navigate to the Select Forecasting page, you can:

Adjust the forecast submission windows.
Set forecasting criteria.
Specify the granularity of product adjustments or disable adjustment by product entirely.
Change the chart on the landing page and turn on adjustment notes.

Navigate to the Select Forecasting Options Page

Open the task Select Forecasting Options from the Setup and Maintenance work area:

Offering: Sales
Functional Area: Sales Forecasting
Task: Select Forecasting Options

Adjust the Forecast Submission Windows

The application generates the monthly forecast submission windows using the parameters specified in the Scheduled Forecasts section.

Review and adjust the monthly forecast submission windows the application generated in the Scheduled Forecasts section of the page. Each window starts on the Territory Freeze Date and ends on the Due Date.

If you want to specify a different set of forecasting periods or want to forecast more than one quarter at a time, you can enter different parameters in the Forecast Period Parameters section. You must then regenerate the scheduled forecasts and submission windows by clicking Submit. Here's an explanation of the fields in this section:

Field	Explanation	Provided and Suggested Values
Forecast Period	Typically a quarter. Each forecast includes only those opportunities set to close in the forecast period.	Quarter
Adjustment Period	This read-only field displays the type of period you selected when you set up your accounting calendar. Typically, this is a month.	You can't edit this field.
Forecast Frequency	Enter the number of submission windows you want to generate for each forecast period.	Because you are holding a forecasting call each month and there are three months in each quarter, the value is `3`.
First Forecast Due Date	The date you want the first submission window to end relative to the forecast period. The application takes the forecast snapshot at the end of the day.	The First Forecast Due Date has the default value of `31` and the After the forecast period start date option is selected. These settings create the first forecast submission window, which ends on the last day of the first month in each quarter. The application generates the subsequent submission windows based on the number of days you enter here and in the Territory Freeze Date field.
Territory Freeze Date	The number of days before the end date when you want the submission window to start. Any sales territory changes after this freeze date are ignored and applied only to subsequent forecasting windows.	For the forecast submission windows to start at the beginning of each month, the number provided is `31`.
Number of Concurrent Forecasts	Specified how many quarters you can submit forecast for at the same time.	The default value is 1, so by default, you can forecast only one quarter at a time. Entering a 2 or a 3, makes it possible for you to submit and adjust forecasts for two or three quarters every month.
Number of Scheduled Periods	The number of forecast periods you want to view. Managers can only adjust the forecast for the current period during the submission windows you generated, but you can view the forecasts for subsequent periods.	The number of forecast periods is set to `4` (four quarters) for the whole year. You can change the number of forecast periods.

If you modified forecast period options, then click Submit.

The application runs a process to regenerate the forecasting periods and updates your forecasts. The Select Forecasting Options page is unavailable until the processes completes. When the process completes, the generated submission windows appear in the Scheduled Forecasts region.
Click Submit when you are done.
The application automatically generates new submission windows at the end of each quarter. You must continue to manually adjust these windows as they are generated.

Set Forecasting Criteria

The application includes in a quarterly forecast any opportunities that close within the quarter and match the forecast criteria you set in this section.

By default, the application includes opportunities with a win probability greater than or equal to 70 percent. You can change the probability to include or exclude more opportunities. It's a good idea to specify a probability that matches the default probability of the appropriate sales stage in your sales method.

Note: By default, the win probability is set at the opportunity level. To forecast at the level of individual revenue lines, you can expose the win probabilities for the lines in the Edit Opportunity page using Application Composer.
Selecting the Enable Forecast Criteria Override option makes it possible for salespeople or their managers to include or exclude an opportunity from a forecast while editing regardless of its win probability. If you select the option, then salespeople can make a selection from the Include in Forecast list while editing an opportunity.
Select the Enable nonrevenue forecasting option if you want to generate separate forecasts for overlay territories.

Specify the Granularity of Product Adjustments or Disable Adjustment by Product Entirely

By default, sales managers see the Products tab on the Forecasts page and can adjust forecasts by product. You can make these changes:

Specify number of sales catalog levels sales managers can adjust in the Product Hierarchy Depth field. By default, managers can adjust product groups up to two levels below the catalog root.
Hide the Products tab and disable adjustments by product entirely, by deselecting the Enable Product Totals option.

Change the Chart on the Landing Page and Turn on Adjustment Notes

The Forecasts landing page displays a Forecast Overview chart that compares your forecast with won revenue and open pipeline. It also displays a second bar chart that shows your forecast by time periods. You can replace the second chart with a chart comparing the forecast and quotas. You can also enable managers to add notes about their forecast adjustments.

To display the forecast to quota comparison chart instead of the forecast by time periods bar chart, make these selections:
- In the Metrics section of the Select Forecasting Options page, select the Quota option.
- In the Additional settings section, deselect the Enable Forecast Trend Graph option.
If you want to enable sales managers to add notes when they adjust forecasts, select the Enable Adjustment Notes option in the Additional Settings section. Sales managers can add adjustment notes for each forecast item. They can also create and edit a single adjustment note for summary territory adjustments or a note for summary product adjustments.