Setting up Forecasting

If you are an administrator, take the following action:

1. Ensure the projects you want to run Revenue Forecasting on have a start date and an end date.
2. Ensure the projects you want to schedule Revenue Forecasting on have all of the following:
• A start date and an end date
• The Active checkbox selected
• The Include In Forecasting checkbox selected
3. Ensure the opportunities you want to run Revenue Forecasting on have the Is Services Opportunity checkbox selected.
4. Ensure the opportunities you want to schedule Revenue Forecasting on match all of the following criteria:
• No associated active or completed project
• A value in the Stage field that is not "Closed Lost"
• The Is Services Opportunity checkbox selected
5. Check that monthly time periods are set up for the duration of any projects you want to run Revenue Forecasting on. This is because Revenue Forecasting uses monthly time periods by default.
6. Mark the time period record that relates to the month before the current month as Closed for Forecasting. This is essential for Revenue Forecasting to work correctly.
   
   Warning:

   As a regular part of the Revenue Forecasting process, when revenue recognition is completed for a time period, the Closed for Forecasting field must then be selected on that time period record. For information, see Marking Time Periods as Closed for Revenue Forecasting.

7. Ensure the Timecard_Split_Time_Period_Types configuration option in the Timecard configuration group includes a value of Month.
8. If you are using the "Deliverable" or "% Complete" recognition method, ensure Generate Monthly Records is selected in the Est Vs Actuals Settings custom setting. For more information, see Est Vs Actuals Settings.
   
   Note:

   If you only have Generate Weekly Records selected, these EVA records are not included in the forecasts. The forecasts will not include any assignments or timecards that fall within the time period of the forecast but were created on a project before you selected this checkbox.

For information on the permissions available for Revenue Forecasting, see Revenue Forecasting Permissions.

If you want to use the integration between PSA and Revenue Management, you will need to perform some configuration in Revenue Management first. No additional setup is required in PSA. For information, see Integration with Revenue Management.

If you do not want to use the integration between PSA and Revenue Management, see No Integration with Revenue Management for information on how to configure your PSA records for use with Revenue Forecasting.

To configure PSA to exclude revenue recognition actuals from revenue forecast calculations when using the integration between the Revenue Forecasting feature in PSA and Revenue Management:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. Select Exclude Revenue Recognition Actuals.
3. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

This effectively disables the integration between PSA and Revenue Management.

To configure PSA to retain actuals from the previous forecast run for any closed time period when you are not using the integration between the Revenue Forecasting feature in PSA and Revenue Management:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. Select Retain Pending Revenue in Closed Periods.
3. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

Any actuals created in a closed time period after the period was closed are included in the revenue forecast for the next open period.

For fixed fee revenue forecast calculations, PSA uses the value in the Bookings field on the project record as the total revenue by default. If you want PSA to use the value in a different field:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. In the Total Revenue Field on Project field, enter the API name of the field on the Project object that you want to use. You can use an existing number field or create your own custom field. The field must be a Number, Currency, or Percent field type, or must be a formula field that returns one of these field types. You must include the namespace of the field, for example pse__Custom_Field__c.
   
3. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

For deliverable and fixed fee revenue forecast calculations, PSA uses the value in the Milestone Amount field on the milestone record as the total milestone revenue by default. If you want PSA to use the value in a different field:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. In the Total Revenue Field on Milestone field, enter the API name of the field on the Milestone object that you want to use. You can use an existing number field or create your own custom field. The field must be a Number, Currency, or Percent field type, or must be a formula field that returns one of these field types. You must include the namespace of the field, for example pse__Custom_Field__c.
   
3. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

For deliverable revenue forecasts, PSA uses the values in the following fields by default to calculate the revenue for assignments and resource requests:

• For assignment records, the Bill Rate field.
• For related resource request records, the Suggested Bill Rate Number field or, if that field is blank, the Requested Bill Rate field.

If required, you can configure PSA to use the value in nominated fields on assignment or resource request records instead of the default fields:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. [Optional] In Assignment Bill Rate Field, enter the API name of the field that you want to use instead of Bill Rate. You can use an existing number field or create your own custom field on the Assignment object. The field must be a Number, Currency, or Percent field type, or must be a formula field that returns one of these field types. You must include the namespace of the field, for example pse__Custom_Field__c.
3. [Optional] In Resource Request Bill Rate Field, enter the API name of the field that you want to use instead of the default bill rate field. You can use an existing number field or create your own custom field on the Resource Request object. The field must be a Number, Currency, or Percent field type, or must be a formula field that returns one of these field types. You must include the namespace of the field, for example pse__Custom_Field__c.
   
4. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

To configure Revenue Forecasting before setting up a schedule to regularly generate forecasts:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. If you are using the % Complete recognition method, from the Total Hours Field on Project picklist, select the field you want PSA to use when calculating the value in the % Hours Completed for Recognition field on a project.
Tip:

If you do not want to use the Estimated Hours at Completion field or the Planned Hours field on the Project object, you can create your own field on the Project object and add it to the Total Hours Field on Project picklist on the Revenue Forecast Setup object so that you can select it here.

3. [Optional] If you are using the % Complete recognition method, select Use Sched and Actual Hrs for % Complete to configure PSA to use the total number of scheduled and actual hours on projects and milestones as the denominator to calculate the value in the % Hours Completed for Recognition field when the total scheduled and actual hours exceeds the value in the field specified in Total Hours Field on Project. This is useful if you do not regularly update the planned or estimated hours values.
4. [Optional] If you are using the % Complete or Equal Split recognition method and do not want PSA to use the value in the Bookings field on the Project object as the total project revenue, follow the steps in Specifying the Field Containing the Total Project Revenue (% Complete and Equal Split Revenue).
   
5. [Optional] To exclude revenue relating to held resource requests on projects and milestones, select Exclude Resource Requests on Project.
6. [Optional] To exclude revenue relating to opportunities from your scheduled revenue forecasts, select Exclude Opportunities.
7. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

For information on configuring the batch settings for revenue forecasts, see "Forecast Batch Settings" under Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.

You are now ready to set up a schedule to regularly generate revenue forecasts. For more information, see Scheduling Revenue Forecasts.

To configure PSA to exclude scheduled hours in closed time periods for projects and milestones when using the % Complete recognition method:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. Select Exclude Scheduled Hrs in Closed Periods.
3. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

PSA excludes any scheduled hours from a time period that is closed for forecasting from revenue forecast calculations for % complete revenue. For more information, see % Complete Recognition Method.

If you want to exclude records that relate to specific assignments or resource requests from the forecast:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. [Optional] In Exclude from Forecast Assignment Field, enter the API name of the checkbox field on the Assignment object that you want to use to control whether an assignment record is excluded from revenue forecast calculations. If the checkbox field is selected on a record, the record is excluded. You can use an existing checkbox field or create a new one on the Assignment object. You must include the namespace of the field, for example pse__Custom_Field__c.
3. [Optional] In Exclude from Forecast RR Field, enter the API name of the checkbox field on the Resource Request object that you want to use to control whether a resource request record is excluded from revenue forecast calculations. If the checkbox field is selected on a record, the record is excluded. You can use an existing checkbox field or create a new one on the Resource Request object. You must include the namespace of the field, for example pse__Custom_Field__c.
   
4. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

On the active revenue forecast setup record, you can select Use Mid Month Forecast Calculations and specify a cutoff day. Revenue Forecasting then excludes past scheduled hours that are not covered by timecards from calculations for the current monthly time period (forecasts run for other months are not affected). This means:

• Scheduled work that never took place is excluded.
• Forecast calculations exclude such scheduled work on a weekly basis instead of on a monthly basis, aligning with the typical timecard submission cadence.
Note:

Forecasts are still generated monthly.

This setting brings the following benefits:

• There is a smoother progression through the month, with no sudden change in forecasting values at month end.
• You have a more accurate representation of the remaining planned work and the completed planned work for the current month. Forecasts run for other months are not affected.

The following rules apply:

• Revenue Forecasting excludes scheduled hours that fall on or before the actuals cutoff day you select.
• If the actual hours recorded for a day exceed the scheduled hours, Revenue Forecasting excludes all scheduled revenue for that day.
• If an assignment uses a daily bill rate and there are actual hours from timecards for that day, Revenue Forecasting includes the day in the forecast as an actual day.

To improve current month forecasting accuracy:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. Select Use Mid Month Forecast Calculations.
3. From Actuals Cutoff Day, select your preferred day. The cutoff day is the most recent day of the week that matches the day of the week selected. For example, if today is Friday and you have selected Sunday as your cutoff day, Revenue Forecasting excludes all of the scheduled hours in the week up to and including last Sunday from forecast calculations for the current monthly time period. Similarly, if today is Friday and you have selected Friday as your cutoff day, Revenue Forecasting excludes all of the scheduled hours in the week up to and including last Friday.
4. [Optional] If you are using the % Complete recognition method, select Exclude Actuals After Cutoff Day if you do not want Revenue Forecasting to include in forecast calculations any actuals that are after the cutoff day.
   
5. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

You can use current month forecasting accuracy for the Deliverable and % Complete recognition methods. For more information, see Calculating Accurate Mid Month Forecasts (Deliverable) and Calculating Accurate Mid Month Forecasts (% Complete).

Weighting enables you to forecast based on cost rate or other attribute so that the monetary value of each hour on a project or milestone differs depending on the resource the hours are assigned to. For example, if the cost rate amount for resource A is twice the cost rate amount for resource B, an hour of resource A's time accounts for twice as much revenue as an hour of resource B's time.

To enable PSA to use weighting on % Complete revenue forecast calculations:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. [Optional] In Assignment % Complete Weighting Field, enter the API name of the field on the Assignment object that you want PSA to use when applying weighting to % Complete revenue forecast calculations for scheduled and actual hours on assignments. You can use an existing number field (for example, Cost Rate Amount) or create your own custom field. The field must be a Number, Currency, or Percent field type, or must be a formula field that returns one of these field types. You must include the namespace of the field, for example pse__Custom_Field__c.
3. [Optional] In RR % Complete Weighting Field, enter the API name of the field on the Resource Request object that you want PSA to use when applying weighting to % Complete revenue forecast calculations for scheduled and actual hours on resource requests. You can use an existing number field (for example, Average Cost Rate Number) or create your own custom field. The field must be a Number, Currency, or Percent field type, or must be a formula field that returns one of these field types. You must include the namespace of the field, for example pse__Custom_Field__c.
4. Select Use Weighting for % Complete.
5. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

For more information, see Using Weighting.

The month in which deliverable revenue is placed is normally determined by the following:

• The Expense Date field on expense records
• The Actual Date field for completed revenue and the Target Date field for scheduled revenue on milestone records
• The Effective Date field on misc adjustment records

If you want PSA to use a different month:

1. [Optional] On the Expense, Milestone, or Misc Adjustment object as appropriate, create a new custom date field to be used when calculating the month in which the revenue will be included. If you want the field to update automatically each month, you can use a date formula field. For more information on calculating field values with formulas, see the Salesforce Help. If you want to use the date in an existing custom field, there is no need to create this new field: go to step 3.
2. [Optional] If you have created a new custom field, add it to the page layout for the relevant object.
3. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
4. In the Custom Date for Deliverable field for the relevant object, enter the API name of the field on the object that you want PSA to use when determining which monthly period to add the revenue to. You must include the namespace of the field, for example pse__Custom_Field__c. The date in this field must:
• fall within a monthly time period of the revenue forecast for the revenue to be included
• be a day in the month you want the revenue to appear in
5. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

To enable PSA to determine the expected project duration for use in opportunity revenue forecast calculations:

1. [Optional] On the Opportunity object, add a new field called Expected Project Start Date that can be used to store the expected start date for projects created from opportunities. If you want to use the date in an existing custom field or the date in the existing Close Date field on opportunities, there is no need to create this new field: go to step 3.
2. If created, add the new Expected Project Start Date field to the Opportunity page layout.
3. [Optional] On the Opportunity object, add a new field called Expected Project End Date that can be used to store the expected end date for projects created from opportunities. If you want to use the date in an existing custom field, there is no need to create this new field: go to step 5.
4. If created, add the new Expected Project End Date field to the Opportunity page layout.
5. From the Revenue Forecast Setup tab, edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one, ensuring that you select the Active checkbox. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
6. In the Opportunity Settings section of the revenue forecast setup record, complete the following fields:
• Expected Project Start Date Field on Opp: Enter the API name of the field you created at step 1, the API name of an existing custom field that contains a suitable date, or the API name of the Close Date field on the Opportunity object.
• Expected Project End Date Field on Opp: Enter the API name of the field you created at step 3 or the API name of an existing custom field that contains a suitable date.
Note: Dates must be entered in both specified fields on opportunity records for PSA to be able to determine the expected project duration for use in opportunity revenue forecast calculations.

7. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

To configure PSA to exclude probability from opportunity revenue forecast calculations:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. Select Exclude Probability from Opportunities.
3. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

To configure PSA to include revenue from resource requests in opportunity revenue forecast calculations:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. Select Include RRs on Opportunities.
3. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

For more information, see Resource Request and Running Opportunity Revenue Forecasts.

To configure PSA to include best and worst case scenarios in revenue forecast calculations:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. [Optional] To include the best case scenario in revenue forecast calculations, select Include Best Case.
3. [Optional] If you have configured PSA to include the best case scenario in revenue forecasts, enter a value in the Opportunity Best Case Threshold field. Opportunities with a probability below the specified percentage threshold will not be included in the best case scenario.
4. [Optional] To include the worst case scenario in revenue forecast calculations, select Include Worst Case.
5. [Optional] If you have configured PSA to include the worst case scenario in revenue forecasts, enter a value in the Opportunity Worst Case Threshold field. Opportunities with a probability below the specified percentage threshold will not be included in the worst case scenario.
6. [Optional] Enter a value in the Opportunity Expected Threshold field. Opportunities with a probability below the specified percentage threshold will not be included in the expected scenario.
7. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

A revenue forecast version is a static snapshot of revenue forecast data taken at a specific point in time and covering a given forecast period, such as the current quarter.

For information on how to configure PSA to regularly generate revenue forecast versions so that you can make comparisons, see Scheduling Revenue Forecast Versions.

Optional permission controls manage which data is visible or adjustable on the Review Forecast Version page. To set up Revenue Forecasting to respect view and adjust permission controls:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. Select Respect Permission Controls in the Forecast Version Settings section and save the revenue forecast setup record.
3. Select the Permission Controls tab to create the required permission controls.
4. Click New.
5. Select the following Permissions fields:
   • Revenue Forecast Version View
   • Revenue Forecast Version Adjust
6. For Revenue Forecast Version Adjust, select Cascading Permission.
7. Complete the remaining Permission Control Fields including any specific RPG, project, or opportunity records you want to create a permission control for.
8. Click Save.
9. Repeat the steps above to create all permission controls required for your users.

For more information on how permission controls are used on the Review Forecast Version page, see Permission Controls.

To configure Revenue Forecasting to copy suitable adjustments made in a revenue forecast version into future versions, including notes:

1. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
2. Select Persist Adjustments Across Versions.
3. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

For more information on revenue forecast adjustments, see Adjusting and Locking a Revenue Forecast Version.

If you hover over a project, opportunity, or milestone in the Forecast Breakdown grid on the Review Forecast Version page, the following fields are displayed by default:

• For projects:
  • Bookings
  • Project Manager
  • Start Date
  • End Date
• For opportunities:
  • Amount
  • Opportunity Owner
  • Probability (%)
  • Close Date
• For milestones:
  • Target Date
  • Actual Date
  • Milestone Amount
  • Planned Hours

To customize the hover details for any or all of the above objects:

1. Create new field sets or use existing field sets that contain the fields you require. We recommend a maximum of 10 fields for each field set. For information on creating and editing field sets, see the Salesforce Help.
   Note: Where there is a lookup to another object, although it is possible to add fields from the lookup object into a field set, these are not supported and are not displayed in the hover details.
2. Make a note of the API names of the field sets. If a field set is from a managed package, you must include its namespace, for example, pse__SelectProjectTemplateFieldSet.
3. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
4. In the Hover Details Field Set on Milestone field on the revenue forecast setup record, enter the API name of the field set on the Milestone object that you noted at step 2.
5. In the Hover Details Field Set on Opportunity field on the revenue forecast setup record, enter the API name of the field set on the Opportunity object that you noted at step 2.
6. In the Hover Details Field Set on Project field on the revenue forecast setup record, enter the API name of the field set on the Project object that you noted at step 2.
7. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

For information on the Review Forecast Version page, see Reviewing Revenue Forecast Versions.

You can create custom filters for certain field types, enabling users to filter the data on the Review Forecast Version page by specific fields on the Project, Opportunity, and Milestone objects.

To create custom filter options to be displayed in the filter panel on the Review Forecast Version page:

1. Create a new field set on the Review Forecast Version Detail object or use an existing field set. You can add the following types of fields from the Project, Opportunity, and Milestone objects:
   • Lookup
   • Picklist
   • Text
   Notes: Filtering is not supported on Picklist (Multi-Select), Rich Text, Encrypted Text, and Long Text type fields. You can, however, filter on Formula (Text) type fields.
   
   The current user must have Read access to the target object and field-level security access to the field on the related object. For example, to filter on the Work Calendar field on the Project object, the user needs Read access to the Work Calendar object and field-level Read access to the Work Calendar field on the Project object.

   You can add a maximum of 25 fields to the field set. For information on creating and editing field sets, see the Salesforce Help.

2. Make a note of the API name of the field set you are using. If it is a field set from a managed package, you must include its namespace, for example, pse__SelectProjectTemplateFieldSet.
3. Navigate to the Revenue Forecast Setup tab and edit the revenue forecast setup record that is active. If a revenue forecast setup record does not already exist, you must create one. If you do not, the default values apply. For more information, see Revenue Forecast Setup Fields.
4. In the Custom Filter Field Set field on the revenue forecast setup record, enter the API name of the field set on the Revenue Forecast Version Detail object that you noted at step 2.
5. Ensure Active is selected and save the revenue forecast setup record.

The fields you have added to the field set are now available in the filter panel on the Review Forecast Version page, provided the user viewing the page has the relevant field-level access.

For information about the Review Forecast Version page, see Reviewing Revenue Forecast Versions.