How to use the Revenue Forecast chart in VOGSY

The Revenue Forecast chart visually represents both actual and potential revenue streams over time. It enables you to:

• Monitor progress against revenue targets.

• Assess financial outlook based on sales opportunities and active projects.

• Make proactive decisions based on the forecast, such as ramping up sales efforts or adjusting hiring plans.

Forecasting typically involves multiple spreadsheets and planning meetings, making the process time-consuming and prone to errors.

VOGSY simplifies this process by automating your revenue forecasts using real-time data from your sales opportunities and projects.

The revenue forecast looks from the most certain revenue, the actual revenue, towards a less certain future. The quality of the forecast is as good as the data stored in VOGSY and curated over time to reflect your best estimation of future workloads.

The Revenue Forecast chart shows the following data.

• The actual revenue. Depending on the switch in the chart settings in the back office, it's based on hours or journal entries booked on the projects.

• The planned order book shows all planned hours in the future.

• The unplanned order book calculates all project hours not planned on a resource. VOGSY distributes the unplanned order book revenue forecast evenly across the remaining project timeline.

  The unplanned order book can show the revenue with the following details:

  • To be calculated: the gap between the fixed price of a deliverable and the calculated revenue.

  • To be allocated: the revenue not yet assigned to a resource.

  • To be planned: the revenue allocated but not yet planned in time.

• The pipeline shows the combined value of all sales opportunities.

  You can refine the pipeline revenue by selecting 'weighted revenue' and using the slider to apply the probability percentage you need.

• The gap is calculated by adding all the above revenues and comparing them to the target.

• VOGSY calculates your revenue target using one of two methods:
  1. A set budget defined in the back office.
  2. The total number of potential billable hours across all resources.

• VOGSY recommends working with budgets per revenue type and setting them in the back office for the most predictable result.

Important note: The hourly rates that VOGSY uses to calculate work in progress based on either:

a) the sales rates of the activities or

b) the cost rates of the employees. Which one VOGSY uses depends on what setting you choose in the accounting settings in the back office.

1. Ensure Data Accuracy: The chart's reliability hinges on up-to-date information.

   • Consistently Update Sales Stages: As opportunities progress, keep their stages, potential revenue, and close dates accurate.

   • Maintain Accurate Sales Revenue Data: Ensure opportunity values are correct.

   • Keep Projects and Opportunities Resourced: Track time and resource allocations diligently.

2. Leverage Filters:

   • Departments: Filter data by specific departments to analyze performance at a granular level.

   • Revenue Type: If you have multiple revenue streams defined (e.g., consulting, implementation, retainers), you can filter by revenue type to see forecasts for specific service lines. This requires setting up revenue types in VOGSY.

   • Date Range: While the chart often shows a monthly view, look for options to adjust the overall period you are analyzing.

3. Utilize Interactive Features:

   • Revenue Selector: Choose to view the forecast based on weighted revenue (considering probability) or unweighted (total potential) revenue.

   • Sales Probability Slider: Filter out opportunities below a certain probability threshold to focus on more likely deals.

   • Drill Down into Details: You can click on a specific month within the chart for a more detailed breakdown, such as a list of the opportunities or projects contributing to that figure. You can click through to the individual opportunity or project card.

4. Interpret the Insights:

   • Pipeline Health: A consistently low pipeline forecast signals a need for increased sales and marketing efforts.

   • Resource Allocation: A strong upcoming planned order book might indicate a need to hire or reallocate resources.

   • Target Achievement: Regularly compare your forecast to your revenue targets. If there's a persistent gap, investigate the reasons (e.g., low win rates, deal slippage, insufficient pipeline).

   • Historical Comparison: Use "Last year's actual" to understand growth trends and seasonality.

5. Integrate with Other VOGSY Features:

   • Sales Pipeline Management: The revenue forecast is directly fed by the data in your sales pipeline (opportunities, stages, values, probabilities).

   • Project Planning: Accurate project planning and resource allocation contribute to the "Planned Order Book" section of the forecast.

   • Reporting: VOGSY also offers tabular reports like the "Revenue actual and forecast" report, which provides a detailed, line-item view that complements the visual chart.