You can define reusable cash forecast templates for use in generating cash forecasts. A cash forecast template is a matrix, similar to a spreadsheet, with each row defining the source of the cashflow, and each column defining the forecast period in GL periods or in days. When you submit a forecast, you generate exactly the forecast that you need by entering submission parameters, such as start date and forecast currency.
When you submit a cash forecast, Cash Management collects the necessary source data and summarizes the information as cash forecast amounts, based on the forecast period specifications. The forecast data is then available for update, inquiry or reporting purposes, or for export to any spreadsheet application.
Cash Management determines projected cash activity dates based on your specifications. For example, if the source type is Supplier Invoices, the expected cash activity date is based on either the discount date or the due date depending on your selection in the template. Refer to the Cash Forecasting Source Transaction Dates table.
If you have created a forecast template that includes a user-defined source type, Cash Management creates a row that contains zeroes when you generate a cash forecast. If you want to enter amounts manually in the forecast amount cells for user-defined source types, click on the zero in the forecast cell and add transactions in the Source Transactions Details page.
You might generate a new cash forecast because you have created a new template, or because you want to recalculate a forecast with different submission parameters.
You can generate forecasts in the following ways:
Generate a new cash forecast from a template, with forecast amounts calculated automatically.
Query the template in the Forecast Templates Search and Results page, and select the Run Forecast icon
Query a previously run forecast in the Forecast Search and Results page, and select the Run Forecast icon
Using the Submit Request window
Quickly create a manually entered cash forecast, with the rows and columns defined by a template.
You can generate a forecast for a specific project or for a range of projects. If you generate a forecast for a range of projects, Cash Management produces a separate forecast for each project.
To specify projects for your forecast that are different from those on the template, you must complete the starting and ending project numbers on the Submit Forecast window.
If you submit a forecast for a project based on a template that includes some sources types that are related to Projects and others that are not related to Projects, Cash Management produces a forecast that reflects information from only the source types related to Projects.
The External Cashflow Open Interface allows you to utilize external sources of data as cash inflow and outflow data for the Cash Forecasting feature, providing you an enterprise-wide cash forecasting solution on a distributed database environment.
You can generate a cash forecast and the External Cashflow Open Interface automatically retrieves information available from the external forecast sources you have defined.
Set up the External Cashflow Open Interface if you plan to include external sources in your cash forecasts.
Define at least one cash forecast template.
Navigate to the Forecast Templates Search and Results page.
Query an existing forecast template and select the Run Forecast icon that corresponds to the template.
Enter the appropriate parameters and click Submit to generate a new cash forecast.
When you click Submit, you receive a confirmation message in the Forecast Templates Search and Results page. You can then select the View Forecast icon that corresponds to the template to navigate to the Forecast Search and Results page where you can monitor the status of your request.
Navigate to the Forecast Search and Results page.
Query an existing forecast from the Forecast Search and Results page and select the Run Forecast icon.
Enter the appropriate parameters and click Submit to generate a new cash forecast.
When you click Submit, you receive a confirmation message in the Forecast Search and Results page. You can then click the Refresh Processing Status button to monitor the status of your request.
Submit a request for Cash Forecasting by Days or Cash Forecasting by GL Periods in the Submit Request window.
Select any print or run options prior to submission.
Suggestion: Consider using report sets if you routinely generate a given set of cash forecasts.
Attention: If you are generating a cash forecast for a project, you can generate a forecast for a specific project or for a range of projects by entering a starting and ending project number.
Cash Management automatically generates the Cash Forecast Execution Report, which indicates if the Submit Forecast program produced any errors. You can also print this report later using the Submit Request window. Cash Management also generates the Cash Forecast report if the Submit Forecast program produced no errors.