What is Forecasting?

Forecasting is the ability, within the InDepthRep Program, to enter a set of goals, quotas, or expected sales for individual companies, by product line, by month, and let the InDepthRep program compile all the numbers and display totals for sales, and calculate expected commission dollars.

This is very useful for management to use in budgeting not only for day to day expenses, but also for possible employee compensation and/or bonus programs.

Why use it?

Forecasting is designed to set realistic expectations for sales, so agency management can use these expected sales numbers to plan expected commission income, so daily, monthly, and yearly expenses can be properly planned for. This also allows agency management to plan for additional expenses such as travel, product shows, and training schools, and for the justification to add or delete any currently attended events.

Because the forecasting is flexible, it can also be used to enter sales quotas as set by the rep agency or by individual manufacturers, so that progress in individual salespeople/territories versus these sales quotas can be easily tracked on a month by month basis.

Finally, forecasting can be used to set goals for individual salespeople for use in company based incentive programs and salary programs. Because sales and commission dollars can be tracked independently and viewed based upon password distribution, either or both sales and commission targets can be set and allowed to be viewed as the agency management decides.

Because of the flexibility of use of the forecasting feature, agencies are encouraged to use the feature in any way they desire.

How do I implement it?

Implementation of a specific type of forecasting is entirely up to the individual agency, however, the actual entering of data is done in the same way regardless of which type of plan is desired.
All data is entered for each individual customer company, for each individual product line, for each month of the year. While this may seem to be a tedious process, there are several screens which allow for the quick and efficient entry of this data into the InDepthRep Program.

We do recommend that when entering this data, to enter data only from one of the possible ways instead of using multiple ways, as this prevents confusion and also the possible double entry or failure to enter for individual customers. Additionally we recommend that all relevant data for quota or goal programs be available before beginning data entry, if this is the desired use of the forecasting system.

While entering forecasting data, the InDepthRep program stores the information within the database, however compiled calculations of totals are only available once all months for which data has been entered have been posted through the invoices module.

This allows the entering of data without the actual displaying of the totals until all data has been entered and also allows for fine tuning of data by simply changing values and then re-posting the months for which changes have been entered.

Additionally, this allows for changing data due to the addition or subtraction of product lines “mid-year” if desired, by simply adding data for the new line, or deleting data for the subtracted line and again, re-posting the desired months.

Where do I enter the data?

There are several specific ways to enter the data into the InDepthRep program, however all are based upon the same basic process. Information is entered from any sales screen from which there is access to the “Three Year History” screen. Once in this screen, users may choose the necessary Company, Product Line, and enter data in the sales table under the Budget heading for the individual months as desired.

The possible ways to access the “Three Year History” screen for forecasting data input are:

1. Company Module

1. Open the Company Module.
2. Access the "Sales" tab.
3. Click on the "Switch to 3 Year View" button.

2. Territory Module

1. Open the Territory Module.
2. Access the "Company Sales" tab.
3. Click on the "Switch to 3 Year View" button.

3. Salesman Module

1. Open the Salesman Module
2. Access the "Company Sales" tab.
3. Click on the "Switch to 3 Year View" button.

If accessing via the Company module, prior filters and sorts are preserved in the display of the companies.

If accessing via either the Territory or Salesman Modules, all result are pre-filtered for the selected Salesperson or Territory.

Data entered in any of the above mentioned places is automatically populated to the others to avoid potential duplication of entry.

Entering Forecasting Data

Entering forecasting data can be accomplished from one of three different modules.