Creating, editing, and managing forecasts is possible in the Controller to estimate revenues and expenses for the fiscal year. Forecasts are based on actual, budgeted, or imported accounting data from different periods. This guide covers creating, editing, importing/exporting in Excel, and inputting for account groups and calculation objects.
CONTENTS
Forecast
A forecast is a tool used to estimate the fiscal year's revenues and expenses based on actual and budgeted values or imported accounting data. The forecast is based on actual months and the entered data for the rest of the fiscal year, budget data for the rest of the fiscal year, or data from a previous forecast for the rest of the fiscal year.
Forecast Input
Creating a forecast begins with the "Create New" option. In the "Create New" section, a name is given to the forecast, and either "Rolling Forecast" or "Forecast for Period" is selected. A rolling forecast is based on the VAT lock date, meaning the forecast starts from the month following the VAT lock date. A forecast for a period starts from the selected start date and shows actual values up to the company's VAT lock date.
For the forecast base, you can choose ready-made figures or use a blank template. When using ready-made figures, the latest monthly values are selected for each forecast month from the chosen data. If the base data or the created forecast is longer than a year, the same values will apply to the months of different years.
The choice between "Rolling Forecast" or "Forecast for Period" cannot be changed after the forecast is created, but the duration of the forecast can be edited. The forecast can be deleted, copied, or set as primary through the three dots. The primary forecast appears first, for example, in the report's comparison series selection.
A forecast can be in the state of "Ready" or "In Progress." To edit a forecast, it must be in the "In Progress" state. A forecast in the "Ready" state cannot be edited.
If a value is entered in the total column of the forecast, the actual sum on the forecast is first subtracted, and the remaining value is evenly distributed across the forecast months. The remainder is set to the first month of the forecast.
It is possible for multiple users to input the forecast simultaneously. After each forecast value is entered, all changed values are updated in the forecast. This way, values possibly entered simultaneously by other users also become visible.
Keyboard shortcuts can be utilized in forecast input. The following actions can be performed on selected cells:
Copy (Ctrl + c) -> Copies the values of the selected cells.
Paste (Ctrl + v) -> Pastes the copied values into the selected cell and onwards to other cells based on the copy.
Cut (Ctrl + x) -> Removes the values of the selected cells and copies them to the clipboard.
Fill (Ctrl + k) -> Inputs the value of the selected cell (one cell) into the remaining cells of the table's row. The command must be executed from the cell containing the value to be copied.
Delete -> Removes the values from the selected cells.
Forecast Import/Export
Forecast values can be imported/exported to Excel. Only forecast values are exported to Excel, actual values are omitted. Values can be edited in Excel and imported back into the controller. Accounts are matched by number and calculation objects and titles by name.
Input for Account Group
When inputting for an account group, the value is saved to the first account of the account group. Inputting for an account group overrides the previous values under the account.
Input for Calculation Object
The forecast can also be input for a calculation object. Inputting is done by selecting the calculation object from the calculation object filter. Values can be input for a calculation object combination by selecting both, in which case the values go to both calculation objects.
The unallocated value of a calculation object title is the sum of all estimates that have not been assigned a calculation object under that title.
In the calculation object hierarchy, values can be at all levels. In this case, the values of the lower levels of the hierarchy are included with the values at the higher levels.
Account View
Values for a single account can be input more efficiently through the account view. The view can be accessed from the forecast view by clicking the account name or using the arrow button next to the selected cell. In the account view, the selected account can be changed from the menu at the top of the table. 
Allocation to Calculation Objects
Unallocated shows the value entered for the account that has not been allocated to any calculation object. If unallocated is other than 0, values entered for calculation objects automatically reduce the unallocated value. Similarly, removing a value entered for a calculation object transfers the value to unallocated.
Default Title Selection
Summary rows are added to the table for the default title's calculation objects, showing the sum of all calculation object combinations containing that calculation object. The default title selection is user-specific and does not affect saved values, so it can be changed as needed.
Keywords: forecasts, Controller, rolling forecast, forecast for period, Excel, account group input, calculation object, import/export, account view.
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