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      How to Set Up the HubSpot Forecast

      Track Progress, Adjust Projections, and Keep Your Sales Pipeline on Course

      Access Requirements

      • Available for Sales Hub Professional and Enterprise and Service Hub Professional and Enterprise.

      • Only Super Admins can set up and edit forecast settings.

      • Users with Forecast permissions can view and modify forecast entries but cannot change settings.

       

      As a manager, the forecast tool helps you monitor your team's progress toward their sales goals. By default, it leverages deal stages to predict revenue based on the likelihood of closing each deal. If you set up forecast categories, you can further organize deals into groups, allowing for more precise adjustments while keeping visibility into the sales process.

      This tool is especially useful during one-on-one meetings with reps, helping you identify areas where they need to focus to meet their monthly or quarterly targets.

      Even when a user is deactivated, their historical sales data remains intact as long as their Sales Hub or Service Hub Professional or Enterprise paid seat is active. This ensures a complete and accurate forecast, giving you the insights needed to plan for current and future sales periods effectively.

      Configuring the Forecast Tool

      1. Set Up the Forecast Deal Amount

      The forecast deal amount determines how deal values appear in reports.

      1. Navigate to Settings (gear icon) > Objects > Forecast.

      2. Select a Forecast deal amount:

        • Weighted amount (default): Amount × Deal probability.

        • Total amount: Full deal value.

        • Forecast amount (legacy): Manually set forecast probability (available for accounts created before March 20, 2024).

      screenshot of how to set up forecast for deals in HubSpot.

      2. Set the Forecast Period

      The forecast period defines the timeframe for revenue goals and submissions.

      1. Navigate to Settings > Objects > Forecast.

      2. In Select the forecast period for all pipelines, choose:

        • Monthly

        • Quarterly

      Note: Changing the forecast period resets revenue goals and submissions.

      Screenshot of how to set up forecast for deals in HubSpot.

      3. Enable the Forecast Submission Status Indicator

      This indicator shows when a user hasn't updated their forecast within a specified timeframe.

      1. Navigate to Settings > Objects > Forecast.

      2. In Forecast submissions, enable the Forecast submission status indicator.

      3. Adjust the timeframe (default: 8 days, max: 31 days).

      Screenshot of how to set up forecast for deals in HubSpot.

      4. Set Up Forecast Categories

      Forecast categories group deals based on their likelihood to close.

      1. Navigate to Settings > Objects > Forecast.

      2. Go to the Pipelines tab.

      3. Select a pipeline.

      4. Assign deal stages to one of these forecast categories:

        • Not forecasted: Deals in the pipeline but not included in the forecast.

        • Pipeline: Low probability of closing.

        • Best case: Moderate probability of closing.

        • Commit: High probability of closing.

        • Closed won: Successfully closed within the forecast period.

      5. To automate category updates based on deal stage changes, enable Automate forecast categories.

      Screenshot of how to set up forecast for deals in HubSpot.

      Please note: If you want to create custom forecast category automation, you can clone and modify the default workflow. To apply your customizations, disable the Automate forecast categories switch. When this setting is turned off, the default workflow will be removed.

      Forecast category definitions are determined by their order rather than their names. Hover over the info icon to view definitions. For example, if the Commit category is in the second position, it will be defined as "Deals that have a low likelihood of closing." You can adjust the order to align with your sales process by modifying the Forecast category property.

      5. Manually Update Forecast Categories for Deals

      Reps can manually adjust forecast categories.

      1. Go to CRM > Deals.

      2. Select a deal.

      3. Under About, click View all properties.

      4. Locate Forecast category, update the selection, and click Save.

      Please note: While only the last five forecast categories will appear in your forecast settings, you can select any forecast category when manually updating a deal record's Forecast category property.

      6. Editing Forecast Categories

      Modify category names or add new ones.

      1. Navigate to Settings > Objects > Forecast.

      2. Click Edit forecast categories.

      3. Adjust existing values or add new ones.

      4. Click Save

      7. Customizing Forecast Columns

      Super Admins can configure the columns displayed in the forecast table to ensure the most relevant data is visible.

      1. Navigate to Settings > Objects > Forecast.

      2. Click Customize the forecast category table.

      3. Select the columns you want to display.

      4. Click Save.

      8. Setting Sales Goals

      To set revenue targets for your sales team:

        1. Navigate to Reporting > Forecast.

        2. Click Create goals in the upper right corner.

        3. The Forecasted Revenue template is selected by default.

        4. Follow the steps provided to complete the goal setup.

      Please note: You must have Forecast permissions to create, edit, and delete goals. Additionally, to be assigned a goal, you must have a paid Sales Hub Starter, Professional, or Enterprise seat, or a Service Hub Enterprise seat.

      Once your forecast tool is configured, you can monitor your team’s progress and make data-driven decisions. Learn more about using the forecast tool to optimize your forecasting process.