What is
a
Driver-based Sales Forecast
? A Driver-based Sales Forecast is an essential planning tool used by sales managers to predict sales for the coming months. It involves breaking down the full-year sales target to generate sales per salesperson using a forecast template. Sales managers can also make manual adjustments at the row level to account for relevant exceptions. The form displays the variance between the total forecasted sales and the original sales budget at the top. Further down in this blog is an example of this forecast template.
You can find 100’s of additional examples
here.
Who Uses This Type of
Forecast Template
? The typical users of this type of forecast template are: Sales Executives and other managers.
Other
Forecast Template
s Often Used in Conjunction with
Driver-based Sales Forecast Templates Progressive Sales Departments sometimes use several different Driver-based Sales Forecast Templates, along with sales reports, sales dashboards, financial forecast reports and other management and control tools.
Where Does the Data for Analysis Originate From? The Actual (historical transactions) data typically comes from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like: Acumatica, Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) Finance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (D365 BC), Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Sage Intacct, Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, SAP Business One, SAP ByDesign, Netsuite and others. In analyses where budgets or forecasts are used, the data most often originates from in-house Excel spreadsheet models or from professional corporate performance management (CPM/EPM) solutions.
What Tools are Typically used for Reporting, Planning and Dashboards? Examples of business software used with the data and ERPs mentioned above are:
Purpose of
Driver-based Sales Forecast Templates
The purpose of Driver-based Sales Forecast Templates is to align the plans of all departments that depend on sales. Implementing this as part of the Sales Department's best practices can improve a company's sales-related plans and activities, reduce the risk of missing profit targets, and avoid supply chain issues.
Benefits to Users Driver-based sales forecasts offer significant benefits to business users, enabling them to make informed decisions and work more efficiently. Sales managers can identify which sales reps are performing well and which areas need improvement using this model. This information can be used to develop targeted training programs, set achievable sales goals, and allocate resources effectively. Moreover, users can easily modify forecasts to incorporate new information or changing business conditions, allowing them to react quickly to market changes. By utilizing Driver-based Sales Forecast templates, business users can make better decisions and proactively manage their sales operations, ultimately leading to increased efficiency and profitability.
Driver-based Sales Forecast Template
Example Here is an example of a driver-based Sales Forecast Input Template.
Driver-based Sales Forecast Template from Solver
- Native ERP report writers and query tools
- Spreadsheets (for example Microsoft Excel)
- Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tools (for example Solver)
- Dashboards (for example Microsoft Power BI and Tableau)
Corporate Performance Management (CPM) Technology Solutions and More Examples
- View 100’s of reporting, consolidations, planning, budgeting, forecasting and dashboard examples here
- Discover how the Solver CPM solution delivers financial and operational reporting
- Discover how the Solver CPM solution delivers planning, budgeting and forecasting
- Watch demo videos of reporting, planning and dashboards
April 16, 2023
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