Forecasts has to be enabled at the org level before any Forecast Amount exists. Then you pick which measure (revenue or quantity), which source field, which period (monthly or quarterly), and which users sit in the forecast hierarchy.
- Enable Forecasts
Setup, Forecasts, Forecasts Settings. Check Enable Forecasts. Pick the default forecast period (monthly or quarterly) and the start month for fiscal-year alignment. This unlocks the Forecasts tab and the underlying ForecastingItem object.
- Define forecast types
Setup, Forecasts, Forecasts Settings, Add a Forecast Type. Pick the object (Opportunity or OpportunityLineItem), the measure (revenue, quantity, or custom), and the date field (Close Date is standard). You can run up to four forecast types simultaneously, one per measure-source combination.
- Map Stage to Forecast Category
Object Manager, Opportunity, Fields, Stage. Edit each picklist value and set its Forecast Category. Most orgs map early stages to Pipeline, mid-funnel to Best Case, late stages to Commit, and only Closed Won to Closed. Map Lost stages to Omitted so they disappear from the forecast.
- Configure the forecast hierarchy
Setup, Forecasts, Forecasts Hierarchy. Enable forecasting for each user role from leaf-level reps up to the VP. The hierarchy is a separate structure from the role hierarchy, even though it usually mirrors it. Missing users mean deals roll up to nobody.
- Set quotas and refresh
Load monthly or quarterly quotas via Data Loader on the ForecastingQuota object. Quotas show as a target line on the Forecasts tab. The forecast view refreshes on a five-minute cache, so changes to Opportunity Amount lag briefly.
Revenue (sums Amount or a custom currency field) or Quantity (sums Quantity or a custom number field). Custom currency forecasts let you forecast ARR, ACV, or any other revenue cut without using the standard Amount field.
Monthly or quarterly. Cannot mix; pick one per forecast type. Most enterprise orgs go quarterly for the manager view and monthly for the rep view via two forecast types.
Allow Manager Adjustments lets people above the rep adjust forecast numbers without touching Opportunity data. Allow Owner Adjustments lets reps adjust their own number.
Cumulative categories show Commit + Best Case + Pipeline together (sales-leader view). Incremental show each bucket alone (rep view). Toggled per user view on the Forecasts tab.
- A deal owned by a user outside the forecast hierarchy contributes zero to every forecast cell, even if its category is Best Case or Commit.
- Closed Lost opportunities should map to the Omitted category, not Closed. Closed is for Closed Won only and shows as actuals on the Forecasts tab.
- Reports filtered by Close Date and grouped by stage will not match Forecasts grouped by category. Reports use stage; Forecasts use category. Same data, different bucket.
- Multi-currency forecasts use the dated exchange rate of the Close Date, not today's rate. Changing rates retroactively shifts historical forecasts.
- The forecast cache lags edits by about five minutes. A closed deal that has not yet moved to Closed in the forecast view is almost always cache, not a bug.