That's right - gone are the days of static forecasts and budgets. You can now update your expectations alongside actual figures that feed into your forecast or budget automatically thanks to Syft's brand-new rolling functionality.
What is a rolling forecast?
A little bit confused by the word "rolling"? No worries. Let's back it up a second.
A rolling forecast is a forecast that automatically replaces forecasted values with actuals once a period “rolls” - or once the period finishes and transactions have occurred. Any future forecast periods that depend on prior periods will then recalculate using actual values, not the original forecasts. The same is true of budgets.
This is useful because it keeps your forecast or budget accurate according to what's actually happening in your business.
Note 📝: Rolling is optional and you must enable it in your forecast or budget setup for it to work its magic.
Rolling options
Rolling is enabled via a toggle in the forecast setup flow. You have the power to define when rolling occurs (e.g. when actuals are available). Here are your options:
Monthly Roll: Select the specific day of the month for the prior month's data to roll forward
Weekly Roll: The roll occurs automatically one day after the current week ends
Annual Roll: The roll will only occur after the 12 months are all completed on the specific day you have selected.
You can toggle rolling functionality on or off whenever necessary. However, this is not necessary as you can now also create duplicate budgets and forecasts. More on that later!
Visual Indicators
Rolled periods are visually distinguished in the forecast with a background colour. On the Budget and Forecast Dashboard screen we added visual indicators (e.g. pills) to show:
Rolling
Auto VAT
Period type (Monthly, Weekly or Annual)
Columns
You can add the following columns in a Rolling Forecast:
Show Forecasted Values
Show Actuals
Events and rolling
Events remain editable, but they will only update the forecasted values, not the actuals.
How does rolling affect population?
Forecasted values for that period are replaced by Actuals when a period rolled. Any future period that references a rolled period will:
Use the actual value, not the originally forecasted value. This means all the forecasted periods could look completely different after a prior period rolled in actuals.
For credit sales and expenses, schedules that reference a rolled period will use the actual value. For instance, Accounts Receivable due in two months (e.g., January sales receivable in March) will reference the actual January sales. This approach integrates actual performance and prevents forecasted values from skewing the Accounts Receivable (AR) and Accounts Payable (AP) balances.
Closing thoughts
Rolling forecasts and budgets enable your planning to adapt as your business adapts, ensuring that you're on top of the latest events in your business and are planning accordingly. Why not give it a try?