Budget Forecast

Use this page if you have entered your Budget and Forecast into SmartSpace in Database Setup. You can compare your budget and forecast Your estimated business volume for meetings and events and for future dates. Usually, your forecast is updated regularly and therefore differs from your budget, which is static. expectations against how much business is on the books Revenue for bookings currently held in the Sales and Catering system for future dates., for the next 12 months and grouped by booking Also called an enquiry. A piece of business that consists of one or more events over one or more days. Can be of any status, for example Prospect, Definite, or Lost/Cxl. status. You can also view the variations between the budget and forecast. This helps you assess your performance against budget and forecast.

For an overview of all three Business Pace reports, view the video in the Year on Year Revenue topic.

See Multi Property Mode to learn how this page functions when you have access to several venues Any business that sells function space. For example, hotel, conference centre or a sporting arena..

Using Budget Forecast

1. On the Trend Analysis menu, select Business Pace, and then click Budget Forecast.
   The Budget Forecast page displays business on the books for up to the next 24 months.
2. In the Select the Start Month list, select the month you want the future view to begin with. For example, if your budget year begins in July, you'd select July.
3. In the Show next n months tab, enter a number of months, up to 24, that you want to forecast for.

We recommend that you review a period of at least 12 months to identify future revenue opportunities.

4. Click one or more filter buttons to review or select the filter options based on how you want to view the data.  See Filters for a list of filters and how to use them.
5. Select or clear the Show variance checkbox to view the difference between your current on the books and your budget and forecast.
6. Click a blue value in an Export Date column to view a Bookings Details for this month and year.
7. Click Export to Excel in the Bookings Report window to export this data for further review.
8. Click Close to exit the Bookings Report window.
9. Click the PDF option to convert and save the current page as a PDF file.

Data Details

The date range is static and shows the current month and the next 12 months. Revenues are only from Meeting and Events, not from accommodation like hotel guest rooms. All revenue figures in SmartSpace are displayed exclusive of value-added tax (VAT).

Field	Description
Event Month	The month in which an event occurs. The current month and year are the starting point for a future period of up to 24 months. This is a static field.
Status	The booking Also called an enquiry. A piece of business that consists of one or more events over one or more days. Can be of any status, for example Prospect, Definite, or Lost/Cxl. status: Prospect The booking status of an unconfirmed event. You have no verbal or written confirmation, but you might hold space provisionally., Tentative The booking status of an event that the client has verbally confirmed. You have sent them a contract., Definite The booking status of an event for which you have received the signed contract from the client., Lost/Cxl Lost: the client decides not to hold a prospect or tentative event at your venue., or Turn Down Also known as denials. It’s the booking status of events for which you decide not to offer availability. This can be because you don't have the space available, or because you believe it is not the right piece of business..
Export Date	The most recent revenue data from your Sales and Catering system The system that you use to manage the bookings for your function rooms. Also known as a diary management, or meetings and events reservation system. Examples include Delphi and Opera..The date refers to when it was extracted from the Sales and Catering system and might differ from when you imported it into SmartSpace.Click a blue value to view a Bookings Details.
VAR to Budget	The difference in revenue between business on the books Revenue for bookings currently held in the Sales and Catering system for future dates. and your Budget.
VAR %	The difference in revenue between business on the books Revenue for bookings currently held in the Sales and Catering system for future dates. and your Budget, expressed as a percentage. Increases show in green and decreases in red.
Budget	The budget revenue for the month and year entered in the Budget / Forecast tab under Database > Database Setup.
VAR to Forecast	The difference in revenue between business on the books Revenue for bookings currently held in the Sales and Catering system for future dates. and your Forecast. Increases show in green and decreases in red.
VAR %	The difference in revenue between business on the books Revenue for bookings currently held in the Sales and Catering system for future dates. and your Forecast, expressed as a percentage. Increases show in green and decreases in red.
Forecast	The forecast revenue for the month and year entered in the Budget / Forecast tab under Database > Database Setup.

Best Practices

Regularly Review Your Performance

Regularly compare your business on books from the most recent export date against your forecast and budget. Start with the total revenue, then drill down by status and, if necessary, by individual bookings. Analyse the gaps for the current and at least for the next three months. To assess if you can reach your forecast and budget revenues, use other Trend Analysis reports, for example Enquiries by Revenue by Lead Time and the Conversion reports.

As a result of your review, you might update your forecast, your Pricing Strategy, or your planned promotions. The frequency of the review varies based on the size of your venue and how dynamic your market is. We recommend at least once a week.