Get Started with Forecasts

Forecasting capabilities in the Planning Sheet allow organizations to move beyond static annual plans and adopt agile planning methods, such as rolling forecasts and periodic reforecasting, which help you estimate future business performance based on historical data and current trends. Use forecasting to project revenue, expenses, and other metrics for upcoming periods. Forecasting in the Planning Sheet helps you create dynamic forecasts directly on your semantic model and update them as new actuals become available. Forecasts can be generated using multiple approaches, such as copying historical values, applying averages, or manually adjusting projections.

Key Forecasting Capabilities in Planning

Real-time forecasting directly on live data models
Flexible forecast methods to suit different planning needs
Continuous updates through rolling forecasts and reforecasting
Improved decision-making through up-to-date projections
Time Intelligence and Period Extensions in Planning support time-based calculations and extensions to simplify forecast creation across fiscal periods.
Seamless integration with planning, budgeting, and analytics workflows

These capabilities enable finance and business teams to monitor performance closely and make proactive decisions based on reliable forecasts.

Prerequisites

Before creating or editing forecasts, ensure the following:

You have created a planning sheet and saved.
The required dimensions and measures are added to the Fields.
You have permission to edit forecast data.
Historical or actual data exists for the periods used as reference.

Forecast workflow

Go to Model > Forecast.
Enter a Forecast measure name.
Select the forecast period
Generate forecast values within Closed and Open Periods using historical values(Measures), averages(Formula), or manual input(Data Input) and Create.