Forecast

All topics relevant to forecasting are discussed in this chapter. Sequence is based on the procedure for using the forecast functions. The forecast functions enable sales forecasts on the one hand and Invoice Creation Date forecasts on the other. These can be created either on the subscription card or collectively via a subscription forecast. Subscriptions forecasts are also used to create the database for the PowerBI API.

Setup

The Forecast Setup can be accessed from the Subscriptions Manager role center:

Ill. Forecast Setup

Forecast Setup

Ill. Forecast Setup Card

The following fields are available in the General tab:

Field	Description
Dflt. Forecast by	Specifies whether Forecasts should be created according to a No. of Periods (e.g. 12 Months, 3 Years or similar) or for Fixed Forecast Periods (e.g. January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025). The options available are: No. of Periods: The forecast is created for a No. of Periods. Fixed Forecast Periods: The forecast is created for a fixed period with a start and enddate. Setup simply stores the default for forecasts to be created. The "No. of Periods" or "Fixed Forecast Periods" option can be overridden individually for each forecast.
Forecast Periods	Specifies the No. of Periods that are calculated for Subscriptions Forecasts. No. of Periods is calculated if None is specified. This setting can be overridden by a specific setting in the
Billing Frequency Code Filter.	If different Billing Frequency Code Filters are to be forecasted, then this field should be ignored and the settings should be stored in the Billing Frequency Code Filter.
Accounting periods	Specifies the No. of Periods that are calculated for Forecasts for invoicing. No. of Periods is calculated if None is specified. This setting can be overwritten by a specific setting in the Billing Frequency Code Filter. If different Billing Frequency Code Filters are to be forecasted, then this field should be ignored and the settings should be stored in the Billing Frequency Code Filter.
Auto-Forecast Category	Specifies a forecast category that is used to automatically create forecasts from Subscriptions. This must be filled if the two actions on the subscription card are to be executed.
Hide Color Coding	Suppresses the color coding used in forecast overviews to indicate the Security of the occurrence of an invoice creation.
Past posting date	Specifies the date on which the posting date for forecast items and already posted subscription items should be based.
Future posting date	Specifies the date on which the posting date for forecast items that lie in the future should be based.
Auto-Calculate Templates	Specifies that Forecast Templates set to Auto-Calculate will be converted and calculated by a Task Queue into Subscriptions Forecasts if one is enabled.
Auto-Calculate Released Forecasts	Specifies that released forecasts are automatically calculated by a task queue if one is activated.

The "Numbering" tab contains the following field:

Field	Description
Forecast Nos.	Specifies the Code for the No. Series used to assign forecast numbers.

Billing Frequency Forecast Group

Setup of the Billing Freq. Forecast Grp. is optional.

Ill. Billing Frequency Forecast Group

The Billing Freq. Forecast Code Filter can be used in the forecast as a filter to forecast only certain billing intervals and consists of the following fields:

Field	Description
Code	Specifies a Code that uniquely identifies this Group.
Description	Provides a Description of the Group.

Subscription Period Forecast Group

Setup of Subscr. Period Forecast Grps is optional.

Ill. Subscription Period Forecast Group

The Subscr. Period Forecast Grp. can be used as a filter in the forecast to forecast only certain Subscription Periods and consists of the following fields:

Field	Description
Code	Specifies a Code that uniquely identifies this Group.
Description	Provides a Description of the Group.

Billing Frequency Code Filter Forecast

Ill. Billing Frequency Tab Forecast

The "Forecast" tab in the Billing Frequency Code Filter has the following fields:

Field	Description
Forecast Periods	Specifies the No. of Periods to be calculated for Forecasts for invoicing. This setting overwrites the General setting in the Forecast Setup. Example: For a forecast of One Year, a 1 should be entered for a Billing Frequency Code Filter of 1Y and 12 for 1M.
Invoice Creation Periods	Specifies the No. of Periods to be calculated for Forecasts for invoicing. This setting overwrites the General setting in the Forecast Setup. Example: For a forecast of One Year, a 1 should be entered for a Billing Frequency Code Filter of 1Y and 12 for 1M.
Billing Freq. Forecast Grp.	Specifies the Billing Freq. Forecast Grp to which this billing frequency belongs.

Subscription Periods

Ill. Subscription Periods List Forecast

The following New field has been added to the Subscription Periods list:

Field	Description
Subscr. Period Forecast Grp.	Specifies the Subscr. Period Forecast Grp. to which this Subscription Period belongs.

Forecast Groups

Ill. Forecast Groups List

The forecast groups serve as an important grouping for the forecast matrix and forecast categories. Different groups should be selected

Field	Description
Code	Specifies a code that uniquely identifies the forecast group.
Description	Specifies the name of the forecast group.
Forecast calculation type	Specifies the basis for the forecast calculation. This setting is the default for forecast category lines based on this forecast group. It can be overwritten there. The following settings are available: empty Component quantity Ordered quantity Component quantity + ordered quantity Current quantity

Forecast Matrix

Ill. Forecast Matrix List

Forecast Group Codes are assigned to Item No. or Calculation Methods on the Forecast Matrix page. This is later used to determine which Items are calculated in the forecast. The following fields are available:

Field	Description
Item No.	Specifies an Item for which a Forecast Group is to be defined. If you specify an individual Item, you cannot specify a Calculation Method in the same Line.
Description	Specifies a Text that explains the Item in more detail.
Calculation Method	Specifies a Calculation Method for which a Forecast Group is to be defined. If you specify a Calculation Method, you cannot specify an individual Item in the same Line.
Forecast Group Code	Specifies a Forecast Group for the selected Item or Calculation Method.

Forecast Category

Ill. Forecast Category Card

The Forecast category defines the values or quantities with which the different group codes in the forecast are to be calculated.

The General tab contains the following fields:

Field	Description
Code	Specifies a Code that uniquely identifies the forecast category.
Description	Specifies a Description of the forecast category.
Nos of Forecasts	Opens a List of all Forecasts which used this forecast category.

The following fields are available in the Line:

Field	Description
Forecast Group Code	Specifies a Code that uniquely identifies the Forecast Group.
Description	Specifies the Name of the Forecast Group.
Include Amt. Percent	Indicates the percentage of the Amount that is taken into account for Items belonging to this Forecast Group.
Include Qty. Percent	Specifies the percentage of Quantity that is taken into account for Items belonging to this Forecast Group.
Amt. Revaluation Percent	Indicates the percentage by which the Amount is revalued up or down for this forecast.
Percent % of Quantity revalued	Indicates the percentage by which the Quantity is revalued up or down for this forecast.
Forecast calculation type	Specifies the basis for the forecast calculation. If this field is left blank, bill-to applies its default calculation method.

Both negative and positive percentages can be used.

The page has the following actions:

Action	Description
Last forecast	Displays the last forecast generated for this category.
Last evaluation	Displays the results of the last calculated forecast for this category in a matrix box.

Ill. Forecast Category Lines

Example: It is assumed that only 90% of Maintenance will continue in the next year, but these will receive an average price increase of 10%

Forecast Templates

The forecast templates can be used to pre-fill the header information for the forecasts and are therefore optional.

Ill. Forecast Template

The following fields are available in the forecast templates:

Field	Description
Code	Specifies a Code that uniquely identifies this forecast template.
Description	Provides a more detailed explanation of the forecast template.
Forecast category code	Indicates the category to which the forecast belongs.
Forecast Periods	Specifies a fixed number of Forecast Periods. None, the number of Forecast Periods is determined by the Forecast Setup or the corresponding values in the Billing Frequency Code Filter.
Include Posted Amounts	Specifies that posted Amounts from Subscription Ledger Entries are also taken into account, so that historical data and Forecast Date are loaded into the same data set.
Billing Freq. Forecast Grp.	Specifies that the forecasts are filtered for Subscriptions whose Billing Frequency Code Filter belongs to the entered Billing Frequency Code Filter forecast group.
Subscr. Period Forecast Grp.	Specifies that the forecasts are filtered for Subscriptions whose subscription terms belong to the entered subscription term forecast group.

Subscription Forecast

The actual forecast is calculated in the Forecast Subscription.

The fields that can be selected in the General tab differ according to whether the forecast is to be determined according to No. of Periods or for a Fixed Forecast Periods.

If the Forecast is to be calculated by No. of Periods, the following fields are visible:

Ill. Subscription Forecast Card

If the forecast is to be calculated by a Fixed Forecast Periods, the following fields are visible:

Ill. Subscription Forecast Card Period

Field	Description
No.	Specifies a unique number that identifies a Subscriptions Forecast. The number can be generated automatically from a No. Series or entered manually.
Description	Provides a more detailed explanation of the Subscriptions Forecast.
Forecast Date	Specifies the Date for which the Forecast is created.
Forecast category code	Indicates the category to which the forecast belongs.
Forecast by	Specifies whether Forecasts should be created according to a No. of Periods (e.g. 12 Months, 3 Years or similar) or for Fixed Forecast Periods (e.g. January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025). The options available are: No. of Periods: The forecast is created for a No. of Periods. Fixed Forecast Periods: The forecast is created for a fixed period with a start and end date. If this option is
selected, the "Forecast Starting Date" and "Forecast End Date" fields must be filled in.
Forecast Periods	Specifies a fixed number of Forecast Periods. None, the number of Forecast Periods is determined by the Forecast Setup or the corresponding values in the Billing Frequency Code Filter. The field is only visible and editable if the "No. of Periods" option has been selected in the "Forecast by" field.
Status	Indicates, wheter the forecast is open,approved for calculation or was already calculated.
Forecast Starting Date	Specifies the date of the first day for which a forecast is to be calculated. The field is only visible and editable if the "Fixed Forecast Periods" option has been selected in the "Forecast by" field. If this is the case, this field is a mandatory field without which the forecast cannot be calculated.
Forecast end date	Specifies the date of the last day for which a forecast is to be calculated. The field is only visible and editable if the "Fixed Forecast Periods" option has been selected in the "Forecast by" field. If this is the case, this field is a mandatory field without which the forecast cannot be calculated.
Include Posted Amounts	Specifies that posted Amounts from Subscription Ledger Entries are also taken into account, so that historical data and Forecast Date are loaded into the same data set.
Past posting date	Specifies the date on which the posting date for forecast items and already posted subscription items should be based.
Future posting date	Specifies the date on which the posting date for forecast items that lie in the future should be based.
Billing Freq. Forecast Grp.	Specifies that the forecasts are filtered for Subscriptions whose Billing Frequency Code Filter belongs to the entered Billing Frequency Code Filter forecast group.
Subscr. Period Forecast Grp.	Specifies that the forecasts are filtered for Subscriptions whose subscription terms belong to the entered subscription term forecast group.

Abb. Forecast Statisitcs

Following field are in the tab Statisitcs:

Subscriptions | Indicates the number of Subscriptions for which a forecast could be successfully created. Subscription Errors | Indicates the number of Subscriptions for which a forecast could not be successfully created. Forecast Turnover Entries | Displays the number of sales items. Forecast Deferral Entries | Displays the number of Deferral Ledger Entries. Posted Turnover Entries | Displays the number of loaded Subscription Ledger Entries. Posted Deferral Entries | Shows the number of Deferral Ledger Entries posted. Forecast Amount (LCY) | Returns the total forecast amount, in MW. Posted Amount (LCY) | Indicates the total amount from Posted Amount (LCY), in MW. Status | Indicates whether the Subscriptions Forecast is open, released for calculation by a task queue or already calculated.

Ill. Subscription Forecast Card Tab Forecast Quantity

In the Forecast quantities tab, the calculated forecast quantities are shown for each Calculation Method. The following fields are therefore available:

Field	Description
Software license	Indicates the total quantity of software licenses.
Subscription Standard Qty.	Specifies the total Quantity in Subscriptions Standard Licenses.
New Commerce Qty.	Indicates the total Quantity in New Commerce Qty. licenses.
Consumption Qty.	Indicates the total Consumption Qty.
Quota Qty.	Indicates the total Quota Qty..
Perpetual License Qty.	Indicates the total Quantity in purchase licenses.

Ill. Subscription Forecast Action bar

The following actions are available in the action bar of the Subscriptions Forecast:

Field	Description
Recalculate Forecast	Deöetes the Forecast Results and Createsa new one.
Generate forecast	Generate a Subscriptions Forecast.
Charge Amounts	Load the appropriate posted Amounts from the Subscription Ledger Entry.
Load template	Apply a Forecast Template to this Subscription Forecast to include the Forecast Category Code, Forecast Period, Billing Freq. Forecast Grp. and Subscription Term Forecast.
Release	Release the Subscriptions Forecast for a calculation via a task queue.
Reopen	Reopen the Subscriptions Forecast so that it is not calculated by a task queue and can be edited.
Invoice creation data	Shows the invoice creation dates and billing periods for the Subscriptions belonging to the forecast.
Forecast error	Displays all errors when creating forecasts for Subscriptions.
Reporting	SHows flexible general reporting based on the calucated forecast in a matrix.

Ill. Subscription Forecast Lines

The Line tab contains the following fields:

Field	Description
Amount Type	Indicates whether the Subscription Forecast Entries relate to Forecast Turnover, Forecast Deferral Entries, Posted Turnover or Posted Deferral Entries.
Subscription No.	Specifies the Subscriptions for which the Entries were created.
Invoice Creation Date	Specifies the date on which the Subscription Billing is created.
Start of Billing Period	Indicates the start of the billing period for which the Entries have been posted.
End of Billing Period	Indicates the end of the billing period for which the Entries have been posted.
Item No.	Indicates the number of the Item in the Entries.
Calculation Method	Indicates which Calculation Method the Entries are based on.
Amount (LCY)	Amount (LCY) in MW.
Deferral Amount (LCY)	Indicates the accrual amount, in MW.
Quantity	Indicates how many Units are sold.
Sell-to Customer No.	Specifies the number of the Customer who received the Subscriptions.

The following actions are available in the action bar of the Line:

Ill. Subscription Forecast Lines Action bar

Action	Description
Subscription	Opens the Subscription connected to the entry.
Forecast invoicing	Shows the next billing dates and billing periods for the current subscription.
Subscriptions Forecast	Shows a sales forecast for future billing periods for the current Subscriptions.

Forecast Evaluations

Current forecasts are mainly evaluated by reading the calculated figures via an API page and transferring them to Power BI or to project-specific reporting.

However, the first internal Business Central evaluations are already available. These can be accessed via the action Reporting

This is an example for the reporting:

Abb. Forecast Reporting

The following fields are available in the evaluation:

Field	Description
Subscription Forecast	Specifies the subscription forecast.
Line View	Specifies the subscription forecast.
Spade view
Amount type	Specifies whether the amounts are displayed as revenue or liquidity amounts. The revenue amount reflects the receivables in the period in which they arise. The liquidity amount reflects the receivables on an accrual basis.
Forecast time levels	Specifies whether only posted or only forecast entries are displayed, or both.
Display by	Specifies the period for which the amounts are displayed.
Rounding factor	Specifies the factor used to round the amounts.
Display column names	Specifies that the column names are displayed in the matrix window.
The following values can be selected in the rows and columns.
Subscription Subscription type group Subscription item Subscription item group Global dimension 1 Global dimension 2 Period Calculated for customer Sold to customer

Subscription Card

Ill. Subscription Card Action Forecast

Two new promotions have been added to the Subscriptions tab on the subscription card:

Action	Description
Forecast invoicing	Shows the next invoice creation dates and billing periods for the subscription.
Subscriptions Forecast	Shows a Turnover forecast for future accounting periods.

In order for these actions to be carried out, the "Auto-Forecast Category" field must be filled in the Forecast Setup.

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