Project Forecast - Update

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

• The work for the sub project has been delayed by X months.
• The scope of work has changed, resulting in changes to the project budget or agreed fee.
• The work completed last month was less / more than expected.

• Forecast values can only be updated for future months.
• The 'forecast' and 'baseline' values for months in the past cannot be amended / updated.
• The 'forecast to schedule' field contains the value that you can forecast over the future months.
• The 'scheduled from YYYY-MM' field contains the value that is already scheduled over the future months.
• The 'residual' field contains the +/- value that you need to adjust the forecast by, to make it match the agreed fee or budget.
• The Administrator and System Administrator can 'unlock' the baseline to allow it to be updated for future months.

1. Open the project > forecast tab
2. Select the Sub Project in the list and click the 'Edit Forecast' button
3. View the amount in the 'Residual' field. If this is $0 then the full amount is already scheduled.
4. Update the forecast schedule by:
   1. Typing the new value into each month field
   2. Auto allocating the forecast value, by typing the number of months and pressing the 'allocate over' button
5. Save.
6. Click 'Next' to view the next Sub Project and update the Forecast values.
7. Repeat the above steps until all the Sub Projects have been updated.
8. Save and Close.

Positive residual occurs when the sum of Invoices to date and the sum of current period and future period forecasts are less than the sub project fee. The residual value includes this current month invoiced value. Reduce the forecast residual value by this months planned invoiced value, prior to forecasting the remaining residual value.

In this scenario there is a portion of the Sub project fee that has not been allocated to a revenue period thus there is an amount which is yet to be forecast. The positive residual amount is displayed in blue on the forecast tab and in the residual field on the forecast maintenance window. Positive residual values can occur when:

• The value was not originally forecast.
• The invoices to date are less than the original forecast value.
• A future forecast value has been removed.
• A credit note has been raised, returning the credit note value to be forecast in future months.
• An invoice has been cancelled, returning the invoice value to be forecast in future months.

Negative residual occurs when the sum of Invoices to date and the sum of current period and future period forecasts are greater than the sub project fee.

In this scenario the sub project fee has been over allocated and revenue greater than the available fee is being planned. Left alone this could result in cash shortfalls as the available revenue is less than that being forecast. This would usually occur when the invoices for prior periods exceeds the original forecast amount set for prior periods (a prior period is any forecast month before the current month). These amounts will be displayed in red and the system requires the future forecast to be adjusted to bring the residual to at least $0 before the forecast can be saved.

Positive Residual - The 'Architectural Design Development' sub project has a 'forecast fee' of $36,000. This was scheduled in the initial forecast, and is shown in the purple box in the image below. Invoices have now been created for $4,250 for the sub project. The value of the forecast for that month was greater than the amount that was invoiced, resulting in an unallocated residual value. This value now needs to be re-allocated to a future month of the project forecast.

Negative Residual - The 'Architectural Contract Administration' sub project has 'forecast fee' of $15,000, and this value was scheduled in the initial project forecast. This is shown in blue in the image below. Invoices have now been created for $5000 for the sub project. The invoice value has exceeded the forecast value for the month, resulting in a negative residual value being shown. This is because the total amount to be forecast for the future months is now $10,000, however there is $15,000 scheduled for the future (see the forecast total column).

Click the image above to view the 'unallocated residual' values in the purple box, and the 'negative residual' values in the aqua blue box.

A negative residual value will occur when amount invoiced was greater than the amount forecast. In the example below the August invoice amount of $5000 was higher than the forecast amount of $0. This has created a negative residual of -$5000. The residual value is shown in the purple box below.

The 'Forecast to Schedule' value is the total amount that is available to forecast (in the green box below). If the amount scheduled is greater than this it will result in a negative residual value. (Note: You cannot save / update a forecast which has a negative residual value.)

The 'Scheduled from' value is the total amount forecast from this current month into the future (in the orange box below). This is a SUM of all the values in the forecast column.

Click the image above to view the 'negative residual' values in the purple box, the currently scheduled values in orange, and the available value to forecast in green.

The August forecast value (in the image above) can no longer be adjusted as it is in the past. To correct the forecast to not show a negative residual value, you must remove forecast value from the future months. Remove the negative residual value from the forecast future months, to allow for what has already been invoiced.

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 the progress of the sub project through the submission phase. 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.

Shift the values in the forecast column to start from a different month. Use these icons after the forecast values have been entered (manually or automatically) to move the values to start up / down. i.e. The current month is August 2012. Click the Later button twice to start the forecast in October 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 18 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.

1. Click 'Unlock' to allow edit of the baseline values
2. Update the forecast values for the future months as required.
3. Click 'Baseline' to copy the forecast values to the baseline column for all future months.
4. Click 'Lock' to stop other users from being able to edit the baseline values.

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 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 approval 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 a 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. NOTE: For forecasting purposes the original invoice date is used for cancelled invoices (not the date the invoice cancellation was performed). This is done to ensure that the residual value is correct for the past months.
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 currently 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 value which can still be forecast. This is calculated as (Forecast Fee - Invoiced to YYYY-MM - Scheduled from YYYY-MM).
11. Agreed FeeA read only copy of the Agreed Fee of the Sub Project. This information is only shown once the Project is Active status.
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. NOTE: For forecasting purposes the original invoice date is used for cancelled invoices (not the date the invoice cancellation was performed). This is done to ensure that the residual value is correct for the past months.
13. Allocate over NEW 4.8Enter the number of months that you want to split the forecast residual value across. The auto allocation will only update the forecast values for the current month or future months. Past months forecast values are read only. 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. New baseline values can only be set this month or later (future months). Past months baseline values are read only, and cannot be updated.
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 month / forecast field, to over-write the default forecast allocation. The forecast values can only be saved for the future months and the current month. New forecast values can be set this month or later (future months). Past months forecast values are read only, and cannot be updated.
4. InvoicedThe value invoiced for the sub project for the month shown. A read only column. NOTE: For forecasting purposes the original invoice date is used for cancelled invoices (not the date the invoice cancellation was performed). This is done to ensure that the residual value is correct for the past months.
5. Trend NEW 4.8A green arrow is shown if the invoiced value is greater than the forecast value. A red arrow is shown if the invoiced value is less than the forecast value.