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Set Up Pipeline Forecasting
Set up Salesforce so that your teams can work with forecasts based on pipeline opportunities captured in opportunity records.
Required Editions
| Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience |
| Available in: Professional, Performance, and Developer Editions and in Enterprise and Unlimited Editions with Sales |
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- Turn On Salesforce Forecasting and Define Forecast Settings
Starting in Winter ‘24, forecasting is automatically enabled with default pipeline forecasting settings are configured for you. In orgs created before Winter ‘24, you can manually enable forecasting and take advantage of the same default settings for your opportunity based forecasts. To update the configuration to meet your business processes, visit the Forecasts Settings page in Salesforce Setup. - Define Pipeline Forecast Types
Use forecast types to specify how Salesforce calculates forecasts. Each forecast type presents projected sales from a different perspective. - Rollup Methods for Pipeline Forecasts
Learn about methods for rolling up opportunities into forecasts for your sales teams. - Show, Hide, and Reorder Pipeline Forecast Columns
Customize the display of most standard and custom forecast columns on the forecasts page. For example, you can position a custom Most Likely column to appear next to the Open Pipeline column. - Include Other Data in Custom Columns in Pipeline Forecasts
Make forecast decisions using all the data that matters to your business by adding custom columns to a forecast. Custom columns can show data that’s imported and referenced, such as Stretch Quota or Internal Booking Target, or a calculated value, such as gap to quota. Having all the information in one place helps you create more precise forecasts without having to turn to other resources. - Manage Opportunity Stage to Forecast Category Mappings for Pipeline Forecasts
Forecasts rely on how picklist values map between the Stage field and the Forecast Category field on opportunities. For example, if you map the Negotiation/Review stage to the Best Case forecast category, the amounts of your opportunities in Negotiation/Review are included in your Best Case forecast amount. If the stage of an opportunity changes, the probability and forecast category also change. - Customize Pipeline Forecast Categories
A forecast category is the category within the sales cycle to which an opportunity is assigned based on its opportunity stage. The standard forecast categories are Pipeline, Best Case, Commit, Omitted (not included in forecasts), and Closed. Salesforce admins can add a Most Likely category in Lightning Experience and rename categories in both single category rollups and cumulative category rollup scenarios. - Allow Point-in-Time Pipeline Forecast Submissions
Forecast submissions are sales reps’ or managers’ best estimates of the revenue or quantities they expect to close during the forecast period. As management levels within the sales organization review forecast rollups, they compare the current forecast against the submitted forecast numbers and quota. - Allow Manager Judgments in Pipeline Forecasts
Allow forecast managers to indicate which of their subordinates’ opportunities they have high confidence of closing during the current forecast period. To get the most benefit out of manager judgments, we recommend also enabling managers to make adjustments at the forecast rollup level. Manager judgments are supported for forecast types based on opportunity, opportunity product, and line item schedule objects only. - Set Up Historical Data for Pipeline Forecast Charts
To give sales leaders the data they need when viewing forecasting charts, ensure that historical trending is on for Forecasting Item. Also verify that the retention period is set appropriately. - Increase Global Pipeline and Forecast Visibility with Data 360
Use Sales and Data 360 together to see all your revenue predictions and to track different types of income, such as sales, billing, and ad purchases. Compare your forecasts with actual results to make smart adjustments for more accurate forecasts, engage with the right customers to close deals, alter account strategies, and boost your pipeline to meet your sales goals.
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