I was building a budget and whipping up a Budget vs Actual report. But then I hit a snag with the forecast. I wanted it to automatically adjust based on the difference between what I budgeted and the actual revenue I was bringing in.
The issue was this: imagine I budgeted $1200 for revenue over a year ( $100 per month), but January only brought in $50. The remaining forecast needed to reflect the extra I had to hustle in the following months to make up the gap.
Here’s how I cracked the code:
Actual Data Takes the Wheel: Causal prioritizes actual data entries over formulas when it comes to forecasts. This meant as I plugged in the real revenue figures, the forecast would automatically adjust, reflecting the new situation.
Building the Rolling Forecast Machine: Causal’s formula capabilities came in handy here. I learned that the trick was to leverage a formula that considered two key things:
Total Revenue for the Year: This would be the initially planned amount, like my $1200 target.
Actual Revenue Received So Far: This would factor in the real numbers coming in, like the $50 I received in January.
By subtracting the actual revenue received so far from the total planned revenue for the year, I could calculate the remaining amount that needed to be earned.
Then, I could divide this remaining amount by the number of remaining months to get a new, adjusted monthly forecast that reflected the need to make up the shortfall.