| What is a Forecast?
A Forecast is
an estimate of how much revenue your company can generate
in a quarter. This estimate is calculated using the Forecast
Amount - revenue that can be confidently generated
- and the Best Case Amount - revenue
from forecasts that may successfully close.
Use the Forecast tab page to create,
manage and view forecasts for your company. You can also
generate and print reports.
Forecasts Tab Page The Forecasts tab page
is divided into two sections: Featured Forecasts
and Manage Forecasts. Use the Featured
Forecasts to view your forecasts using predefined
search patterns. Manage Forecasts contains
tools to help you create and manage your forecasts.
Viewing Forecasts From the Show drop down
box you can generate a summary of forecasts based on a variety
of criteria. Choose an option from the Show
drop down box. A summary of all forecasts matching your
selection will be displayed in a few seconds. To view a
listed forecast in detail, click the View
link.
Custom Forecast ViewsSee: Creating
Custom Views
Featured Forecasts The Featured Forecasts
section displays a forecast summary. The forecasts that
are displayed depend upon the criteriachosen from the Show
drop down box. Also, you can select a letter from the alphabet
list located either above or below the forecasts currently
listed. Forecasts beginning with the letter you select will
be listed. Once shown, click the View link
associated with a listed forecast to see the forecast details.
Forecast
Data Fields
|
|
Title |
Topics
Covered |
| Month
|
The
month within the quarter you are viewing. |
| Quota
|
Amount
of revenue you are committed to closing for the month
or quarter. |
| %
Quota |
This
is the percentage of quota that you are committed
to. This is automatically calculated as Forecast Amount
divided by Quota. |
| Closed
|
Total
amount of closed/won opportunities. This amount is
automatically generated. |
Forecast
Amount |
Total
revenue you are confident of generating. This includes
closed/won opportunities as well as opportunities
within the Forecast category. This amount is automatically
generated using existing opportunity data. |
| Best
Case Amount |
This
is the total amount of revenue that might be generated.
This includes Closed/Won opportunities as well as
opportunities within the Forecast and Best Case categories.
This amount is automatically generated using existing
opportunity data. |
| Pipeline
|
The
pipeline is the total of your open opportunities.
These opportunities may or may not be won. This amount
is automatically generated using existing opportunity
data. |
|
Opportunity
Data Fields on the Forecast Details page
|
| Title
|
Topics
Covered |
| Action
|
Available
actions to perform for the opportunity, such as editing.
|
| Category
|
This
category is included in opportunities displayed when
viewing a forecast. It determines which category the
opportunity is included in when calculating a forecast.
Change the Category for each opportunity to best describe
that opportunity. |
| Opportunity
Name |
The
name given to this particular opportunity. |
| Amount
|
The
amount of revenue the opportunity is expected to generate
if won. |
| Prob.
(Probability) |
The
probability that the opportunity will be won. |
| Exp.
Amount |
This
is revenue based on the Amount and Probability fields.
|
| Stage
|
The
current stage of the opportunity. |
| Close
Date |
The
date on which the opportunity is expected to be closed.
The Close Date also determines which month the opportunity
is included in when generating a forecast. |
|
Creating a new
Forecast Quick Addition:
- Choose the Forecasts tab located
at the top of the page.
- Scroll down to the Quick Addition
section.
- Choose a Quarter and Year
to create the forecast for. The forecast will now be
automatically created. An overview of the new forecast
will now be displayed. It will be automatically populated
with Opportunities that fall within
the forecast quarter.
- Click the Edit button to begin working
wit the forecast. This takes you to the Forecast
Edit page.
- Opportunities within the specified quarter will be
displayed below the forecast details.
- Change the Category for each listed
opportunity to best describe that opportunity. Categories
for closed opportunities cannot be changed.
- Enter you Quota for each month within
the quarter.
- Click the Recalculate button to update
the Forecast Amount and Best
Case Amount columns.
- Click Save Update to save the forecast.
Detailed Addition:
- Choose the Forecasts tab located
at the top of the page.
- Click the Add Forecast button located
in the top right corner of the Featured Forecasts
section.
- Choose a Quarter and Year
to create the forecast for. The forecast will now be
automatically created. An overview of the new forecast
will now be displayed. It will be automatically populated
with Opportunities that fall within
the forecast quarter. You can also View
and Edit the listed Opportunities from
this point.
- Click the Edit button located at
the top of the Forecast to begin working with the forecast.
This takes you to the Forecast Edit
page.
- Opportunities within the specified quarter will be
displayed below the forecast calculations.
- Change the Category for each listed
opportunity to best describe that opportunity. Categories
for closed opportunities cannot be changed.
- If you wish, enter your Quota for
each month within the quarter.
- Click the Recalculate button to update
the Forecast Amount and Best
Case Amount columns.
- Click Save Update to save the forecast.
Editing, Deleting
and Printing Forecasts When forecasts are displayed
on the Forecasts tab page, click the View
link to view the forecast. You will then be able to Edit
(Update), Delete or Print
the forecast, as described below.
Edit:
Click the Edit button to change the forecast
data. Change the categories for your listed Opportunities
and click the Recalculate button to show
the new forecast amounts. To save your changes, click the
Save Update button.
Delete:
Click the Delete button. You will be prompted
to verify that you want to delete the forecast. Click OK
to delete the forecast. Click Cancel to
cancel the deletion.
Print:
Click the Printable View button to view
a print preview of the forecast. Select the Print
This Page link located at the top right corner
of the preview to print the forecast information. If you
do not want to print the opportunity, simply close the window.
Forecast
Reports Check the Generate Reports
section of the Forecasts tab page for a
list of available forecast reports. For a list of all available
forecast reports, click the All Reports
button to go to the Reports tab page. From this page you
can also create custom reports for your forecasts.
See Also:
Reports
Creating Custom Reports
|
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