Forecast vs actuals report
Screen reference
Overview
The Forecast vs Actuals report provides a financial comparison between the forecasted and actual values for projects during a selected period.
Depending on the selected mode, the report can display either:
- Revenue
- Cost
The report is intended to provide a high-level financial view of project performance while automatically consolidating information from project hierarchies.
Filters
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Start month | First month included in the report period. |
| End month | Last month included in the report period. |
| Revenue / Cost | Determines whether the report displays Revenue values or Cost values. |
| Group by | Allows grouping the report by Project Type. If no grouping is selected, all projects are listed together. |
Revenue view
When Revenue is selected, the report contains two independent sections.
Forecasted revenue
Displays the forecasted revenue for each project during the selected period.
Forecasted Revenue is calculated from task estimated revenue.
The report automatically rolls up values from child projects into their parent project, providing a consolidated financial view.
Each project displays:
- Revenue for each selected month
- Total revenue for the selected period
Actual revenue
Displays the actual revenue generated during the selected period.
This section allows managers to compare planned revenue versus executed revenue for every project.
Like the Forecast section, Actual Revenue is also displayed per month and with an overall total.
Cost view
When Cost is selected, the report follows the same structure as the Revenue view.
It contains two sections:
- Forecasted Cost
- Actual Cost
Both sections display monthly values together with the total amount for the selected period.
Project hierarchy Roll-up
Projects may contain child projects.
The report automatically consolidates financial information from child projects into their parent project.
For Forecast calculations, values are obtained from the corresponding project tasks.
Example:
Parent Project ├── Child Project A ├── Child Project B └── Child Project C
The parent project's Forecast value includes the eligible forecast values from all child projects.
This provides a complete financial overview without requiring users to review every subproject individually.
Report structure
For both Revenue and Cost, the report follows the same layout.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Forecasted | Planned financial values for the selected period. |
| Actual | Executed financial values for the selected period. |
| Monthly Columns | Values corresponding to each month included in the selected range. |
| Totals | Sum of all months displayed in the report. |
Calculation notes
Forecast values
Forecast values are calculated from project task information.
When projects contain subprojects, forecast values from eligible child tasks are automatically accumulated into the parent project.
Actual values
Actual values are calculated from executed project data during the selected period.
Monthly totals
Each monthly column only includes values that belong to that month.
The Totals column represents the sum of all displayed months.
Typical uses
The report is commonly used to:
- Compare forecasted versus actual project performance.
- Monitor financial execution over time.
- Review project revenue or cost by month.
- Analyze parent projects without manually consolidating child project information.
- Group financial information by Project Type when required.
Example
Suppose a parent project contains two child projects.
| Project | Forecast Revenue |
|---|---|
| Parent Project | £500 |
| Child Project A | £700 |
| Child Project B | £300 |
The report displays:
| Project | Forecast Revenue |
|---|---|
| Parent Project | £1,500 |
because the report automatically rolls up the forecast values from all child projects into the parent.
Notes
- Forecast and Actual values are calculated independently.
- Revenue and Cost views use the same report structure.
- Child project values are automatically consolidated into their parent projects.
- Forecast calculations are based on project task data.
- The report supports grouping by Project Type for higher-level financial analysis.