Forecast Revision / Rolling Forecast
The Forecast Revision / Rolling Forecast Writeback template revises an existing annual budget during the fiscal year, combining actual results for completed periods with forecast amounts for the remaining periods. Use it for quarterly reforecasts, monthly rolling forecasts, and mid year budget revisions where actual months must stay unchanged. It uses the NECWRITEBACK formula, generated with the Writeback Wizard, to send changes from your workbook back to Acumatica.
Confirm that the required budget and forecast ledgers exist in Acumatica before starting. The Cutoff Month determines which periods use actual values and which remain available for forecasting.
Typical workflow
- Select the Budget Ledger, Actual Ledger, Forecast Ledger, and Cutoff Month.
- Select optional Branch or Subaccount filters.
- If the forecast does not already exist, select Create Forecast, then refresh the workbook.
- Select Initialize to create a working copy with static extracted data.
- Review the actual periods, then use the allocation helpers or enter values directly for the remaining periods.
- Review the totals and release status before submitting the forecast.
- Select Push to Acumatica to write the forecast values to Acumatica.
- Select individual lines and use Release Selected, or Release All to release the entire forecast.
- Select Reset before preparing another forecast revision.
Forecast header
Identifies the ledgers and the cutoff month that separates actual results from forecast periods.
| Field | What to select |
|---|---|
| Budget Ledger | Ledger used to populate budget amounts for periods after the cutoff month. |
| Actual Ledger | Ledger used to populate actual amounts through the cutoff month. |
| Forecast Ledger | Ledger in which the forecast is created and updated. |
| Cutoff Month | Last period treated as actual. Periods after this month are treated as forecast periods. |
| Cutoff Year | Calculated automatically from the selected Cutoff Month. Read only. |
| Cutoff Month Number | Calculated automatically from the selected Cutoff Month. Read only. |
Cutoff Year and Cutoff Month Number are calculated automatically from the selected Cutoff Month. Do not overwrite them.
Filters
- Branch: Optional branch filter used to limit the accounts displayed.
- Subaccount: Optional subaccount filter used to limit the accounts displayed.
Writeback actions
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Create Forecast | Creates the forecast in Acumatica for the selected year and forecast ledger. Refresh the workbook after creation so the new forecast can be loaded. |
| Push to Acumatica | Validates and writes the forecast values to the selected forecast ledger in Acumatica. |
| Initialize | Creates a separate workbook copy with (Initialized) added to the file name. Extracted data is made static in this copy so it remains available while forecast values are entered. |
| Reset | Clears the current changes and restores the workbook to its last saved state. Any unsaved entries or edits are removed. |
| Release Selected | Releases only the forecast lines marked in the Select column. |
| Release All | Releases the entire forecast. |
Forecast grid
Displays each forecast line by branch, account, and subaccount. Periods through the cutoff month show actual amounts from the actual ledger. Periods after the cutoff remain open for forecast entry.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Branch | Branch associated with the forecast line. |
| Account | General ledger account included in the forecast. |
| Account Description | Description of the general ledger account. |
| Subaccount | Subaccount associated with the forecast line. |
| Subaccount Description | Description of the subaccount. |
| Actual/Budget Total | Combined total based on actual periods through the cutoff and forecast periods after the cutoff. |
| January to December | Monthly actual or forecast amount, depending on the selected cutoff month. |
| Actual/Forecast Total | Total of all actual and forecast periods for the line. |
| Release Status | Indicates whether the forecast line has been released in Acumatica. |
| Select | Marks the line for use with Release Selected. |
Actual period cells populate from Acumatica and should remain unchanged. Enter or calculate amounts only in the forecast periods after the cutoff month.
Budget allocation helpers
Each helper distributes the forecast amount across the remaining forecast periods using a different method. Manual entry and formulas remain available for any period.
- Split Equally distributes the entered amount evenly across the remaining forecast months.
- Split Season distributes the entered amount according to the historical monthly pattern from the actual ledger.
- % Inc Budget applies a percentage increase or decrease to the corresponding monthly values.
Review and release
Before writing back the forecast:
- Confirm that the Cutoff Month correctly separates actual and forecast periods.
- Verify that the selected ledgers are correct.
- Review account, subtotal, gross margin, and net income totals.
- Confirm that only the intended forecast months have changed.
- Check the release status of lines that may already exist in Acumatica.
Writing forecast values to Acumatica and releasing them are separate actions. Use Release Selected for individual lines or Release All for the full forecast.