A current forecast, without the month-end rebuild.
Start from the actuals you already record, see the driver behind every line, and know what moved the plan as soon as it moves.
The forecast is a spreadsheet. The assumptions behind it aren’t written down anywhere.
Revenue comes from the CRM, headcount from HR, costs from accounting and contract terms from a folder of agreements. One person pulls it together at month end, reconciles it by hand, and it is out of date within days.
When the board asks what changed, the challenge isn't recalculating a number. It's tracing which assumption moved, what it affected downstream and whether the plan still holds. With revenue, headcount, payroll and cash modeled as independent rows, nobody can say what a contract slipping a quarter or a hiring wave landing a month late does to the plan.
So variances are explained after the quarter closes, and a cash or covenant problem surfaces when it is already late to fix.
Reassembled by hand from the spreadsheet.
What changes with Farsight DS.
New actuals, contracts, headcount and pipeline flow into the forecast as they arrive—no month-end rebuild.
Every driven line shows the driver behind it, so you can see what the plan depends on and why a number moved.
Know the forecast’s error rate and the probability of attaining the plan before you present it.
Drift from the plan surfaces as actuals land, with the driver responsible and the record that caused it.
Forecasting, in practice.
Build a forecast from what you already record
Forecasts start from the general ledger, sales orders and payroll you already record, not from a blank template. Seasonality and run rates are fitted from your own history, not guessed.
See what each number depends on
Define the relationships that actually exist — customers drive headcount, headcount drives payroll, volume drives materials — and Farsight DS recomputes every driven line when an upstream number moves.
Test the downside before it happens
Model scenarios next to the plan. Monte Carlo simulation turns a range of assumptions into a distribution of outcomes, so you can state the probability of missing a covenant rather than an opinion about it.
Know how accurate the forecast is
Every model is scored against a holdout of your own trailing history, so you know the error rate of the forecast you are about to present.
Present forward financial statements
A published forecast produces a forward P&L, balance sheet and cash flow on the same chart of accounts as your actuals — comparable line for line.
Explain what changed
As actuals land, Farsight DS measures them against the published forecast and surfaces the lines that are drifting, with the driver responsible.
From a change in your systems to a decision.
Every change in the underlying records follows the same path, with the source record attached at each step.
- 01ChangeA contract, hire, order or actual lands
- 02DriversIdentify the forecast lines that depend on it
- 03RecomputeRecompute the driven lines and forward statements
- 04MeasureCompare against the published plan
- 05FlagSurface the drift and the risk it creates
- 06DecideYour team adjusts and publishes the plan
“Our biggest renewal just moved to September. What does that do to Q3?”
- 01Change detectedA $1.2M renewal’s expected close moves from June 30 to September 30 in the CRM.
- 02Revenue re-datedFarsight DS moves the committed revenue out of Q3 and into Q4.
- 03Drivers recomputed14 driven lines update, and the forward statements are rebuilt.
- 04Risk surfacedQ3 minimum-liquidity covenant headroom falls from 4% to −2%.
- 05Flagged to the CFOThe variance arrives with the CRM record that caused it.
- 06Decision before month endThe team decides how to respond while there is still time to act.
From a CRM change to a decision without rebuilding the forecast.
Want to see this against your own data?
What ships inside Forecasting.
From your systems to a working solution.
Farsight DS works on top of what you already run. Nothing is replaced.
Connect
Connect the accounting, CRM, HR and payroll systems you already use.
Configure
Define the drivers behind your plan, the scenarios you want to test and the variances that should raise a flag.
Validate
Review the data, assumptions, models and outputs before anyone relies on them.
Launch
Put it into production.
Need help redesigning the process itself? Farsight DS services can take it from process design through implementation, training and adoption.
Implementation servicesForecasting on its own is useful. Connected, it is a different product.
Start with Forecasting and the systems you already run. Each module below adds context the others can use — none of them is a prerequisite.
Frequently asked questions.
What does the forecast start from?
From the transactions already in your ledger — the general ledger, sales orders and payroll you already record — not from a blank template. Historical seasonality and run rates are fitted, not guessed.
How do we know how accurate the forecast is?
Every model is backtested: scored against a holdout of your own trailing history, so you know the error rate of the forecast before you present it.
What happens when an assumption changes?
Driven lines recompute. Customers drive headcount, headcount drives payroll, volume drives materials — change an upstream input and every line that depends on it moves, with the change attributed to the driver that caused it.
Does Farsight DS replace our ERP, CRM or other systems?
No. Your ERP, CRM, HRIS, operational systems and document repositories stay where they are and remain where the work gets done. Farsight DS reads from them and connects the information across them.
Do we have to license the other products?
No. Every product is useful on its own, and none is a prerequisite for another. Each one you add gives the others more context, so start with the one you need and add more when they create value.
See Forecasting against your own data.
A 30-minute strategy session: we map how your systems connect and identify where this would pay for itself first.