Rolling forecast versions are easily created by the user

Description

This functionality allows financial planners to project financial results into the future continually, updating forecasts regularly with the most recent actual data model. The function prevents the original budget from going stale and keeps the organization focused on its goals.

Example Use Case

Scenario: An international manufacturing company uses CPM software for its planning process. They require to forecast their budget constantly, considering their most recent financial data.

Solution: The software features a user-friendly interface that allows the finance team to input the latest actual data and create updated rolling forecast versions. This continuous update helps them to adjust their financial strategies on-the-go, adapting to current market circumstances.

Considerations

This is a fundamental feature of any budgeting and forecasting system. This involves creating a new version, seeding it with the budget, and applying a time frame to it. This is usually through the end of the year, giving you 1+11, 2+10, 3+9 and so on. It should be a simple process using one form and minimal clicks.

Some products will re-use the prior month's version and simply move it forward, erasing your forecast and replacing it with actuals. This is useful for planning moving forward but does not help you understand how the business performed against forecast in the prior month.

Others will create a new version of the forecast for each month which allows you to retain forecast data for the prior month instead of overwriting it. That requires the system to support versions, and many of them simultaneously. If this is important to you, make sure the product can support it.

Questions to Ask a Vendor

• Usability: How straightforward is it for users to create rolling forecast versions in your CPM software?
• Scalability: How does your CPM software manage increasing data set sizes and complexity while maintaining performance?
• Seeding: Are we able to seed the forecast with the budget? Is that completed by a user without consulting support?