Forecasts Settings
Forecasts Settings is the Setup page where a Salesforce administrator turns on Salesforce Forecasting (Collaborative Forecasts), defines the forecast types the org will run, and decides how forecast numbers are grouped and displayed.
Definition
Forecasts Settings is the Setup page where a Salesforce administrator turns on Salesforce Forecasting (Collaborative Forecasts), defines the forecast types the org will run, and decides how forecast numbers are grouped and displayed. It is the control panel for the whole forecasting feature. Until an admin enables it here and activates at least one forecast type, the Forecasts tab stays empty and reps see nothing to roll up.
You reach the page at Setup, Quick Find, Forecasts Settings. From there you flip on forecasting, choose monthly or quarterly periods, align periods to the fiscal year, set the rollup method, pick which forecast categories appear, and turn on options like adjustments and quotas. In multi-currency orgs you also choose the forecast currency. Every choice made here applies to every forecast user, so the page is usually configured once and revisited only when the sales model changes.
Every switch on the Forecasts Settings page, explained
Enabling forecasting and the forecast type slots
The first action on the page is enabling Salesforce Forecasting. Turning it on activates the Forecasts tab, the forecasting standard objects, and the Forecasts Hierarchy node where managers are assigned. Nothing rolls up yet, because a forecast type still has to exist. A forecast type is the definition of what gets forecast. You build one by choosing a source object, a measure, and a date field, then activating it. The source object can be Opportunity, Opportunity Product, Opportunity Splits, or Opportunity Product Splits, depending on which features the org has enabled. The measure is usually the opportunity Amount or Quantity, though a custom currency or number field can be used. The date field decides which period each record lands in, normally Close Date but sometimes a schedule date for product forecasts. An org can have up to four active forecast types at one time. If a team genuinely needs more, the only path is to contact Salesforce Customer Support. Because the limit is low, most admins treat the four slots as a budget and plan them deliberately, for example revenue by Amount, units by Quantity, and a splits-based overlay view.
Forecast period, granularity, and the fiscal year
Forecasts Settings asks whether the org forecasts by month or by quarter. The choice is global and controls how the grid columns are split. Monthly granularity suits teams with short sales cycles and frequent commit calls, which is why it is the common pick for subscription and inside-sales motions. Quarterly granularity fits longer enterprise cycles where a monthly view would be mostly noise. The period also follows the org fiscal year. A Standard Fiscal Year aligns periods to calendar boundaries. A Custom Fiscal Year, once defined elsewhere in Setup, pushes its own period definitions into forecasting automatically, so the grid matches whatever quarters the finance team actually uses. This matters when a company runs a 4-4-5 calendar or a year that does not start in January. Changing granularity later is allowed, but it reshapes every grid and resets how reps think about their numbers, so it is worth settling before rollout. The safest sequence is to confirm the fiscal year model first, then set the forecasting period to match how leadership already reviews pipeline.
Forecast categories shown on the grid
Forecast categories are the buckets every opportunity falls into based on its stage. The standard set is Pipeline, Best Case, Commit, and Closed, with Omitted available to exclude a deal from the forecast entirely. Each category maps to one or more opportunity stages through the Forecast Category field on the stage. On the settings side, you control which categories appear as columns and you can rename them to match internal language, for example calling Commit something like Committed or Worst Case. Many orgs add a Most Likely category by editing the Forecast Category picklist on the Opportunity object, then surface it here. The usual cleanup is to hide a column the team never agrees on, often Best Case, so manager calls stay focused. Keep in mind that the categories are not just cosmetic. They drive how the grid sums numbers and what reps are signaling when they move a deal. A clear category map, agreed with sales leadership before launch, prevents the recurring argument about what each bucket really promises during a quarter-end review.
Choosing a forecast rollup method
The Manage Forecast Rollups section is where you pick how categories add up. There are two modes. Individual category rollups treat each category as a standalone bucket, so Commit shows only the deals tagged Commit and nothing below it. Cumulative category rollups instead show running totals, so Commit becomes Commit plus Closed, Best Case becomes Best Case plus Commit plus Closed, and the top category covers the entire open roster plus Closed. Cumulative is the mode most sales leaders expect, because the real question in a commit call is usually everything that is Commit-or-better, not a single slice. To set it, click Edit in the Manage Forecast Rollups area and choose the rollup option you want. When cumulative rollups are on, you can also rename the cumulative columns so the headers read the way your team talks. Switching between modes changes the meaning of every number on the grid, so decide early and communicate it. A team that starts on individual rollups and flips to cumulative mid-quarter will see totals jump and assume something broke.
Adjustments and quotas
Two settings decide how much managers can shape the forecast. Adjustments let a manager or rep override a rolled-up number without touching the underlying opportunities. When adjustments are enabled, the grid shows an editable affordance and stores the manual change separately, so the original system total stays visible alongside the human judgment. This is how a manager bakes in a deal they believe will close even though the pipeline math does not fully support it yet. Quotas are the second option. With quotas turned on, the grid gains an attainment row that compares each person to their target for the period. Quota figures are loaded per user per period, either through the quota page in Setup, the API, or a data load. Both options usually go on during the initial rollout, because a forecast without quota context is just a sum, and a forecast no one can adjust forces reps to fudge stages instead. Decide who is allowed to adjust, since adjustment visibility follows the forecasts hierarchy and a rep generally should not see a manager override applied above them.
Forecast currency in multi-currency orgs
In a single-currency org, currency is a non-issue and every number shows in the org currency. Multi-currency orgs face a real choice, because a rep in one region and a leader at headquarters may think in different currencies. Forecasts Settings lets you select the forecast currency. The two practical options are the corporate currency, which reflects the headquarters reporting currency, and each user personal currency, which is the currency that user works in day to day. Conversion rates defined under Manage Currencies translate amounts into whichever forecast currency is chosen. The common recommendation is to roll up in corporate currency, so a manager comparing reps across regions reads one consistent number instead of a mix of euros, pounds, and dollars. Reps can still see their own deals in familiar amounts on the opportunity records, but the forecast grid stays apples-to-apples. The setting becomes important the moment a forecasts hierarchy spans countries. Get it wrong and a global commit call turns into a debate about exchange rates rather than the pipeline, which is exactly the distraction good forecast configuration is meant to remove.
How to configure Forecasts Settings
Forecasts Settings lives in Setup and is the single page that turns forecasting on and shapes how it behaves. Work through it in Lightning Experience, confirm your fiscal year first, and have your forecast category map agreed with sales leadership before you start. The steps below cover the core configuration; activate at least one forecast type or the Forecasts tab stays empty.
- Open Forecasts Settings
In Setup, type Forecasts Settings into Quick Find and open the page. This is the only place forecasting is enabled and where every global option below is set.
- Turn on forecasting and set the period
Enable Salesforce Forecasting, then choose monthly or quarterly periods. The period follows your fiscal year, so a Custom Fiscal Year pushes its own quarters into the grid automatically.
- Define and activate a forecast type
Add a forecast type by picking a source object (Opportunity, Opportunity Product, Opportunity Splits, or Opportunity Product Splits), a measure (Amount, Quantity, or a custom field), and a date field. Activate it so it appears on the Forecasts tab. Repeat for up to four active types.
- Set the rollup method and categories
In Manage Forecast Rollups, click Edit and choose individual or cumulative category rollups. Then pick which forecast categories show as columns and rename any to match your team language.
- Enable adjustments, quotas, and currency
Turn on adjustments if managers should override numbers, and quotas if you want an attainment row. In multi-currency orgs, select the forecast currency, usually corporate, then save.
Monthly or quarterly grid columns, aligned to the org Standard or Custom Fiscal Year.
Source object, measure, and date field that define what gets forecast; up to four active at once, more only via Salesforce Support.
Individual category rollups (standalone buckets) or cumulative category rollups (running totals such as Commit plus Closed).
Which buckets (Pipeline, Best Case, Commit, Closed, and any added like Most Likely) appear as columns, plus optional renaming.
Whether managers and reps can adjust rolled-up amounts, and whether a quota attainment row is shown per period.
In multi-currency orgs, roll up in corporate currency or each user personal currency.
- The Forecasts tab stays empty until at least one forecast type is created and activated, even after forecasting is enabled.
- Only four forecast types can be active at once; raising that limit requires a case with Salesforce Customer Support.
- Switching the rollup method mid-quarter changes the meaning of every number on the grid and will look like a data error to reps.
- Territory-based rollup needs Enterprise Territory Management enabled and assignment rules configured first, so do not switch modes casually.
Prefer this walkthrough as its own page? How to Forecasts Settings in Salesforce, step by step
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Forecasts Settings.
Hands-on resources to go deeper on Forecasts Settings.
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
Test your knowledge
Q1. Forecasts Settings is the Setup page where an administrator does what very first?
Q2. What does enabling Cumulative Forecast Rollups change about how the categories are displayed?
Q3. Which rollup-basis choice inside Forecasts Settings requires Enterprise Territory Management first?
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