Project Forecast - Create

Setup required before use	Who can use it?	Where is it?
Proposal success factors Enter the project budget	Assistant project manager Project Manager Director Administrator System Administrator	Project > Forecast > Edit Forecast

Forecast values are added for each sub projects to predict when the fee values can be invoiced to the client. The forecasts can be updated for any sub projects that is at proposal or active status.

1. Open the Project > Forecast tab.
2. Select the Sub Project in the list and select 'Edit Forecast'.
3. The forecast maintenance window is shown. Here you can setup the forecast for the Sub Project.
4. Select how many months the Sub Project work will take to complete in the 'Forecast Duration' section.
5. Select the 'Success factor' that this proposal will be converted to active work.
6. Allocate the forecast revenue by:
   1. Automatic Allocation - Type into the 'Allocate over' field how many months to split the forecast revenue across evenly. Click 'Allocate over'. The forecast column is populated over the number of months selected.
   2. Manual Allocation - Click into a cell within the forecast column. Type the value of month's forecast.
7. (Optional) You can change the forecast values to start in the next month from 'Month 2'. Click the 'Later' button in the toolbar and the values already included in the forecast will shift down a month to start the forecast from a different month.
8. Click the 'Baseline' button in the toolbar. This will store the current forecast values when they are complete for reporting purposes.
9. (Optional) Lock the 'baseline to stop other users from being able to amend this value. Click the 'Lock' icon in the toolbar once the baseline is defined.
10. Click Save.
11. Click the 'Next' icon to define the forecast values for the next Sub Project.
12. Repeat the steps above until the forecast has been defined for all Sub Projects.
13. Save and Close.

Proposal success factors apply to Projects and Sub Projects that are at Proposal status. The 'Success' drop down can display data such as:

1. 0% - Lead
2. 25% - 1 of 4 Tenders
3. 50% - 1 of 2 Tenders
4. 75% - Probable
5. 100% - Engaged

The Proposal Success factors are setup by your System Administrator in the Default Data area. Learn more about Proposal Success factors.

Use Synergy Reports to create a Summary report of the forecast revenue for all projects which are at 'Proposal' status.

The above report is the project revenue maintenance report filtered to show proposal projects only.  The probable fee is the Agreed Fee multiplied by the Success probability factor

1. Open the Project > Forecast tab.
2. Select the Sub Project in the list and select 'Edit Forecast'.
3. The forecast maintenance window is shown. Here you can setup the forecast for the Sub Project.
4. Select how many months the Sub Project work will take to complete in the 'Forecast Duration' section.
5. Allocate the forecast revenue by:
   1. Automatic Allocation - Type into the 'Allocate over' field how many months to split the forecast revenue across evenly. Click 'Allocate over'. The forecast column is populated over the number of months selected.
   2. Manual Allocation - Click into a cell within the forecast column. Type the value of month's forecast.
6. (Optional) You can change the forecast values to start in the next month. Click the 'Later' button in the toolbar and the values already included in the forecast will shift down a month.
7. Click the 'Baseline' button in the toolbar. This will store the current forecast values for reporting purposes.
8. (Optional) Lock the 'baseline to stop other users from being able to amend this value. Click the 'Lock' icon in the toolbar once the baseline is defined.
9. Click Save.
10. Click the 'Next' icon to define the forecast values for the next Sub Project.
11. Repeat the steps above until the forecast has been defined for all Sub Projects.
12. Save and Close.

The three main steps to setup a forecast for an Active Sub Project are shown in the image above.

Drag the bar in the 'forecast duration' area to the right, to extend the number of months or years the Sub Project will take to complete.

Use the 'Success' drop down list to select how likely it is that the Proposal Sub Project will be converted to Active status. Learn more about Success factors.

1. Type the number of months into the 'allocate over' field.
2. Click the button 'Allocate over'.
3. The forecast column is automatically populated with the forecast value. The residual forecast value is evenly split the over the number of months entered.
4. The system will start the auto allocation from the current month. Use the 'earlier' and 'later' buttons in the toolbar to shift the values to alternate months.

Use 'earlier' and 'later' to shift the values in the forecast columns to alternate months. i.e. The current month is October 2012. Click the Later button twice to start the forecast values in December 2012.

• Earlier - Moves all values in the forecast column 'UP' by one month.
• Later - Moves all the values in the forecast column 'DOWN' by one month.

1. Open the Edit Forecast window for the Sub Project.
2. Adjust the forecast duration field to the 14 months setting by dragging the bar across to the right.
3. Type 14 into the 'allocate over' field to automatically allocate the forecast over 14 months.
4. Click the 'Allocate over' button.
5. (Optional) Click the 'Later' button in the toolbar to shift the forecast to start in 'month 2' or later.

Click the eraser icon in the toolbar to remove all values from the 'forecast' column.

Switch to viewing a different Sub Project without closing the 'Forecast Maintenance' window. Use the following options:

• First - Jumps to the first Sub Project listed for this Project.
• Back - Jumps to previous Sub Project in the list for this Project.
• Next - Jumps to next Sub Project in the list for this Project.
• Last - Jumps to last Sub Project in the list for this Project.

Store the forecast values entered as a baseline, which is used for additional forecast reports. Compare the baseline values against later forecast adjustments, and the invoiced values for the sub project in the reports. To set the baseline for the Sub Project:

1. Split the residual value over the required number of months, in the forecast column.
2. Click the Baseline button in the toolbar.
3. The forecast values will now also be shown in the 'baseline' column.

Lock the baseline values to stop all users from being able to update the values used for forecast reports. Use the 'lock' button in the toolbar, after you have split the residual forecast value across the duration of the sub project in the 'forecast' column.

The baseline can be revised by updating the forecast values, then selected the 'baseline' icon in the toolbar to copy the values over. If the baseline has been locked, then you will need to unlock the baseline values before the values can be revised. Use the 'Unlock' icon in the toolbar to allow the adjustment. It is recommended that you 'lock' the baseline again after the adjustment has been saved.

1. Sub ProjectRead only field displaying the Sub Project name that you are about to setup the forecast for.
2. Fee TypeRead only field displaying the billing method of the selected Sub Project.
3. StatusRead only field displaying the current status of the project. i.e. Proposal or Active.
4. Forecast Duration NEW 4.8Define how many months the sub project will take to complete. Adjust the location of the arrow in the bar to increase the number of months.
5. SuccessAvailable when the Sub Project is at Proposal status. Select how likely it is that the Proposal project work will be converted to an Active project.
6. Forecast FeeFor the 'Fee Type' of Hourly / Cost Rate and Capped Rates the forecast fee is the Budget value of the Sub Project.
   For the 'Fee Type' of Percent of Project and Fixed Fee the forecast fee is the Agreed Fee value of the Sub Project.
7. Invoiced to YYYY-MMThis is the total amount invoiced for the sub project up to the current month. The current year and month is shown in replace of YYYY-MM.
8. Forecast to ScheduleThe total revenue value available to plan within the forecast column. This is calculated as (Forecast Fee - Invoiced to Date).
9. Scheduled from YYYY-MMThe sum of the forecast value, which is entered for all future months (including the current month). The current year and month is shown in replace of YYYY-MM.
10. ResidualThe revenue value which can still be forecast. This is calculated as (Forecast Fee - Invoiced to YYYY-MM - Scheduled from YYYY-MM).
11. Agreed FeeRead only field displaying the Agreed Fee of the Sub Project. The Agreed Fee value is shown as $0 if the Project is at Proposal status. The Agreed Fee is shown once the sub project is Active.
12. Invoiced in YYYY-MMThe total value invoiced this month for the sub project. The current year and month is shown in replace of YYYY-MM.
13. Allocate over NEW 4.8Enter the number of months that you want to split the forecast residual value across. The number of months entered can be less than the 'forecast duration', but not greater than.

1. MonthYear and month name displayed. A row for each of the months chosen within the 'forecast duration' field. A read only column.
2. Baseline NEW 4.8The current set baseline value for each month of the forecast. If $0 is displayed a baseline value has not been set for that month. A read only column.
3. ForecastThe current forecast value for each month. If $0 is displayed a forecast value has not been set for that month. Type the forecast value into the correct month forecast row, to over-write the default forecast allocation. The forecast values can only be saved for the future months and the current month. Values for months in the past cannot be saved.  However the Forecast column will display the values that were forecast that may or may not have been Invoiced. An icon will be displayed at the end of the month row indicating if you've under or over billed that month.
4. InvoicedThe value invoiced for the sub project in the month shown. A read only column.