Opportunity Forecast General Tab

Use the General tab to select report options for the Opportunity Forecast report and to save sets of options for reuse.

Contents

Field Description
Report Name You can change the default report name.
Create Activity To create activities in the Activity Manager when you generate the report, select this check box. DPS displays the Activity dialog box so that you can enter information about the activity, including its type (email, phone call, meeting, touchpoint, and so on), primary contact, and date/time. DPS creates an activity for each record included on the report.
Grid Type Select the type of data for which you want to show additional columns.
Print Final Totals Select this check box if you want a line at the end of the report that shows total amounts for the entire report.
Summarize Opportunity Detail Select this option to generate a summary version of the report.

Timescale Display Options

Field Description
Start Date Enter the starting date for the data to be displayed on the report, or click the calendar icon and select the date.
Display Period

Select one of the following options to indicate the periods for which you want display forecasted revenue:

  • Daily
  • Weekly
  • Bi-Weekly: A bi-weekly period is a two-week period that starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday.
  • Semi-Monthly: One semi-monthly period runs from the first day of the month to the fifteenth day of the month. The other semi-monthly period runs from the sixteenth day of the month to the end of the month.
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Yearly

For example, if you select Monthly, the report displays forecasted revenue by month.

Fiscal Year This field is only enabled if the Display Period field is set to Yearly. Use this field to identify the start and end month of your fiscal year.

For example, select Fiscal Year October - September and the Year Determined by End Month. That means that October 2016 - September 2017 is FY 2017.

The first quarter of FY 2017 would be October 2016 - December 2016 and the second quarter would be January 2017 - March 2017.

Year Determined by This field is only enabled if the Display Period field is set to Yearly or Quarterly. Use this field to select whether the year of the start month or the year of the end month is used for the year of the Fiscal Year.

For example, if you selected Fiscal Year October - September and Year Determined by Start Month, then October 2015 - September 2016 would be FY 2015. However, if you selected the same FY but End Month, that same time period would be FY 2016.

Display Range Enter the number of periods for which you want to display forecasted revenue. For example, if you want to review forecasts for six months, you set the Display Period option to Monthly and enter 6 in this field. The report displays forecasted revenue in six monthly columns. The first column is for the month in which the date in Start Date falls.
Column Width Specify the width of the forecasted revenue columns, in inches or millimeters based on which one you selected in the Unit of Measure field on the Layout tab.

Enter inches and millimeters with decimals. For example, enter one and a half inches as 1.5.

Calculation Options

Field Description
Revenue Allocation Select one of the following methods for allocating revenue to periods:
  • Spread Evenly Across Timescale: DPS allocates estimated revenue evenly from the start date of each opportunity to its completion date.
  • Allocate All Revenue to Estimated Start Date: DPS allocates the total estimated revenue to each opportunity's start date.
  • Allocate All Revenue to Close Date: DPS allocates the total estimated revenue amount to the opportunity's completion date.
  • Use Allocation Method on Opportunity: DPS allocates estimated revenue using the allocation method specified for each opportunity in Opportunity Settings. The allocation methods available there are the same as those listed above, with the following addition. In Opportunity Settings, you can also choose a Specific Dates method and allocate the estimated revenue to specific dates on which you expect to receive revenue. This allocation method is designed for companies that receive revenue for projects at irregular intervals, rather than monthly, quarterly, and so on. Be sure to select the Use Allocation Method on Opportunity option for this report, if you want it to show the dates on which payment is expected.
Calculation Period If you select Spread Evenly Across Timescale in Revenue Allocation, use this option to specify the period for which DPS calculates the revenue. DPS then uses that unit of revenue to calculate the revenue forecast for the period displayed on the report.

Select the calculation period from the following options:

  • Daily
  • Weekly
  • Bi-Weekly: A bi-weekly period is a two-week period that starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday.
  • Semi-Monthly: One semi-monthly period runs from the first day of the month to the fifteenth day of the month. The other semi-monthly period runs from the sixteenth day of the month to the end of the month.
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
  • Yearly

DPS first determines how many of the calculation periods exist for the opportunity. For example, an opportunity has an estimated start date of 1/1/18 and an estimated completion date of 1/1/19. If the calculation period is daily, the opportunity date range has 366 calculation periods.

DPS the calculates how much revenue will be earned during one calculation period of the opportunity. If the estimated revenue for the opportunity is $100,000, the daily revenue amount is $273.224 ($100,000/366 days).

DPS uses the revenue amount for the calculation period to calculate the forecasted revenue for the display period you select for the report. If you specify a start date of 1/1/18, select Monthly in Display Period, and enter 3 in Display Range, the report displays three columns containing forecasted revenue for January, February, and March. The amount for each month is the number of days in that month multiplied by the daily revenue amount. For example, the forecasted revenue for the opportunity for January would be $8469.94 ($273.224 x 31).

Calculate Forecast by You specify the opportunity's estimated revenue in the Opportunities hub. The estimated revenue is the amount that you expect to earn if the opportunity results in an awarded project. You also specify a percentage that represents the probability that the opportunity will become a project.

Use this option to specify the type of revenue that you want DPS to use as the basis for the forecasts:

  • Estimated Revenue: In the Opportunities hub, you specify the opportunity's estimated revenue. The estimated revenue is the amount you expect to earn if the opportunity results in an awarded project.
  • Weighted Revenue: In the Opportunities hub, you specify a percentage that represents the probability that the opportunity will become a project. DPS calculates the weighted revenue as follows: Estimated revenue x Probability / 100. (Example: $100,000 estimated revenue x 80% / 100 = $80,000 weighted revenue)

Currency

Field Description
Report In

Select the currency to use for amounts:

  • Opportunity Currency: The currency specified in Currency on the Overview tab of the Opportunities hub.
  • Presentation Currency: The currency that you select for the Presentation Currency option.
Presentation Currency If you selected Presentation Currency in Report in, select the three-character ISO code for the currency. (The list includes only the currencies that are enabled for your enterprise.)

All amounts on the report will be presented in this currency. DPS calculates the exchanges between the opportunity currency and the presentation currency based on the date that you specify in Exchange Rate as of.

Exchange Rate as of If you selected Presentation Currency in Report in, specify the date that DPS should use to calculate exchanges between the presentation currency you select and the opportunity currency. DPS determines the correct exchange rates in the daily exchange rate table based on this date.

Graph

Field Description
Show Time Scale Graph Select this option to display the Opportunity Time Series graph at the end of the report. The graph displays the type of revenue that you specify in Calculate Forecast by for the periods you specified in Display Periods. The data points on the graph are based on the first grouping that you specify on the Sorting/Grouping tab. If you do not specify a grouping, the graph is based on opportunity name.
Height Specify the height of the graph in inches or millimeters based on which one you selected on the Layout tab. Enter inches and millimeters with decimals. For example, enter one and a half inches as 1.5.
Width Specify the width of the graph in inches or millimeters based on which one you selected on the Layout tab. Enter inches and millimeters with decimals. For example, enter one and a half inches as 1.5.
Field Description
Firm Hierarchy Lookup If you are using firm hierarchies and you want to generate the report for a firm hierarchy, select a firm in that hierarchy. The report includes the entire hierarchy of which the selected firm is a part.