Portal Menus > Module Menu > Financial > Forecast

Forecast

The Forecast page lets you view current and projected spending and revenue for all matters in the system, allowing you to anticipate and plan for future expenses.

The Forecast page provides one of the following views, depending on Admin settings: Global Settings>Modules>Defaults.

Standard: view current and projected spending and revenue for all matters in the system.
Contingency Forecast: view the number of contingency matters that the firm is working on (status, expected high/low, probability).

Note: Forecasting needs a spend plan to be made for a matter.

Search for Matters

In the top left corner of the screen, click the magnifying glass icon to open the Search panel. To close the search panel, click the X.

You can search by Matter Status, Client, Matter, Billing Lawyer, Responsible Lawyer, Practice Area, Office.
In the drop-down for Only With Active Budgets, select Yes or No to search for matters with active budget only.
Click the Search button. To save a search, click the Save button. On the Please Name This Search pop-up window, enter a name for the search and click OK.
To view a saved search,on the navigation pane on the left side of the screen, click the Saved Search tab. Click on the saved search to view the corresponding results.
To delete a saved search,on the Saved Search tab, hover your cursor over a custom saved search so that it appears highlighted and an X displays to the right of it. Click the X. Click OK on the confirmation message window to delete the search.

Forecast

The following filters /options are available for this screen:

Filter	Available Options
Period	Start to Month: view performance to date vs. forecasted figures for the rest of the matter Whole Year: view performance to date vs. forecasted figures for the rest of the calendar year - applicable only if the matter uses a yearly budget
Compare Rates	Agreed Rate: compare actual spending to agreed-upon matter rate Standard Rate: compare actual spending to firm standard rate
Compare Performance	Budget: compare actual performance to budget values Revenue: compare anticipated revenue to collected payments
Include Expenses	This filter can currently be disregarded, as it has no impact.

The columns that display in the list vary based on whether you are comparing Budget or Revenue performance.

Budget Performance Mode

Column	Description
Expand Phases	If budgeting was done at the phase level, click the triangle here to expand a matter and view information for each phase in a separate row. Triangle icons display only next to matters with phase-level budgets.
Matter	Name of the matter. Mouse hover on the matter displays a mini matter profile.
Comments	See Comments and Progress section below.
Edit	Click the pencil icon and select one of the following: Budget: You are taken to the budget screen for the matter. See the Editing Budgets section. Revenue Planning: See the Revenue Planning section below. Fee Arrangement: Modify the fee arrangement for the matter. See the Editing a Fee Arrangement section. Spend & Payment Planning (New): See the Spend & Payment Planning section below. Forecasting: Update future forecasted figures. See the Forecasting section below.
Current % Budget	Total amount budgeted for the matter so far. (Actual spend to date + forecasted remaining spend), expressed as a percentage.
Performance to Date	The Performance to Date, is based on the Spend Plan created for the matter. If viewing Start to Month, these amounts are from the beginning of the matter to the current date. If viewing Whole Year, these amounts are from the beginning of the calendar year to the current date. Budget to Date: Total Spend amount budgeted to date, in the spend plan. Actual: Actual spending to date. This data is pulled in from the accounting system. (Time entries made for the matter). Over/Under (%): Budgeted minus Actual, followed by the percentage the budgeted spending is over or under the actual.
Remaining Work	The Remaining Work, is based on the Forecast created for the matter. If viewing Start to Month, these amounts are for the rest of the lifetime of the matter. If viewing Whole Year, these amounts are for the rest of the calendar year. Remaining Budget: Remaining spend accounted for in the budget. Forecasted Work: Remaining expenses in the forecast. Over/Under (%): Remaining Budget minus Forecasted Work, followed by the percentage the budgeted spending is over or under the forecasted spending.
Projected Matter Summary	This will tell you how the matter will progress based on the spend plan, forecast, and the actual's estimated for the matter. Budget: Total budgeted for the matter. Actual + Forecasted: Actual spend to date + remaining expenses in the forecast. Over/Under (%): Budget minus Actual + Forecasted, followed by the percentage the budgeted spending is over or under the actual + forecasted spending. Budget / Expected: Budget / Actual + Forecasted.
Fee Type	Type of fee arrangement used for the matter.
Status Notes	Matter sub-status information. See below.

Revenue Performance Mode

Column	Description
Expand Phases	If budgeting was done at the phase level, click the triangle here to expand a matter and view information for each phase in a separate row. Triangle icons display only next to matters with phase-level budgets.
Matter	Name of the matter. Mouse hover on the matter displays a mini matter profile.
Comments	See Comments and Progress section below.
Edit	Click the pencil icon and select one of the following: Budget: You are taken to the budget screen for the matter. See the Editing Budgets section. Revenue Planning: See the Revenue Planning section below. Fee Arrangement: Modify the fee arrangement for the matter. See the Editing a Fee Arrangement section. Spend & Payment Planning (New): See the Spend & Payment Planning section below. Forecasting- Update future forecasted figures. See the Forecasting section below.
Current % Budget	Total amount budgeted for the matter so far. (Actual spend to date + forecasted remaining spend), expressed as a percentage.
Performance to Date	If viewing Start to Month, these amounts are from the beginning of the matter to the current date. If viewing Whole Year, these amounts are from the beginning of the calendar year to the current date. Planned Revenue: Amount of revenue entered in revenue planning up to the current date. Collected Payments: Total payments received from the customer to date. Over/Under (%): Planned Revenue minus Collected Payments, followed by the percentage the planned revenue is over or under the actual.
Remaining Work	If viewing Start to Month, these amounts are for the rest of the lifetime of the matter. If viewing Whole Year, these amounts are for the rest of the calendar year. Rem. Planned Revenue: Remaining revenue entered in revenue planning. Forecasted Work: Remaining expenses in the forecast. Over/Under (%)- Rem. Planned Revenue minus Forecasted Work, followed by the percentage the planned revenue is over or under the forecasted spending.
Projected Matter Summary	Planned Revenue: Total amount of revenue anticipated for the matter in revenue planning. Collected + Rem. Revenue: Actual collected payments to date + remaining revenue entered in revenue planning. Over/Under (%)- Planned Revenue minus Collected + Rem. Revenue, followed by the percentage the planned revenue is over or under the actual + remaining planned revenue. Plan. Revenue / Expected- Planned Revenue / Collected + Rem. Revenue.
Fee Type	Type of fee arrangement used for the matter.
End Date	Date matter is forecasted to end. See below.
Status Notes	Matter sub-status information. See below.

Contingency Forecast

The Contingency Forecast section provides information on the number of contingency matters (based upon the amount awarded in the case) that the firm is working on. Information includes status of matter, expected high/low, probability.

Column	Description
Matter	Name of the matter.
Comments	See Comments and Progress section above.
Edit	Click the pencil icon and select one of the following: Budget: You are taken to the budget screen for the matter. See the Editing Budgets section. Fee Arrangement: Modify the fee arrangement for the matter. See the Editing a Fee Arrangement section.
Start Date	Date matter is forecasted to start
Billable Fees	Total Billed amount plus WIP amount.
Billable Costs	Sum of the amount spent on expenses for the matter that are billed to client.
Budget Fees	Budgeted Hours multiplied by Standard Rate. Total for firm.
Budget Costs	Sum of the amount spent on expenses for the matter that are apart of the budget.
Est. Fee Recovery (Low)	Low estimated fee outcome based on fee arrangement and matter planned outcome.
Est. Fee Recovery (High)	High estimated fee outcome based on fee arrangement and matter planned outcome.
Success Probability	Contingent upon success in the matter and the quality of service. Firm is paid regular fees, the discounted fees, or the fees including a bonus, based on one or more prefigured criteria or the client’s appreciation of certain parameters.
Fee Type	Contingency
End Date	Date matter is forecasted to end. See above.
Status Notes	Matter sub-status information. See above.

Comments and Progress

Click the comment icon to open a pop-up window where you can enter comments, update the matter sub-status, and forecast the matter end date.

Entering a Comment:

On the pop-up window, access the Comments tab.
Type the desired text in the Add Comment field and click Comment. After you enter a comment, you can hover over it to access the Edit and Delete options.

Updating the Matter Sub-Status:

On the pop-up window, access the Status sub-tab of the Progress tab.
The matter's status displays for reference only. Select the appropriate value from the Matter Sub-Status drop-down.
Your name defaults as the Assigned By. Enter any applicable Comments and click Save.
You can view the status change history in the Status History tab.

Forecast the Matter End Date

On the pop-up window, access the Planning sub-tab of the Progress tab.
For the When do you think it will end? question, choose an End Date Measure of Year, Quarter, Month, or Day, depending on how exact an end date you are forecasting.
Select a year and month/quarter or enter a date, depending on the selection you made previously.
Click Save.
You can view the planning history in the Planning History tab.

Revenue Planning

When you click the pencil icon in the Forecast list and select Revenue Planning, you are taken to a Revenue/Invoice Plan screen. Here you can select whether you would like to plan By Month or By Quarter, and the grid columns populate accordingly. Enter the total figure that you plan to invoice or to collect in each of the grid columns, depending on how you recognize revenue. Click Save to commit your changes. The planned revenue figures in the list are now updated.

A Spend Plan Overview displays for reference at the bottom of the screen. Here you can view planned expenses on the Spend tab and all budgeted figures on the Budget tab.

Spend & Payment Planning

When you click the pencil icon on the Forecast list and select Spend & Payment Planning (New), you are taken to a Spend & Payment Planning screen.

In the Spend & Payment Plan tab, you can manually enter the anticipated expenses, fees, and planned collection per matter phase for a whole year. This tab includes the sections below:

Section	Description
Matter Name	Matter name and number.
Arrangement	Fee Arrangement applied to the matter.
Total Budget	Total amount budgeted for the entire matter.
Date	Matter start date & time.
Total Spend	The total budgeted spend for the matter phase Sum (Total Budgeted Spend column)
Total Payment Plan	The total anticipated payment for the matter phase Sum (Planned Payment column).
Phases	All the phases associated to the matter are listed here. Choose a matter phase from the drop-down menu to enter the spend and payment plan information.
For Year	Choose the year from the drop-down menu.
Months	Enter value against the selected month.
Budgeted Fees (Spend)	Enter the anticipated fees for each month on the grid.
Budgeted Expenses (Spend)	Enter the anticipated expenses for each month on the grid.
Total Budgeted (Spend)	Budgeted Fees + Budgeted Expenses
Planned Payment	Enter the anticipated payment/collection against the total budgeted spend for each month on the grid.

Click Save.

The Analysis tab provides a different visual representation of the figures shown on the Spend & Payment plan tab in the form of a bar chart. .

Tip: Hover your cursor over a bar in the bar graph to see the data represented.

Additional information appears on the Analysis tab. The Actual Fees and Actual Expenses are displayed on the bar chart. This data is pulled from the TimeMonth table. The Spend Fees, Spend Expenses, and Payment values are picked from the Spend & Payment tab.

In the lower left corner of the screen, a progress bar indicates the Actual % achieved as against the estimated values for Spend and Payment.

In the Setting(s) tab, the following options are available:

Field	Description
Phase/Burn Model	For each relevant phase(s), select the Burn Model from the drop-down list: Manual: select if you are manually entering spending for the phase over a period of time Constant: select if the distribution of budget is even over a period of time Most in the Middle Most in the Beginning Most in the End Most in the Beginning and End
How do you want to distribute monthly phase amount among resource?	Choose one of the following: Per Staffing Model: if the spending should be weighted according to the selected team configuration Evenly: if spending should be allocated evenly to each team member

Field

Description

Phase/Burn Model

For each relevant phase(s), select the Burn Model from the drop-down list:

Manual: select if you are manually entering spending for the phase over a period of time

Constant: select if the distribution of budget is even over a period of time

Most in the Middle

Most in the Beginning

Most in the End

Most in the Beginning and End

How do you want to distribute monthly phase amount among resource?

Choose one of the following:

Per Staffing Model: if the spending should be weighted according to the selected team configuration

Evenly: if spending should be allocated evenly to each team member

Click Save.

Forecasting

When you click the pencil icon on the Forecast list and select Spend & Payment Planning (New), you are taken to a Forecast Plan screen.

In the Forecast Plan tab, you can manually enter the forecast fees and expenses per matter phase for a whole year. This tab includes the sections below:

Section	Description
Matter Name	Matter name and number.
Arrangement	Fee Arrangement applied to the matter.
Total Budget	Total amount budgeted for the entire matter.
Date	Matter start date & time.
Total Spend	The total budgeted spend for the matter phase Sum (Total Budgeted Spend column)
Total Payment Plan	The total anticipated payment for the matter phase Sum (Planned Payment column).
Phases	All the phases associated to the matter are listed here. Choose a matter phase from the drop-down menu to enter the spend and payment plan information.
For Year	Choose the year from the drop-down menu.
Show Actuals	Check this box to show actual fees, expenses, and payment columns.
Months	Enter value against the selected month.
Budgeted Fees (Spend)	This amount is populated from the Spend & Payment planning screen.
Forecast Fees	Enter the forecasted fees for each month on the grid.
Actual Fees	The total Billed Fees for the month.
Budgeted Expenses (Spend)	This amount is populated from the Spend & Payment planning screen.
Forecast Expenses	Enter the forecasted expenses for each month on the grid.
Actual Expenses	The total external expenses paid by the firm.
Total Actual Expenses + Fees	Sum (Actual Fees + Actual Expenses)
Planned Payment	Enter the anticipated payment/collection against the total budgeted spend for each month on the grid.
Actual Payment	The total collected fees for the month.

Click Save.

The Analysis tab provides a different visual representation of the figures shown on the Spend & Payment plan tab in the form of a bar chart. Use the filters for Phases and Year to filter the information on the analysis graph .

Tip: Hover your cursor over a bar in the bar graph to see the data represented.

Additional information appears on the Analysis tab. The Actual Fees and Actual Expenses are displayed on the bar chart. This data is pulled from the TimeMonth table. The Spend Fees, Forecast Fees, Spend Expenses, and Payment values are picked from the Spend & Payment tab.

In the lower section of the screen, a progress bar indicates the Actual % achieved as against the estimated values entered for Payment Received and Work Completed.

In the Setting(s) tab, the following options are available:

Field	Description
Phase/Burn Model	For each relevant phase(s), select the Burn Model from the drop-down list: Manual: select if you are manually entering spending for the phase over a period of time Constant: select if the distribution of budget is even over a period of time Most in the Middle Most in the Beginning Most in the End Most in the Beginning and End
How do you want to distribute monthly phase amount among resource?	Choose one of the following: Per Staffing Model: if the spending should be weighted according to the selected team configuration Evenly: if spending should be allocated evenly to each team member

Field

Description

Phase/Burn Model

For each relevant phase(s), select the Burn Model from the drop-down list:

Manual: select if you are manually entering spending for the phase over a period of time

Constant: select if the distribution of budget is even over a period of time

Most in the Middle

Most in the Beginning

Most in the End

Most in the Beginning and End

How do you want to distribute monthly phase amount among resource?

Choose one of the following:

Per Staffing Model: if the spending should be weighted according to the selected team configuration

Evenly: if spending should be allocated evenly to each team member

Click Save.