Setting up the forecasts hierarchy means enabling the right people and assigning a forecast manager to every level that has reps under it. Collaborative Forecasts must already be turned on in Forecasts Settings before these steps work.
- Open the forecasts hierarchy in Setup
In Setup, use Quick Find to open the forecasts area, then go to Define Forecast Managers and Their Subordinates. This shows the tree built from your role hierarchy, or your territory model if the org runs territory-based forecasts.
- Enable the users who should forecast
On the Enable Users page, add each rep and manager who should appear in the forecast. Enabling a user inserts them into the grid and sets ForecastEnabled to true on their User record. A Sales Cloud license and a role are not enough on their own.
- Assign a forecast manager to each level
Walk the tree and designate one forecast manager on every level that has enabled users beneath it. That manager's grid receives the rollup from their level and everything below. Leave none blank, or that branch becomes a dead end.
- Verify the rollup on the Forecasts tab
Log in as a manager (or check as that user) and open the Forecasts tab. Confirm each direct report shows as a row and the totals climb correctly to the top. Run a SOQL audit to confirm the active roster and manager assignments match what you expect.
Choose role-based or territory-based when you set up the forecast type. Role-based reuses the role tree; territory-based requires Enterprise Territory Management and lets a user roll up by territory.
Exactly one forecast manager can be designated per role or territory level. This is the user whose grid aggregates the level and its subordinates.
The set of users flipped on for forecasting. Enabling adds them to the grid; disabling removes them from the live grid but keeps their historical forecasting data.
Up to four forecast types can run at once, and all of them roll up through this single hierarchy using the same manager-to-rep links.
- A level with enabled users but no forecast manager is a dead end. Those numbers stop climbing and a gap appears in the executive total, even though each rep sees a correct personal grid.
- Granting a Sales Cloud license and a role does not enable forecasting. The user must be added on the Enable Users page, which is the most common reason a new hire shows zero in their manager's grid.
- Changing who a rep reports to on the User record alone does not move them in the forecast. The forecast hierarchy follows the role or territory tree, so update that structure first.
- Hierarchy changes overwrite the rollup immediately and Salesforce keeps no snapshot of the old tree, so mid-period moves erase the audit trail unless you capture your own.