Advanced features

Multi-driver forecasting

A forecast amount can be computed from several inputs at once with a formula. You declare named drivers, each either a single value or a per-period series, and write a formula over them. This goes beyond a variable amount (one series you supply) and a derived amount (one basis times a rate): a formula composes multiple drivers with arithmetic, so a revenue line can be units times price minus a per-unit fee, each of which can move independently.

How to use it

  1. On a forecast definition, set the amount method to driver formula.
  2. Declare each driver by name and give it a value or a per-period series.
  3. Write the formula in terms of those driver names, for example units * price - units * fee.
  4. Generate: each occurrence's amount is the formula evaluated on that period's driver values, and it drills to show the drivers and the numbers used (see *Provenance drill-down*).

The safe formula boundary

The formula is parsed into a restricted syntax tree that allows only arithmetic and references to the drivers you declared. A name that is not a declared driver, a function call, or any other construct is rejected when you save the definition, not at generation time. So a formula can never run arbitrary code; it can only combine your drivers with math. This is the same restricted-tree boundary the plugin framework uses (see *Plugins: forecast engines and import parsers*).

A definition that does not use the formula method is unchanged; multi-driver forecasting is opt-in per definition.

In-app documentation, version 5. Generated from the product documentation source, so this matches the app exactly.