Product features
Forecast 5 is a powerful, user-friendly solution to the complex, time-consuming and often error-prone nature of forecasting.
Suitable for all businesses and entities, Forecast 5’s advanced functionality and professional layout means that you can access the accurate, up-to-date information you require to make the informed decisions that will enable you to successfully manage and grow your business.
Within just 30 minutes you can complete your first forecast and instantly view a variety of business reports, including integrated profit and loss, cash flow, funds flow and balance sheet forecasts.
The product has an abundance of features, with the end goal of a positive user-experience in mind. Some of these features include an integrated report set for error-free forecasting, multiple currencies and an option for consolidation of companies, plus many more. See below for an extensive list of Forecast 5’s greatest features.
Key features and benefits
Error-free forecasting
Many spreadsheets contain errors. Forecast 5 uses double-entry control in its calculations to give you complete confidence in the accuracy of your forecasts.
Financial planning
Re-forecasting based on actual results is so quick that budgeting and financial planning becomes a year-round exercise. Create rolling forecasts and revise projections as you wish and report on the original or forecasted figures.
Professional features
Designed by accountants with accountants in mind. Includes a wealth of features to help you produce forecasts in the format you need.
Reporting
Print report data for months, quarters, years or a mixture. Rename headings to fit your business. Customise and save your reports. Export to Excel for graphing.
Detailed, comprehensive and fast. Produce integrated profit and loss, balance sheet, funds flow and cash flow forecasts up to 10 times faster than with a spreadsheet.
Hot link
You can ‘hot link’ your forecast to spreadsheets. Change the data in the link and your forecast is automatically updated. Import from accounting software.
Multiple currencies
Enter sales and costs in their own currency. Consolidate foreign subsidiaries. Maintain foreign currency rates by month and foreign currency bank accounts.
Integrated report set
Full profit & loss, cash flow, balance sheet, and funds flow and supporting schedules included;
Raw data for each business activity is entered on easy-to-use screens and is used to generate all of the reports;
“What if?” scenarios;
Perform sensitivity analysis by record, folder or forecast section.
Full double entry rigour
Forecast 5 makes sure that when you enter one value that all associated accounts such as debtors, creditors, bank accounts and VAT are updated. The values within your forecast will always balance and you no longer have to worry about reconciling your accounts.
Easily understood
Forecast 5 Forecasting has been constructed in such a way that you don’t need any prior knowledge or experience of forecasting. You can start creating your forecasts as soon as you load the program.
Import data directly – ensure accuracy, save time
Information can be imported directly from your accounting package; this has the advantage that you can be sure that it’s accurate. And, in addition, this means that you can create forecasts in a fraction of the time it currently takes.
Taxation
VAT, income tax and PAYE can significantly affect your cash flow and net profit. They are also complex areas to understand. Forecast 5 will automatically calculate these values for you and work out when they will affect your cash flow.
Comprehensive
Produce all of the reports you need to create a complete financial forecast for your business, including cash flow, profit and loss and balance sheet. You can forecast your sales revenue, wages costs, direct costs, overheads and all balance sheet items including fixed assets, debtors, creditors and bank accounts. The forecast extends for 15 years allowing you to easily create a forecast in the format required by your bank.
Consolidation option
Combine forecasts from a number of companies in profit centres, in different currencies if required, with a wide range of inter-company eliminations available. (This is an additional option; more details on the Licensing page).