Sales forecast

The forecast tells you how much business your open opportunities are likely to bring in, and when. Use it to plan the coming months, and to see which salesperson’s deals are due and how likely they are to close.

How it works

Every open opportunity counts at its weighted amount: its sales value times its own probability. A SGD 10,000.00 deal at 40% adds SGD 4,000.00. The probability is the one shown on the opportunity, which comes from its stage.

Four figures sit at the top: Open opportunities, Expected amount (all amounts added up), Weighted amount and Before this month (weighted). When open deals are past their expected close date, the last one turns red and says how many.

The By expected close month card draws three bars for this month and each of the five after it: Expected, Weighted and Won (by close date) — the deals already won in that month. A won deal counts at its contract value — its accepted quotations before tax, in your base currency — where you can see one, and at its expected value otherwise. A month that includes deals counted at the expected value says how many.

The Owner × expected close month table has one row per owner and one column per expected close month: Before this month, this month and the five after it, Later and Total. Each cell shows the weighted amount, with the number of deals and their unweighted amount under it. A dot beside a figure marks a deal whose probability differs from its stage’s default. On a phone, the owners are a list; select one to see their months.

Good to know

• All figures are in your company’s base currency, at the exchange rate saved with each opportunity.
• An open opportunity with no Sales Value is counted but adds nothing. The note under the table says how many there are.
• Totals are worked out from unrounded values, so a total can differ from the sum of the cells you see by a few cents.
• The search box and the filters narrow the forecast as they narrow the list.
• With Own records only, the forecast covers your own opportunities.
• Above 5,000 open opportunities, the forecast asks you to narrow the filter.

Terms

• Expected amount — the sales values of the open deals, added up.
• Weighted amount — each sales value times its probability, added up.
• Before this month — open deals whose Expected Close Date fell before the first of this month.
• Later — open deals expected to close after the sixth month shown.
• Contract value — a won deal’s accepted quotations added up, before tax and in your base currency, leaving out any quotation replaced by a revision.

Common misunderstandings

• Won and lost deals are not in the table. Only the Won (by close date) bars show won business.
• Before this month is not the board’s overdue mark. The board marks a card from the day after its date; the forecast moves it only when the month has passed.
• The forecast does not predict new deals. It weighs the ones already in your pipeline.

Where to find it

Select Opportunities in the sidebar, then Forecast under the title. You need Opportunity List.

Why it works this way

Weighted, not hoped for. A pipeline full of early-stage deals looks large if every deal counts in full. Multiplying each by its probability gives a figure closer to what will actually be signed, so you can plan hiring, purchasing and cash flow on it.

Each deal counts at its own probability. The probability comes from the deal’s stage, so a deal that has moved further counts for more. The dot shows where a deal’s figure differs from its stage’s default, so nothing is weighted differently without you seeing it.

One currency, at the deal’s own rate. Every deal is shown in your base currency at the rate saved with it, so the forecast changes when someone saves a deal, not when the exchange rate moves overnight.

Late deals stay in sight. A deal whose date has passed is not dropped; it collects under Before this month in red. A forecast that quietly lost overdue deals would look tidy and be wrong.

Work faster

• Review one person at a time. Choose a name under Owners; the cards and the table show only that person’s deals. See Opportunities.
• Clear the red figure first. Deals under Before this month need a new date or a close. Open the pipeline board, where their dates show red.
• Give every deal a value. Deals with no Sales Value add nothing; the note under the table says how many to fill in.
• Check the stage percentages. If the forecast is always too high or too low, adjust the default probabilities in Opportunity stages.
• Make it a weekly habit. Weekly sales routine puts the forecast in a 30-minute review.

Examples

In September, Lim & Co has three open opportunities:

Opportunity	Owner	Sales Value	Probability	Expected close	Weighted
Harbour Café fit-out	Marcus Tan	SGD 20,000.00	60%	September	SGD 12,000.00
Clinic reception refresh	Arjun Rao	SGD 8,000.00	25%	October	SGD 2,000.00
Office move, Tanjong Pagar	Arjun Rao	—	10%	December	—

The top figures read Open opportunities 3, Expected amount SGD 28,000.00 and Weighted amount SGD 14,000.00. Marcus’s September cell shows SGD 12,000.00 with “1 · 20,000.00” under it. Arjun’s row totals SGD 2,000.00 from two deals; the note says one open opportunity has no amount.

A deal that slipped. On 1 October the Harbour Café fit-out has not closed. It moves from the September column to Before this month, and Before this month (weighted) shows SGD 12,000.00 in red with “1 past their expected close date”. Marcus agrees a new date of 15 October with the café and changes the Expected Close Date; the SGD 12,000.00 moves back into the October column.

A foreign-currency deal. Daniel Lim records a deal of USD 5,000.00 with a saved rate of 1.3500 to SGD, at 50%. The forecast counts it as SGD 6,750.00 expected and SGD 3,375.00 weighted (6,750.00 × 50%); the figures do not move with the day’s exchange rate.

Common questions

• Why is my forecast lower than my pipeline? The pipeline total counts every deal in full; the forecast weighs each by its probability. A SGD 10,000.00 deal at 40% adds SGD 4,000.00.
• Why are won deals not in the forecast table? The table shows open deals only. Won business appears in the Won (by close date) bars.
• What does Before this month mean? Open deals whose Expected Close Date fell before the first of this month. Update their dates or close them.
• Why do the totals differ from the cells by a cent? Totals are worked out from unrounded values; each cell is rounded to cents for display.
• Does the forecast include deals in other currencies? Yes. Each is converted to your base currency at the rate saved with the opportunity. See Currencies and exchange rates.
• Can I see the forecast for one salesperson? Yes. Choose the person under Owners, or read their row in the table.

Related

• Pipeline board
• Opportunity stages
• Currencies and exchange rates
• Weekly sales routine