How to Forecast Sales in Excel? (+ Template) |

You’ve got the sales data, deadlines, and a room full of stressed people counting on your projections. For data analysts and business professionals, a sales forecast is about telling a story with data.

Microsoft Excel is a tried-and-true tool for storing your data and forecasting sales. Its robust features make it easier to analyze historical data and predict future sales revenue with accuracy.

In this blog, we’ll explore how you can turn raw data into meaningful forecasts with Excel and give you a handy template to hit the ground running. 📊

We’ll also introduce you to an even better option: ! Never lose sight of a single deal, and leverage AI to help with sales projections and forecasting.

How Do You Forecast Sales in Excel?

Sales forecasting in Excel is approachable with the right steps and tools. Whether you’re a pro or just getting started, understanding how to structure your data and apply sales forecasting methods is key.

Let’s look at clear, actionable steps to create accurate projections. 👀

Step #1: Set up your Excel spreadsheet

Create a new Excel spreadsheet. Enter your historical sales data, organizing it into two columns: one for the time periods, like dates, months, or years, and the other for corresponding sales figures. This structured dataset serves as the foundation for creating your sales forecast.

Step #2: Access the forecasting tool

Navigate to the Data tab in Excel and click on the Forecast Sheet option in the Forecast group. This will open a dialog box where you can configure your forecast parameters.

Select the table for which you want to create the Forecast sheet.

Step #3: Customize your forecast

Choose a visualization style (line or column chart) within the Create Forecast Worksheet dialog. In the Forecast End field, set an end date for your forecast, for instance, a few months or even a year beyond your most recent sales data.

If you want to fine-tune your forecast, click Options to adjust additional settings. Here’s what you can change:

• Confidence Interval: Decide whether to display or hide confidence bounds in your forecast
• Seasonality: Select Automatic to specify a manual value if your data follows seasonal trends
• Fill Missing Points Using: Choose how to address any gaps in your dataset 
• Aggregate Duplicates Using: Determine how duplicate timestamps should be managed in your analysis

For instance, in this sales forecast example, we’ve adjusted the Forecast End to June next year and increased the Confidence Interval to 99.99%.

Step #4: Create the forecast and examine results

Click Create, and there you go!

Excel will create a new worksheet with a detailed chart and dataset. The chart shows predicted sales trends alongside upper and lower confidence intervals, clearly representing your forecasted data.

Step #5: Add visual context to your data

Create a combined line chart to compare historical and forecasted sales more effectively. Highlight your periods, historical data, and projected values. You can go to the Insert tab and click the Recommended Charts option to change the chart type for better visualization.

For instance, here, we’ve selected the Date and Sales columns to create a line chart for comparison.

Step #6: Evaluate and update your forecast

Periodically review your sales forecast Excel sheet against actual sales results. Adjust settings or models to align with new information or market changes. This iterative process ensures your forecasts remain accurate and actionable over time.

Step #7: Try advanced forecasting tools (optional)

For more precise results, take advantage of Excel’s sales forecasting tools like:

• FORECAST.ETS: Ideal for exponential smoothing to account for trends and seasonality
• TREND or FORECAST.LINEAR: Suitable for linear regression-based predictions.
  Apply these functions to cells where you want to calculate future sales, tailoring the formula to your specific dataset

Limitations of Forecasting Sales in Excel

While Excel is a popular tool for sales cycle management, it has several limitations that hinder its effectiveness. As businesses grow and sales processes grow more complex, you can’t rely solely on Excel for accurate forecasts.

Here are some of its limitations:

• Manual data entry and management: It needs extensive manual input, making it time-consuming and prone to errors
• Limited forecasting models: The tool only offers basic forecasting models, such as linear regression and moving averages, which may not capture complex sales patterns or seasonal trends
• Lack of automation: While Excel has Analysis ToolPak, it lacks robust automation, leading to repetitive processes
• Scalability issues: Excel struggles to handle large datasets efficiently as businesses grow and data volumes increase. This slows down processing times and makes forecasting more complex, especially for organizations with diverse product lines or sales channels
• No advanced analytical capabilities: It lacks advanced features, such as machine learning algorithms, which could improve forecast accuracy by adapting to new data patterns

Create a Sales Forecast In

Sales forecasting needs precision and efficiency. , the everything app for work, makes the process easier with its dynamic suite of tools and intuitive features. The all-in-one productivity platform gives you everything you need to build accurate, actionable forecasts.

Let’s walk through how! 💪

Step #1: Import or input sales data 

Collect your historical sales data, including metrics like order volumes, revenue, and customer lifetime value. You can enter this information manually or seamlessly import it from existing spreadsheets into ’s Sales Software.

Table View is a versatile feature that lets you organize your data into a clear, structured format, capturing all key sales metrics in one place. This setup simplifies data management and helps you easily track trends and evaluate performance over time.

You can create customizable tables for criteria like monthly sales figures, product performance, and customer acquisition rates. It also allows you to include specific data points relevant to the sales process, providing a clear overview of past performance.

Plus, any changes made to the table are in real time, aligning all stakeholders with current information.

Step #2: Visualize data

Dashboards offer an excellent way to visualize and track current and past sales data, helping teams gain actionable insights at a glance. These customizable dashboards display critical metrics like forecasted sales versus actual performance. You can analyze these with cards like bar charts, line graphs, and numerical counters.

This visual approach makes it easy to monitor sales key performance indicators (KPIs), assess progress against targets, and pinpoint areas for improvement.

For example, a sales manager could create a Dashboard showcasing monthly revenue trends, regional performance, and product-specific forecasts. Cards can display graphs comparing projected and actual sales, numerical widgets for cumulative revenue, and pie charts to break down sales contributions by category.

Step #3: Automate updates and reminders 

Automations is a solid way to keep your team informed and tasks on track without manual intervention. Set up custom rules to trigger specific actions and ensure that updates and reminders flow automatically, saving time and reducing human oversight.

For instance, you can create automated notifications whenever forecasted sales fall below a certain threshold. This ensures your team can respond proactively, adjusting strategies or prioritizing follow-ups.

Similarly, Reminders can be set to alert sales reps about upcoming deadlines for updating projections or scheduling reviews with stakeholders.

Step #4: Leverage integrations

With Integrations, you can easily connect your CRM tools for accurate sales forecasting. Sync data directly from your CRM to ensure they’re always based on updated information.

This integration allows sales figures and projections to update automatically as new data flows in, making your forecasting process more dynamic and responsive.

With ’s ability to connect seamlessly with various CRM systems, you can visualize your sales pipeline while tapping into external data to fine-tune your forecasts for even greater accuracy and insight.

Step #5: Use ready-made templates

The Sales Forecast Template is an excellent tool for businesses looking to elevate their sales forecasting. With flexibility and extensive collaboration functionalities, it offers powerful features to customize and streamline your forecasting process.

The template visualizes historical sales performance, helps you set sales goals and track progress toward them, and collaborates with your team to plan for success.

You gain insights into upcoming market demands, identify areas of opportunity, and develop strategies to capitalize on with this free sales forecast template. With its advanced features, you can plan for future expansion, allocate resources more effectively, measure performance, and track progress against set goals.

Forecast Your Success With

Excel’s utility in forecasting sales is undeniable. You can create forecasts for valuable insights with the proper techniques and templates. However, the platform has its limitations that hinder scalability and flexibility.

, the everything app for work, steps in with its robust automation, real-time updates, and intuitive dashboards, transforming how you manage data. You can create workflows, visualize your pipeline, and optimize your entire sales process without breaking a sweat.

So, what are you waiting for? Sign up to for free today! ✅

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