Manage Forecast

Forecast Planner

Forecast → New Forecast

The Forecast Planner lets you create a baseline forecast, apply adjustments, and lock the adjusted forecast so you can compare it against actual spend over time.

You can:

• Build a forecast from historical data

• Add adjustment events (increase/decrease)

• Lock the adjusted forecast

• Track Actual vs Forecast vs Adjusted Forecast

• View saved forecast tracking from Forecast list

1. Create a new Forecast

Go to Forecast → + Forecast. This opens the Forecast Planner (a single screen where the Name and Description fields sit at the top, alongside the Setup and Adjustment tabs and the Forecast Chart/Table below). There's no separate save step before you reach Setup: you name the forecast, configure it, and click Save once at the end.

Enter:

• Forecast name: (e.g. Cloud Q2 Forecast)

• Description: optional

2. Configure Forecast Setup

In Forecast Planner → Setup

Period

Select forecast time range:

• Start month

• End month

Example:
Dec-25 → Dec-26

Scope

Choose what the forecast applies to:

• All Cloud

• Custom

• Perspective

Filters (Optional)

Narrow the forecast to specific data. There's a Filters / Advanced Filters toggle above the field list:

Filters (basic) gives you a flat list of dimensions to check off. The full list of filterable dimensions is:

• Provider

• Billing Account

• Usage Account

• Resource Group

• Category

• Location

• Service Category

• Service

• SKU

• Cost Type

• Billing Entity

• Instance Type

• Virtual Tag Key

• Tag Key

Advanced Filters lets you build detailed conditions instead — select a dimension, choose an operator (e.g. "IN"), and pick values, with + Filter to add more conditions and + Group to nest a set of conditions together. Apply or Cancel your changes, or use Clear All to reset.

These filters apply to the whole forecast, not to individual adjustment events (see Section 5).

Cost Field

Choose cost type:

• Actual

• Net Actual

• Amortized

• Net Amortized

Options

Include or exclude cost components:

• Discount

• Refund

• Tax & Credit

Click Preview to generate forecast.

3. Forecast Chart

The chart displays:

• Actual: historical spend (blue)

• Forecast: predicted spend (gray)

• Adjusted Forecast: appears after adjustments

Use this to:

• Compare past vs predicted

• Visualize adjustments

• Identify spikes or drops

4. Forecast Table

The table shows monthly values:

5. Adjust the Forecast

Go to Forecast Planner → Adjustment

Click + Adjustment

Each event includes:

Description

Reason for adjustment
Example: New project launch

Adjustment Type

Choose:

• Fixed Amount $ / Day

• Percentage %

Date Range

Select start and end dates

Example:
$5,000 from Apr-26 to Jun-26

You can create multiple events. Each event applies to the whole forecast for its date range: adjustment events don't have their own filters; to scope the forecast itself to a subset of data (e.g. one provider or account), use the Filters on the Setup tab instead.

6. Lock Forecast

Click Save

This locks:

• Forecast

• Adjusted Forecast

System now tracks Actual vs Locked Forecast

7. View Created Forecast

After saving, go to:

Forecast → Manage Forecast

This page lists all forecasts with:

• Name

• Description

• Scope

• Source

• Tracking %

• Owner

• Created date

Each row also has Clone, Edit, and Delete action icons for managing that forecast: Edit and Delete only appear on forecasts you own; for forecasts owned by someone else, only Clone is available.

Tracking bar shows:
Actual vs Forecast consumption

8. Forecast Details View

After clicking a forecast, the system opens the Forecast View page.

This page shows:

Forecast Chart

Displays:

• Actual spend

• Forecast values

• Trend comparison

Helps visualize:

• How actual compares to forecast

• Monthly spend trajectory

Forecast Table

Shows:

• Monthly Actual values

• Forecast values

• Tracking percentage

Use this to:

• Compare actual vs forecast

• Monitors spend progress

• Validate forecast accuracy

9. Common Use Cases

Lock quarterly forecast

Create → Adjust → Save → Track

Compare actual vs planned

Open forecast from list view

Monitors spend progress

Use tracking bar

Forecast upcoming growth

Add adjustment events

Troubleshooting

• If you can't change a forecast's scope or filters, check whether it's already been locked; a locked forecast tracks against a fixed plan, so a scope change means creating a new forecast instead.

• If an adjustment doesn't show up in the Adjusted Forecast, confirm you clicked Save after adding the event; adjustments only take effect once saved.

• If you don't see Edit or Delete on a forecast in the list, check the Owner column: only the forecast's owner sees those actions; everyone else only sees Clone.

FAQs

What happens when I lock a forecast?
Both the Forecast and Adjusted Forecast values become fixed, and the system starts tracking Actual spend against that locked number, so you're comparing to a plan you committed to, not a number that could silently drift as new data comes in.

What's the difference between a Fixed Amount and a Percentage adjustment?
Fixed Amount adds a set dollar value per day across the selected date range. Percentage instead scales the forecast up or down by a percentage over that same range.

Can I apply an adjustment event to just one provider or account?
No, adjustment events apply to the whole forecast for their date range. To scope the forecast itself to a specific provider, account, or other dimension, use the Filters on the Setup tab before generating the forecast.

Why can I only Clone some forecasts in the list, not Edit or Delete them?
Edit and Delete are only available on forecasts you own. For forecasts created by other users, you can still Clone them to make your own copy, but not modify or remove the original.