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Open Budgets > Budgets Menu > Forecast to project a company’s category costs beyond a selected Base Year. This is a planning worksheet, separate from a budget’s approval and Actuals. Audience: MSP staff and Company users with budget editing access assigned by their MSP. Ordinary budget read access does not open Forecast. Saving and syncing require budget management permission; ask your MSP if those buttons are missing.

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Open the right forecast

1

Select one company

Use the company selector at the top of the portal. Global View and an assigned-company portfolio are not a combined forecast. If you see Select a single company to forecast, choose one company there.
2

Choose the Base Year

Check the selected fiscal year and the years in the table headings. Save needed changes before switching company or year. If Discard unsaved changes? appears, Cancel keeps the current worksheet. Do not rely on a warning appearing: confirm that the selected year and table headings agree before editing.
3

Review the starting amounts

Read each category’s Base Year amount, Include switch and projected years. Saved forecast rules can contain manually adjusted starting amounts. Use Sync from Budget when you intend to replace those amounts with current budget totals.
4

Compare the projection

Check the Total row and the changes shown under each year. These changes compare against the previous year, not always the original base year. Scroll the table horizontally to reach later years, % Increase and Use Global.

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Understand the starting totals

When there are no saved rules, Forecast starts from categorized budget costs for the selected company and fiscal year. It combines matching budgets; it does not offer a source-budget picker or limit the calculation to one approved budget. Drafts, copies and archived plans can overlap, and rejected lines with positive costs can still contribute. Review those sources before relying on the forecast. The starting cost is the line’s twelve-month billing total, including its billing schedule and monthly overrides. A line without a usable category is not represented by a forecast category. Locked budgets can retain historical category names after a category is renamed or removed. The displayed currency comes from the company’s budget data, with a tenant default fallback. It does not convert mixed-currency prices. Reconcile the sources with your MSP when the forecast differs from a budget list total, approved plan or Actuals. MSP example: choose how many years follow the selected Base Year.

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Adjust the projection

For example, a 1,000 base amount with a 5% category increase projects 1,050, then 1,102.50. A manual first-year override of 2,000 makes the next year 2,100 at 5%. With a blank percentage, the next year returns to the 1,000 base instead. A 0% rate carries the previous amount forward; it is different from a blank rate after an override.

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Save and verify

Finish numeric edits by tabbing or clicking out of the field, then check the recalculated amounts. Changes remain unsaved until an authorized manager chooses Save. Wait for Budget forecast rules have been saved successfully, then reopen the same company and base year to check the settings and amounts. Save records forecast rules for that company and base year. It does not approve a budget, create future budget documents, change Planner work or update provider prices. Hide Empty Categories is a temporary display preference rather than a saved planning rule.

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Troubleshooting

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Frequently asked questions

Select one company and open Budgets > Budgets Menu > Forecast. Check Base Year and the projected columns. Budget editing access is required; management permission is required to save.
No. Forecast requires budget editing access assigned by the MSP. Ordinary budget viewing and Forecast have different access requirements.
No. Starting category totals combine matching company/year budgets. Check overlapping copies, statuses, rejected lines and categories before relying on them.
No. It excludes the category from totals. Keep Include on and use a blank percentage for a flat base amount in years without overrides.
Each row needs a percentage. Apply to All Categories copies the default into the rows; merely changing Default Annual Increase does not do that.
No. Percentages already copied to rows remain. Review and edit the category rates explicitly.
Clear that future-year amount field. The calculated value returns. Typing zero instead creates a zero override.
Yes. Hide Empty Categories looks at the base amount only; a hidden included row may have a nonzero future override.
No. Reducing Years to Forecast discards proposed overrides beyond that horizon. Review the effect before saving.
No. It saves planning rules for one company and base year. Budget creation, approval, Actuals and provider changes are separate workflows.
Related: Sync forecast sources, Read a budget, Monthly Breakdown.