Who can use this feature?
- Refer to user licenses for limitations
- Available on all plans
Use forecasts to document expected changes to accounts with regard to flat renewals, churn, upgrades, or downgrades. Accurately maintaining forecasts for your portfolio allows your team to analyze revenue forecasts collectively within Revenue Center.
What is a forecast state?
A forecast state tells Totango an expected change on the account for one of the following:
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Upsell: Expected increase to contract value
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Renewal: No change expected to contract value
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Downgrade: Expected decrease to contract value
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Churn: Expected to move paying status to canceled
What is a forecast period?
The forecast period tells Totango when you expect a change to occur. Forecast period is used within Revenue Center to determine how you analyze revenue collectively, which may be set to monthly or quarterly. Once the period closes, the forecast state for an account (if set) is permanently captured for that time period.
When should I set a forecast?
You can set an account forecast any time you expect a change to occur. For example, if I expect an order for more licenses this month, I could set an upsell forecast for the date I expect the opportunity to close, unrelated to a renewal.
Additionally, to help you analyze revenue collectively, Revenue Center classifies renewable accounts as those with a contract start date (or create date if used instead) prior to the forecast period AND a contract renewal date within the forecast period.
Therefore, when a renewable account doesn't have a forecast, you'll see the following notifications either on the account profile or within Revenue Center.
You won't be able to set a forecast retroactively, so it's best practice to set forecasts for renewable accounts prior to the forecast period closing.
Consider creating a segment for yourself using filters for "renewable accounts (in current period)" and "contract renewal date exist," with columns added for "forecast state" and "forecast period." Look for any records that don't have a forecast state at all or has one set for a previous forecast period.
Can I change a forecast?
After you set a forecast, you can update the forecast anytime before the forecast period ends. Once the forecast period ends, the account's forecast state (if set) is permanently captured for that time period in Revenue Center. Additionally, Totango clears the forecast from the account profile, at which point you can set a new forecast state/period.
You can set a forecast on any account during the current or for a future forecast period; however, an account can only have one forecast state at a time.
Where do I set a forecast?
You can update forecast values on the account profile (individually) or from in Revenue Center (individually or bulk).
You can also update forecast attributes in bulk from a segment, but this is not recommended practice. Updating the forecast on the account profile (via telescope icon) ensures that all necessary forecast attributes are updated at the same time, which is required in order for the forecast on the account profile to accurately reflect the forecast state.
Update forecast on the account profile
- Open an account profile.
- Click Update Forecast or Forecast Needed (telescope icon).
- For the selected account, choose the forecast state and forecast period.
- The forecast period determines in what period this forecast will be reflected in Revenue Center. A forecast can occur, even if the account is not "renewable" for that period, such as a change order at any point in the contract term.
- If the forecast state was an upgrade or downgrade, enter the new expected contract value. Even if you have multiple opportunities for the same period, enter the expected total contract value.
- Click Save.
Depending on the forecast period selected, the forecast on the account profile will indicate the forecast state you chose. Examples:
Update forecasts in Revenue Center
There is no ability to set a forecast from within Revenue Center when there are no renewable accounts for the selected period. However, if there is at least one renewable account for a time period, you can set forecasts for that and other accounts.
Reminder, you cannot update forecasts for time periods in the past.
- From the left nav, click Revenue Center (under Executive Console).
- From the timeline, choose the current or future time period.
- From the team view, filter by My Accounts.
- Click the Update Forecast (current) or Set Forecast (future) from the telescope icon in the upper right corner or in the table.
The list of accounts that have a contract renewal date in the selected time period appear (e.g., renewable accounts). By default, only accounts that need a forecast are displayed.
- Use the filters to find the accounts you want to update, including the ability to set a forecast for "all other accounts" that don't have a contract renewal date in the current period.
- For each account, choose the forecast state and forecast period. If the forecast state was an upgrade or downgrade, enter the new expected contract value.
Depending on the number of days the account has been in poor health in the last 14 days, a suggested forecast may appear.
To update contract renewal date, right-click on an account name and open in a new tab.
- Continue updating forecasts for other accounts as needed.
- Click Done Forecasting.