VALUEWORKSInsights to Results
Sign in
Help center
Core path

Creating a forecast

Produce a forecast from actuals.

A forecast is not a second plan. It is a projection of what has actually happened.

Forecasting lists forecasts under statement tabs — Profit & Loss Statement, Total Cost Method, Check, Balance Sheet and Liquidity Analysis. Each row shows its source, method, the timeframe of actuals it learned from, the timeframe it forecasts, its author, and whether it is Active.

Create new forecast asks for the following things: a name; a source; a method where applicable; the range of actuals to use actuals from … to where applicable; and the forecast range from … to.

The currently available sources in the Forecasting section are Manual Input and ValueWorks. For an Excel-based forecast, go to Data Management → Manual Data Upload → Forecasting, set the required categories and years, choose Download template, fill in the template, and upload it with Upload new forecasting.

Methods include Linear regression, Linear progression, Prefill with Planning and Prefill with Forecast. Prefill with Planning starts from the plan rather than from history; Prefill with Forecast starts from an existing forecast.

The two ranges are the substance. Which actuals a forecast learns from decides what it predicts, so a forecast trained through an unusual quarter carries that quarter forward. Both ranges are recorded on the row, which is how anyone can later see what a forecast was built on.

The Forecasting list for Profit and Loss Total Cost Method, showing two forecasts with source, method, actuals timeframe, forecast timeframe, author, Active and Action columns.
  1. 1Statement tabs, including Balance Sheet and Liquidity Analysis
  2. 2Forecast source and method
  3. 3Timeframe actuals and Timeframe forecast
  4. 4Active status and Action
  5. 5Create new forecast

ValueWorks 2026.08

The Create new forecast dialog with a forecast name, source and method selectors, actuals range, forecast range, Cancel and Create.
  1. 1Forecast name
  2. 2Forecast source and method
  3. 3Use actuals from … to
  4. 4Forecast range from … to
  5. 5Cancel and Create

ValueWorks 2026.08

Takeaways

  • A forecast is defined by a source, a method, and two ranges — the actuals it learns from and the period it covers.

  • Prefill with planning starts from the plan instead of from history.

  • Prefill with Forecast starts from an existing forecast.

  • Excel forecasts are uploaded through Data Management → Manual Data Upload → Forecasting.

  • The actuals range is visible on every row, so anyone can see what a forecast was built on.

Surfaces covered

  • Forecasting

Also taught in the Academy

Module 5 · Plan and forecast

Take it as lesson 5.4 in Business Analyst & FP&A