Setting up the Forecast module

Question

Hi everyone!

I have a customer who wants to use Sugar's Forecasting module, something which is not used by any of my other clients. I am learning the module at the moment, but I'm finding the Knowledge Base articles a bit confusing. My client is using v7.11 of the Professional edition.

I just want to check I am setting up the module in the correct order, and that I have completed all the necessary pre-requisites. So far, my understanding is I have to:

Set up the options via the Admin > Forecast menu.
Create the user heirarchy via the User record > Reports To field .
- Can I have more than one tier here? For example, can I specify that Bob reports to Tom, and Tom reports to Jim? How will this appear in the Forecasting reports?
Ensure that my client is using the out-of-the-box Sales Stage dropdown list, and ensure they are using the out-of-the-box "Closed Won" and "Closed Lost" values from this list.
Ensure that my client is using the out-of-the-box "Best", "Worst" and "Likely" values on Opportunities

Are these all of the necessary pre-requisites? Once I've configured all this, are users ready to go with using the module?

I'm not sure what the next step is - are users meant to go to the Forecast module and click "Commit"? This is where I am really lost! I haven't got any other customers using this module, and it seems really confusing for end-users.

Thanks in advance!

Philippa Grover · Accepted Answer

Hi Philippa Grover , The list and understanding you have outlined looks correct to me. Forecasts does not behave like any other module in Sugar, so some confusion is completely understandable. The Reports To concept does support multiple tiers of hierarchy. In your example in which Bob reports to Tom, and Tom reports to Jim, Bob's committed forecast will show up in Tom's Forecast module, and both Bob's and Tom's will show up in Jim's forecast module. This is the section of the documentation that describes and provides screenshots for how this will look. In order for a manager to see records belonging to their employee's worksheets, the reportee needs to Commit the worksheet. If the manager can see a previously committed worksheet, but the reportee's worksheet has changed since last the last commit, the two will see different content when viewing that reportee's worksheet. In your example in which Bob reports to Tom, and Tom reports to Jim , Tom will see changes to Bob's worksheet after Bob commits. Jim will see changes to Tom and Bob's worksheet after Tom commits. One part of the Forecasts module not mentioned in your original question are the Include and Exclude filters. Here is the section of documentation mentioning them. They are important to consider when becoming familiar with Forecasts because the "Include" filter will be active by default. I hope this is helpful. Below is a list of articles and documents for other community users who might benefit from these resources 7.11 Enterprise Application Guide on Forecasts 7.11 Enterprise Administration Guide on Forecast Configuration Setup and Utilization of the Forecasts Module