Error: Delete Your Custom Column or Forecast Type When Editing Salesforce Collaborative Forecasts Settings

This article answers the question: how do I resolve the "custom column defined in a forecast type" error so I can edit my Collaborative Forecasts settings?

Why This Happens

Salesforce blocks changes to forecast settings when any forecast type — active or inactive — still has a custom column defined on it. The custom column must be removed before the settings can be edited.

Resolution Steps

1. In Data Loader or Workbench, run this query (Data Loader/Workbench must be on API version 56 or later):
   `SELECT DeveloperName, ForecastingTypeId, Formula, Id FROM ForecastingColumnDefinition`
2. From the query results, note the forecast type ID.
3. Run an update or upsert on the forecast type to mark it active.
4. Once the forecast type is active, use the UI to delete the custom columns from that forecast type.

Legacy Forecast Types

It's no longer possible to activate legacy forecast types. If the custom column is on a legacy forecast type, take the ID from the query above and run a delete directly on the ForecastingColumnDefinition record instead.