Put a figure on the month ahead from orders, open deals and last year’s season.
Sales Forecasting puts a figure on the month ahead using what you already have: confirmed orders, open deals with a closing date, and what the same month did last year. It is a judgement, written down and checked later. Purchase and production then work from something better than a feeling on the thirtieth.
Everybody forecasts. A garment unit buys fabric for what it expects, a dealer books stock before the season, and a services firm hires before the work arrives. The number usually comes from the owner, on the thirtieth.
Written down, the same judgement improves. Committed orders, deals likely to close and last year’s figure sit together. Later, the guess is marked against what happened.
What your team uses today.
The module takes over these, one at a time, so nothing has to stop while it is set up.
- A guess given verbally on the last day
- A spreadsheet of last year copied forward
- Separate lists of orders and deals
The problems this is meant to ease.
What sales forecasting does.
What this looks like in a working week.
Illustrative scenarios, written to show the shape of the work. They are not accounts of client systems.
The people who open this every day.
From first conversation to daily use.
Review past months
Share sales and orders for earlier months. A note shows seasons and the patterns found.
Choose the cuts
Decide how to split the forecast: executive, area or item. A sample month appears for trial.
Back-test
A past month is forecast and compared with its real sales. The team discusses the gaps.
Brief the sales head and executives
Each group sees how commitments are entered. A short guide follows.
Live month
The forecast is made for the coming month. The review after the month closes checks it.
How you would know it is working.
Record where you stand before it goes live, so the change is measured against your own figures.
- Forecast against actual, by month and area
- Commitments changed during the month, with the person
- Open deals with a closing date in the month
- Confirmed orders against forecast, by item
- Months with a note explaining the miss
It is one part of a system, not an island.
A module earns its place by what it passes to the next one. These are the connections we set up most often.
- Pipeline management
- Opportunity management
- Order management
- Production planning
- Dashboards and KPIs
How we would put it in.
Questions owners ask about sales forecasting.
Can it predict sales on its own?
No, and be careful of anyone who says otherwise. Software can show your history, your open deals and your seasons clearly. The judgement stays with the people who know the market, and this only holds them to it.
Does forecasting help when our sales depend on tenders?
Partly. Tender results are lumpy, and no pattern will smooth them. What helps is separating committed work from tender hopes, so the factory is not staffed for an order that may never come.
Are two years of data in our accounting software enough?
It is a reasonable start. Two years gives you season shapes, and monthly sales by item can be pulled from your accounting software at set-up. Anything shorter is history and not a pattern.
Who should own the forecast?
One person, usually the sales head. Shared ownership means nobody is answerable when the month falls short. The owner can override the figure, and the override is kept so the reason is not lost.
Which inputs shape a forecasting quotation?
The cuts you want, the history available and the links to pipeline, orders and production planning. More cuts mean more views. Every cut and link is named in the quotation, and any can be dropped.
What decides the time before a forecast can be made?
The history you can supply. Confirmed orders, open deals, last year’s same month and commitments by executive come first. Comparison with actuals follows. The proposal states when each stage lands.
Businesses that ask for this.
Modules that work with it.
Tell us how you handle sales forecasting today.
A spreadsheet, a register or another system: say which, and we will tell you plainly what is worth changing.
What happens after you share your requirements
- A senior engineer reads your answers. Nobody phones first.
- Within one business day you get a written note: what we understood, what we would start with, and the questions we still have.
- If it fits, a proposal follows with the order of work, what we need from you and what you receive at each step.
- No call is booked and nothing is paid until you have read the note. Your details stay with us.
Start with your requirements
Seven short steps that tell us what you need. A senior engineer reads them before anyone gets in touch.
Share your requirements