Forecasting(Reporting Matrix)

With Inforiver, you can easily generate a rolling forecast and use methods like period range, average of period range, or apply formulas to initialize the forecast. Leverage the integrated time intelligence and time extension features to create half-yearly forecasts or fiscal period forecasts. In this section, discover how to configure forecasts, close the forecast once actuals are available, update forecasts, distribute deficits, and extend forecasts.

Refer to the Common Scenarios sections for practical use cases on forecasting.

1. Generating a forecast

To create a forecast, click the Insert Forecast button in the Insert ribbon. Specify the period for which you want to generate an open forecast and the measure to be used to populate closed(past) forecast periods.

1. Measure name: By default, the forecast measure is named ‘Forecast’. This can be updated to a relevant column name.

2. Forecast period: The time frame for which the forecast is being generated. You can update the range based on your requirements. In this case, we are generating a forecast from January 2025 to December 2025.

3. Update values for past/closed periods from: The new forecast measure will be created for past or closed periods as well. If you have actuals for 2024 and are generating a forecast for 2025, 2024 will be considered as the closed period. Select the measure to use to populate closed periods. In this case, we have chosen the Sales measure.

2. Configuring the forecast

Inforiver allows you to create rolling forecasts and choose different methods to populate the forecast values.

1. Target period: You can split the forecast period into shorter time frames or configure the forecast for the whole period. In this case, we have split the forecast period into 3 parts: January to March, April to June, and July to December.

You can also configure for the entire period in one shot as shown below.

2. Select source: You can choose any of the options listed below to populate the forecast-

• Blank: Enter values manually

• Use a measure

• Upload forecast from a file

If you choose to upload forecast values from a file, Inforiver will generate a template file that you can download. You can fill in the forecast values in the template file and upload them to the visual.

3. Apply operation: This option will be enabled only when you choose a measure from the Select Source dropdown, i.e., when you source open forecasts from an existing measure in the report. There are 3 different methods that you can use to generate a forecast:

• Period range: The values from a specific period range will be used to initialize the forecast. In this case, we have used the sales from Q4 2024 (Copy period range) to populate the forecast for Q1 2025 (Target period). The duration of the period range should match the duration of the target period. For example, if the target period is 6 months, then you must select a period range that spans 6 months.

Single period: The values for a specific month will be used to initialize the forecast. In this case, we have used the sales from December 2024 to populate the forecast for Apr to Jun 2025.

Average of period range: The average of a time period will be used to initialize the forecast. In this case, we have used the average sales from July 2024 to Dec 2024 to initialize the forecast.