Monthly Forecasting

Bring forecasting inside the system. No more spreadsheets. Complete audit trail. Automatic integration with Budget Register and S-curve reports. The Problem We Solved! Construction Project Managers were spreadsheet pilots. Every month, they pulled budget figures from the system, manually estimated remaining costs per cost code in Excel, and emailed updated forecasts to stakeholders if anyone was tracking them at all. There was no structured workflow. No approval gates. No audit trail of who changed what and why. The forecast was a guess trapped in a file. When a stakeholder asked "why did this go over budget?" the answer lived in someone's email thread. The Budget Register showed what had been spent, but the FTC and Forecast columns sat empty. Cost forecasting was happening outside the system. What Changed Monthly Cost Forecasting is a new page under Commercial that brings cost forecasting inside Horizon. Create a draft for any month. The system pulls the latest budget, committed, and actuals data directly from the Budget Register. Each cost code is pre-filled with a default FTC value based on remaining budget. You review, update only the numbers that differ, add notes where significant, validate for issues, and approve. The forecast becomes an immutable snapshot. The Budget Register is automatically updated. Cash flow projections are generated for S-curve reporting. Next month, you start with last month's approved forecast carried forward. What This Means No more spreadsheets. No more email-based forecasts. No more mystery about why a cost code went sideways. Every FTC change is recorded with who changed it, when, old and new values, and why. The forecast is now a living, auditable record inside the system. Budget data stays live all month. Refresh mid-cycle if new estimates arrive. Variance analysis shows which cost codes are trending over or under, so you catch problems early. Cash flow projections feed directly into S-curve reports for stakeholder confidence. The Workflow Step 1: Create a Draft Forecast Open Monthly Forecast from the Commercial menu. Select the current month. Click Create Draft Forecast. The system immediately fetches the latest data from the Budget Register: Revised Budget: Current budget for each cost code Committed: Costs already locked with suppliers and contractors Actuals: Costs already incurred Remaining: Budget minus Committed and Actuals Each cost code is pre-filled with a default FTC value calculated to keep the project on budget. FTC = Remaining. Your draft forecast starts optimistic, on budget. You only need to adjust the cost codes where you know better. Cost codes are grouped by Budget Category, matching the layout from the Budget Register. Scroll through, review the defaults, note which ones need your judgment. Step 2: Edit FTC and Build Your Story Click any cost code's FTC field to edit. Update the number to your forecast of what's left to spend. As you edit, three fields calculate automatically: EAC (Estimate at Completion) = Actuals + FTC Variance = Budget - EAC Variance % = Variance / Budget Watch the right panel update in real-time. Your changes ripple through to the overall project variance immediately. For significant changes, click the Notes field and explain why. Examples: "Supplier quote came in higher than expected" "Supply chain escalation" "Earthworks more complex than anticipated" "Subcontractor acceleration charges" Save anytime. Your draft persists. Come back later if you need to. You are not guessing blindly. You are seeing Actuals, Committed amounts, and Remaining budget. You are making an informed judgment call on what's left to spend. That judgment is the most important number in project cost management. Step 3: Every Change Is Recorded Every time you edit an FTC value, the system records: Who made the change (user) When it was made (timestamp) What changed (old FTC to new FTC) Why (your optional note) Click the Forecast History tab in the sidebar. You will see a complete timeline of all FTC changes for that cost code across all months. This immutable record answers: "How did this cost code's forecast evolve?" Use Forecast History to: Spot patterns. Which cost codes consistently exceed forecast? Answer stakeholders. "The scope changed in April, which is why FTC increased. See the note here." Track team judgment. Learn whose estimates are conservative, whose are aggressive. Prepare for closeout. A complete, defensible record of cost decisions. Step 4: Validate Before Approving When you are ready to finalize, click Validate. The system checks: All cost codes are filled (no $0.00 FTC values with no explanation) Large variances have explanatory notes Budget totals are consistent No obvious data issues Validation is your safety net. It catches the easy mistakes. A forgotten cost code, a typo, a variance you did not notice. If issues are found, fix them and validate again. Once validation passes, you are ready to approve. Step 5: Variance Analysis Before approving, flip to the Variance tab. Here is what you are looking at: Budget Variance Summary (Top): Overall project variance at a glance Shows total over or under budget as dollar amount and percentage Red = over budget. Green = under budget. Cost Code Comparison Table: Every cost code listed with its description Budget amount (original) Current EAC (your forecast) Variance vs. Budget (showing which cost codes are over or under) Why this matters: Spot trending cost codes. Which are consistently over? Which categories are drifting? Compare month to month. How did this cost code's variance change since last month? Identify root causes. Design cost codes up? Labor? Materials? Subcontractor performance? Tell the story to stakeholders. "We are 0.7 percent over overall, driven by structural steel escalation and earthworks complexity." Step 6: Approve and Document Assumptions When you are ready, click Approve Forecast. The approval modal shows your forecast summary: Total FTC: Combined Forecast to Complete across all cost codes Total EAC: Combined Estimate at Completion (what you expect to spend) Total Variance: Budget vs. EAC (over or under) Add optional Assumptions and Notes at the project level. Examples: "Forecast based on current subcontractor quotes. Earthworks expected to complete by June." "Weather delays factored in for remaining 6 months." "Steel supplier confirmed delivery schedule. No further escalation anticipated." "Owner change request in structural scope. FTC increased 2.8M accordingly." When you confirm approval, three automatic actions happen: Create Immutable Snapshot: Your forecast is locked and timestamped. It cannot be changed retroactively. This is your audit record. Update Budget Register: The FTC and Forecast columns are populated with your approved forecast. Everywhere in Horizon that references budget forecasting now has your latest numbers. Generate Cash Flow Projections: The system creates month by month cost outflow projections based on your FTC, ready for S-curve reporting. Step 7: Distribute Cash Flow by Month After approval, the Cash Flow tab opens. Here you will see the month by month distribution of your FTC across remaining project months (e.g., April 2026 through March 2027). How It Works: Default distribution: FTC divided equally across remaining months Click any month's cell to adjust that cost code's outflow for that specific month Non-edited months automatically redistribute to maintain the total FTC Manually edited cells are highlighted in bold for visibility Why you would adjust: Your procurement schedule is front-loaded (buy materials early) Labor is ramped up in specific months Subcontractor payment terms do not align with linear distribution Owner knows when cost codes will actually be invoiced These monthly projections feed directly into S-curve reports. Your stakeholders will see an accurate picture of when cash will leave the project. Key Features Month-to-Month Rhythm First Week of the Month Open Monthly Forecast from Commercial Select current month. Create Draft Forecast. Review the defaults (budget data is live) Update FTC for cost codes where your estimate differs Add notes for significant changes Save Draft (auto-save is on, but you can save explicitly) Mid-Month (Optional) Return to your draft anytime Hit Refresh from BR if new budget estimates arrive mid-month Your FTC edits are preserved. Only budget and actuals refresh. When Ready to Finalize Click Validate (catches missing data and odd variances) Click Approve Forecast Review summary, add assumptions, confirm Snapshot is created. Budget Register updated. Cash flow projections generated. After Approval Check Cash Flow tab. Adjust month by month distribution if needed. Check Variance tab. See which cost codes are trending. Check Budget Register. Confirm FTC and Forecast columns are populated. Check S-curve reports. They now reflect your forecast data. Next Month Open Monthly Forecast, select new month Create new draft. Your approved FTC values from last month are carried forward. Budget and actuals refresh from Budget Register Review, adjust, approve. Repeat the cycle. Why We Built This Construction projects need a regular rhythm of cost forecasting. The PM checks in each month, reviews actuals against budget, and makes a judgment call on what's left to spend. That judgment, the Forecast to Complete, is the most important number for understanding whether a project will finish on budget. Before Monthly Forecast, this vital workflow happened outside the system, in spreadsheets and emails. There was no structure. No approval process. No audit trail. No integration with the rest of Horizon. By digitizing this workflow, we have created: A single source of truth. The forecast lives in Horizon, not in someone's laptop. An auditable history. Every FTC change is recorded with who, when, and why. Automatic integration. Budget Register and S-curve reports are fed with fresh forecast data. Structured approval. Validation and approval gates catch issues before they lock in. Immutable snapshots. Historical comparisons are accurate and defensible. No more spreadsheets. Cost forecasting moves from email to system. Who It's For Project Managers: You now have a structured monthly workflow for cost forecasting, with full audit trail and approval gates. Finance Teams: Forecasts are locked, auditable, and automatically feed into reports. No more chasing PMs for updated spreadsheets. Stakeholders: You get accurate, regularly updated cost forecasts with complete context (assumptions, change history, cost code trends). Auditors & Compliance: Every cost forecast decision is recorded with timestamp, user, reason, and previous values. The audit trail is complete. Available Now Monthly Forecast is available under Commercial for all projects with an active Budget Register. DEEP SPACE © 2026 Deep Space Group