--- title: "Forecast Settings: Overview And Setup Guide" description: Overview of Account Settings > Forecast --- [Skip to content](https://knowledge.govividly.com/forecast-settings-overview-and-setup-guide#main-content) [Submit a Support Ticket](https://knowledge.govividly.com/kb-tickets/new?hsLang=en) [Open the Vividly portal](https://knowledge.govividly.com/support?hsLang=en) [![hubspot\_survey\_logo\_vividly-4](https://knowledge.govividly.com/hs-fs/hubfs/hubspot_survey_logo_vividly-4.png?width=150&height=32&name=hubspot_survey_logo_vividly-4.png)](https://knowledge.govividly.com/?hsLang=en) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Submit a Support Ticket](https://knowledge.govividly.com/kb-tickets/new) - [Open the Vividly portal](https://knowledge.govividly.com/support) Search the Vividly Knowledge Base - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Vividly Knowledge Base](https://knowledge.govividly.com/?hsLang=en) 2. [Account Settings](https://knowledge.govividly.com/account-settings?hsLang=en) 3. [Forecast](https://knowledge.govividly.com/account-settings?hsLang=en#forecast) August 6, 2026 # Forecast Settings: Overview And Setup Guide ## Overview of Account Settings \> Forecast   The Forecast settings page is where you control how Vividly calculates your future sales projections. You can access it by clicking your profile icon (top-right) → **Account Settings** → **Forecast** tab. This page has four main sections: - [**Forecast Parameters**](https://knowledge.govividly.com/forecast-settings-overview-and-setup-guide#forecast-perameters) — controls which promotions influence your forecast - [**Averaged Weeks**](https://knowledge.govividly.com/forecast-settings-overview-and-setup-guide#averaged-weeks) — controls how much historical data is used to project the future - **[Seasonality Buckets](https://knowledge.govividly.com/forecast-settings-overview-and-setup-guide#seasonality-buckets)** — groups products and customers with similar seasonal patterns - [**Seasonality Indexes**](https://knowledge.govividly.com/forecast-settings-overview-and-setup-guide#seasonality-indexes) — sets the weekly multiplier values for each bucket  --- ### **Forecast Parameters: Which Promotions Affect Your Forecast?** This section controls which promotion types contribute lift to your forecast, and which date range determines when that lift appears.   ![Recording 2026-04-02 133237](https://knowledge.govividly.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Recording%202026-04-02%20133237.gif?width=670&height=303&name=Recording%202026-04-02%20133237.gif)   1. Go to **Account Settings** → **Forecast** tab → **Forecast Parameters** tab. 2. Review the list of fund types shown — these are all promotion types with Lift as a required field. 3. For each fund type, check or uncheck Include in Forecast: 1. **Checked** = promotions of this type will add lift to the forecast. 2. **Unchecked** = promotions of this type won't add incremental volume (commonly used for EDLP). 4. For each included fund type, select which date range Vividly should use to display **Lift** and the **Promotion** indicator in your forecast: 1. **Buy-in**: lift appears during the weeks distributors are purchasing the product. 2. **In-Store**: lift appears during the weeks the promotion is active at the retailer shelf. This is the most common selection, as it aligns with when consumers are actually buying. 3. **Scan-Back**: lift appears during the weeks the scan-back redemption period runs. In short, this setting answers the question "when should this promotion show up in my forecast?" Choose the fund type that will be use as date range reference that best reflects the moment you consider the promotional activity to be happening. ![](https://knowledge.govividly.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Apr-02-2026-07-50-40-8111-PM.png?width=670&height=130&name=image-png-Apr-02-2026-07-50-40-8111-PM.png) ---   ### **Averaged Weeks: How Much History Is Used To Project The Future?** **![averaged weeks](https://knowledge.govividly.com/hs-fs/hubfs/averaged%20weeks.gif?width=670&height=303&name=averaged%20weeks.gif)** This setting controls how many past weeks Vividly averages when projecting future velocity and store counts. After generating a new forecast, all future weeks will use this average as their starting point. 1. Go to **Account Settings** → **Forecast** tab. 2. In the Averaged Weeks section, select a lookback period for each customer type in the Averaged Weeks column (4, 8, 12, 16, 26, or 52 weeks).  Selecting a certain amount of weeks can depend on different variables that you would need to evaluate according to your retailers and AOBs behavior. Here are some guidelines to consider which amount of weeks to select.  | **Averaged Weeks** | **Best For** | **Why** | | --- | --- | --- | | 4–8 weeks | Retailers experiencing rapid growth or recent distribution gains | Reacts quickly to recent velocity changes, keeping projections aligned with current momentum | | 12–16 weeks | Most retailers with moderate, stable growth | Balances recent trends with enough history to smooth out short-term noise | | 26–52 weeks | Mature retailers with consistent, predictable sales; most AOBs | Smooths out volatility and reflects long-term patterns — especially important for AOBs, where data is noisier by nature |   **Note:** The averaged value is projected forward as a **flat** baseline across all future weeks. If you need future **Stores** or **Velocity** to *change over time* — for example, ramping distribution up as a new item rolls out, or stepping down ahead of a discontinuation — don't change this setting. Instead, apply a manual override directly in the Forecast (**Insights → Forecast**, Retailer view → **"Manage Overrides"**). See [Bulk Edit Stores & Velocity with Ramped Forecast Overrides](https://knowledge.govividly.com/bulk-edit-stores-velocity-with-ramped-forecast-overrides?hsLang=en).  ---   ### **Seasonality: Account For Predictable Sales Fluctuations** Seasonality lets you adjust your baseline forecast to reflect predictable patterns throughout the year — like higher beverage sales in summer or increased snack sales around the holidays. It works through two components: - **Seasonality Buckets** — groups of products and customers that share the same seasonal pattern. - **Seasonality Indexes** — weekly multiplier values applied to each bucket (e.g., 1.2 = 20% above baseline; 0.8 = 20% below baseline). Seasonality only affects baseline volume. Promotional lift is calculated separately on top of it. Set up buckets first, then assign index values.  #### **Step 1: Create Seasonality Buckets** **![Recording 2026-04-01 165900](https://knowledge.govividly.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Recording%202026-04-01%20165900.gif?width=670&height=303&name=Recording%202026-04-01%20165900.gif)** 1. Go to **Account Settings** → **Forecast** tab → **Seasonality Buckets** tab. 2. Click **"+ Add Seasonality Bucket"**. 3. Fill in the following fields and click **"Save"**: 1. **Bucket name:** A descriptive label for the group (e.g., "Holiday Snacks," "Summer Beverages"). 2. **Customers:** Select which customers (retailers or distributors) this bucket applies to. 3. **Products:** Select which products belong to this bucket. **Note:** Each product-customer combination can only belong to one bucket. Overlapping assignments will trigger an error. ![](https://knowledge.govividly.com/hs-fs/hubfs/image-png-Apr-01-2026-10-50-18-7562-PM.png?width=670&height=264&name=image-png-Apr-01-2026-10-50-18-7562-PM.png)   #### **Step 2: Set Up Seasonality Indexes** **![Recording 2026-04-01 170139](https://knowledge.govividly.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Recording%202026-04-01%20170139.gif?width=670&height=303&name=Recording%202026-04-01%20170139.gif)** 1. Go to **Account Settings** → **Forecast** tab → **Seasonality Buckets** tab. 2. Select the year you want to configure by clicking the **Select Year** dropdown. 3. Click any **index field** and enter the multiplier value for that week (1.0 = no change, above 1.0 = uplift, below 1.0 = decline). **Additional actions:** - **Copy indexes:** To copy last year's data as a starting point, click **"Copy Previous Year Seasonality"**. - **Export indexes:** To download your seasonality data, click **"Download Seasonality"**.  ---   ### **Best Practices** - Start with a small number of broad buckets and only get more granular over time once you've confirmed different segments have meaningfully different patterns. - Review and update seasonality once a year using the year-over-year copy feature — avoid frequent mid-year changes. - Never use seasonality indexes to compensate for data quality issues or planned promotional activity.  - When in doubt about what amount of Averaged Weeks you should set up, start at 12–16 weeks for Retailers and 16–26 weeks for AOBs, then adjust based on how closely the forecast aligns with your actual data over time. ---   ### **Still Need Help?** Contact Vividly Support via a live chat icon or by emailing us at [support@govividly.com](mailto:support@govividly.com).   - [Release Notes](https://knowledge.govividly.com/release-notes?hsLang=en) - [Business](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Revenue Dollars](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#revenue-dollars) - [Point-of-Sale (POS) Data](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#point-of-sale-pos-data) - [Deductions Spend](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#deductions-spend) - [Deductions Reconciliation - Getting Started](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#deductions-reconciliation-getting-started) - [Deductions Reconciliation - Working Deductions & Automation](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#deductions-reconciliation-working-deductions-automation) - [Deductions Reconciliation - Sales Review & Disputes](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#deductions-reconciliation-sales-review-disputes) - [Deductions Reconciliation - Reporting](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#deductions-reconciliation-reporting) - [Deductions Reconciliation - Troubleshooting](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#deductions-reconciliation-troubleshooting) - [Deductions Processing](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#deductions-processing) - [Deductions Dashboard](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#deductions-dashboard) - [Budget](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#budget) - [Cash Application](https://knowledge.govividly.com/business?hsLang=en#cash-application) - [Promotions](https://knowledge.govividly.com/promotions?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Creating New Promotions](https://knowledge.govividly.com/promotions?hsLang=en#creating-new-promotions) - [Promotion Details & Editing Promotions](https://knowledge.govividly.com/promotions?hsLang=en#promotion-details-editing-promotions) - [Views and Statuses](https://knowledge.govividly.com/promotions?hsLang=en#views-and-statuses) - [Search & Advanced Search](https://knowledge.govividly.com/promotions?hsLang=en#search-advanced-search) - [Uploading and Editing Promotions in Bulk via Excel Upload](https://knowledge.govividly.com/promotions?hsLang=en#uploading-and-editing-promotions-in-bulk-via-excel-upload) - [Duration Based Planning](https://knowledge.govividly.com/promotions?hsLang=en#duration-based-planning) - [Scenarios](https://knowledge.govividly.com/scenarios?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Scenario Planning](https://knowledge.govividly.com/scenarios?hsLang=en#scenario-planning) - [Manage](https://knowledge.govividly.com/manage?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Overview](https://knowledge.govividly.com/manage?hsLang=en#overview) - [Hierarchies](https://knowledge.govividly.com/manage?hsLang=en#hierarchies) - [Products](https://knowledge.govividly.com/manage?hsLang=en#products) - [Product Groups](https://knowledge.govividly.com/manage?hsLang=en#product-groups) - [Pricing](https://knowledge.govividly.com/manage?hsLang=en#pricing) - [Lift](https://knowledge.govividly.com/manage?hsLang=en#lift) - [Customers](https://knowledge.govividly.com/manage?hsLang=en#customers) - [Contacts](https://knowledge.govividly.com/manage?hsLang=en#contacts) - [Insights](https://knowledge.govividly.com/insights?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Forecast](https://knowledge.govividly.com/insights?hsLang=en#forecast) - [Promotion Analytics](https://knowledge.govividly.com/insights?hsLang=en#promotion-analytics) - [Finance Analytics](https://knowledge.govividly.com/insights?hsLang=en#finance-analytics) - [Promotion Timing Analysis](https://knowledge.govividly.com/insights?hsLang=en#promotion-timing-analysis) - [Accruals](https://knowledge.govividly.com/insights?hsLang=en#accruals) - [Account Settings](https://knowledge.govividly.com/account-settings?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Permissions](https://knowledge.govividly.com/account-settings?hsLang=en#permissions) - [Promotions (Tags)](https://knowledge.govividly.com/account-settings?hsLang=en#promotions-tags) - [Fund Types](https://knowledge.govividly.com/account-settings?hsLang=en#fund-types) - [Deductions & Revenue](https://knowledge.govividly.com/account-settings?hsLang=en#deductions-revenue) - [Forecast](https://knowledge.govividly.com/account-settings?hsLang=en#forecast) - [API Integrations](https://knowledge.govividly.com/account-settings?hsLang=en#api-integrations) - [Miscellaneous](https://knowledge.govividly.com/account-settings?hsLang=en#miscellaneous) - [Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)](https://knowledge.govividly.com/frequently-asked-questions-faqs?hsLang=en) - [Office Hours](https://knowledge.govividly.com/office-hours?hsLang=en) [![Chill listening crop-3](https://knowledge.govividly.com/hubfs/Vividly_Symbol_Gradient-1.svg "Chill listening crop-3")](https://portal.govividly.com/) **[Open the Vividly Portal](https://portal.govividly.com/)** Copyright © 2026, Vividly ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "VideoObject", "caption" : { "@type" : "MediaObject", "contentUrl" : "https://knowledge.govividly.com/media-transcripts/210353169522/en.vtt", "inLanguage" : "en", "name" : "en Captions" }, "contentUrl" : "https://19646847.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/19646847/video_assets/210353169522/inherited/web_optimized.mp4", "dateModified" : "2026-07-08T23:24:51.150Z", "duration" : "PT2M40.556S", "height" : 1080, "name" : "Vividly - 15 October 2024", "thumbnailUrl" : "https://19646847.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/19646847/Vividly%20University%20-%20Hubspot%20Knowledge%20Base/Vividly%20-%2015%20October%202024.mp4/medium.jpg", "uploadDate" : "2026-04-01T22:52:49.603Z", "width" : 1274 } ```