Using Sales Forecasting

Sales Forecasting uses the current opportunities in the system to predict future opportunity amounts.​ The Opportunity Management application contains the list of opportunities created for the customers and each of these opportunities are in different stages of the sales cycles.

Once an opportunity is created, the Forecast Category field displays Pipeline by default. The sales agent working on that opportunity updates this field once the sales process starts. When the agents update the forecast category, the dashboard keeps displaying the latest data. The forecast scheduler keeps updating the data on the Sales Forecast dashboard. After the users, groups and opportunity data are added, along with selection of category, select Update Forecast on the Sales Forecast dashboard to view the latest forecast information.

Viewing the Sales Forecast dashboard

You can view the Sales Forecast dashboard to see the current sales status and targets achieved for your teams. Only Forecast Admin, Forecast Analyst, and the owner of the highest group can see the data and sales forecast for all the groups and the team. Other personas such as agents and managers can only view the sales forecast and related information for their own hierarchy or territory below them.

Using the Sales Forecast dashboard

To access the Sales Forecast dashboard, navigate to CSM/FSM Configurable Workspace and select the Sales Forecast view. Select the refresh icon to see the latest sales forecast data. Select Update Forecast on the dashboard to fetch the data to generate the latest forecast information. The Active Forecasts list on the side panel displays the forecast models configured for your Sales Forecasting dashboard. Select the forecast model that you want to view. You can view forecasts with one hierarchy or two hierarchies. You can customize your Sales Forecast dashboard columns and view. For more info, see Customizing Sales Forecast dashboard.

Select the options from these three filters to view the data for your group or manager for a selected time-period.

• Group: Select the group for which you want to view the forecast, the manager of the group is automatically updated in the third filter.
• Manager: Select the manager to see the field.
• Period: Select the period (quarter) for which you want to view the forecast.

For the above screenshot, the forecast data is being shown for the Global region. The owner of the forecast is Jennifer Harris. The forecast period selected is FY 2026 Q1. Global has a total quota of $7,000 assigned to it. Gap is the difference between the Quota and Won sales. For Global, the gap is $5,100, meaning they must achieve an additional $5,100 to meet the quota. As the owner of this group, Jennifer Harris can track the quota achieved for each team and specific agent if required.

Commit, Strong Upside, Upside, and Pipeline represent different stages of certainty in the sales pipeline, helping to estimate the likelihood of achieving the overall target. As a manager, you can expand and see the total amount of opportunity in each stage for your team and agents. You can see the roll-up amount for all the agents under that manager. Each category displays two values under Final Forecast and Hierarchy Forecast. Hierarchy Forecast displays the amount generated by the total opportunities in the system. Final Forecast displays the adjusted value of the forecast that is manually done by the manager or sales agent. Agents can adjust the value of the forecast in any category based on their judgment and predictions for a more accurate forecast.

The Rest of American group with the owner as Mathew Moore in FY 2026 Q1 displays that the team’s quota has been set at $1,500. The agent working under the owner is Charlotte Turner who has already closed (Won column) $1,900 in sales. You can select the “i” icon for an agent and view all the opportunities for that agent and the total value in each forecast category.

Under Active Forecasts, you can view other forecast models that have a primary and a secondary hierarchy, such as territory and product family or sales team and product family. This dashboard enables forecast owners to view and manage forecasts drill down by two dimensions, for example, territory hierarchy and product family for a given period. Users can filter the forecast by territory, product family, the forecast owner, and the period. The Update Forecast button triggers a manual recalculation of rollup values. Each row represents a territory–product family pairing, such as Global – Workflows. The expand/collapse icons can be drilled into to reveal further sub-territories. Sales managers can review their committed forecast hierarchy numbers at each level and override values where their judgment differs at their hierarchy level. For more info, see Submitting a forecast. The product family dimension lets them see which product lines are driving or lagging behind their overall target numbers. If you select the Base option on the Forecast model, a forecast record is created for each forecast source. For more info, see Configure Forecast Model. These forecast records are visible on the dashboard below the sales agents to whom they are assigned. Sales agents can review and adjusts the value of the forecast records assigned to them.

As a sales agent, you can view the status of each opportunity that you own. As the sale progresses, you can update the Forecast Category field of the opportunity and the new data is updated on the dashboard. You can adjust a forecast value and the adjustment propagates up both the primary (territory) hierarchy and the secondary (product family) hierarchy, so all related rollup records reflect the change automatically. You can view the total amount in each sales stage and track the status of the quota target assigned to you. Select Submit Forecast to view the Submission Entry tab.

Note:

Submit Forecast is available only if you select Submission Required in the Forecast model. For more info, Sales Forecasting terminology.

The Submission Entry tab displays the cumulative value of all the opportunities for each category for that agent. The agent can adjust the value of the forecast for any category depending on the latest insights. For any of the categories, enter the adjusted value of the forecast in Owner Adjusted Value field. Enter a reason for the adjusted forecast value in the Owner Adjustment Reason field. Select Update to save the adjusted forecast values. Select Submit Forecast to finalize the forecast values. After submitting these forecast values, they cannot be changed.

• Create forecast adjustment
  Modify system-generated forecast values based on your judgment and prediction. Sales agents can adjust their individual forecasts and managers can modify team forecasts to align with overall targets. Sales managers can override team-level adjustments and the system automatically recalculates the roll-ups to reflect the updated forecast values.
• Submitting a forecast
  Sales agents and managers can finalize and submit forecasts in defined periods to ensure accurate projections. Agents can adjust forecast values, lock them, and submit the forecasts in the specified time frame.
• Reopening and resubmitting a forecast
  Adjust the values of a submitted forecast by reopening it and resubmitting the updated forecast within the current submission window.
• Customizing Sales Forecast dashboard
  Customize the columns that are displayed on your Sales Forecast dashboard and set your preferred column order to match your workflow.

Related concepts

• Configure Sales Forecasting
• Sales Forecasting