Managing Forecasts in Mastt

Objective

By the end of this guide, you'll be able to:

• Create different types of cost forecasts
• Manage contingencies effectively
• Understand how forecasts impact financial reporting
• Close forecasts when they're no longer needed

Prerequisites

• Access to a Mastt project
• Basic understanding of the Cost Module structure
• Familiarity with project forecasting concepts

Video Walkthrough

 

Step-by-Step Forecast Management

Understanding the Forecast Module

1. Purpose of Forecasts

• The Forecast module is designed for tracking:
  • Uncommitted costs (anticipated expenses not yet contracted)
  • Contingencies (funds reserved for unforeseen costs)
  • Risks (from the Risk module, when sent to the Cost module)

2. Impact on Financial Reporting

• All forecasts appear in the "Uncommitted" column in the Overall page
• They affect the Forecast Final Cost (FFC) or Estimate at Completion (EAC)
• This provides a more complete picture of the project's financial position

Creating a Forecast

1. Accessing the Forecast Module

• Navigate to the Forecast tab in the Cost Module
• Click Add Forecast to create a new forecast

2. Basic Forecast Information

• Enter a forecast name
• Select the forecast type:
  • Uncommitted Cost: Anticipated expenses not yet contracted
  • Client Contingency: Contingency managed by the client
  • Project Contingency: Contingency managed by the project team

3. Forecast Status

• Select the appropriate status:
  • Open: Active forecast affecting financial reports
  • Closed: Inactive forecast not affecting financial reports
  • Draft: Preliminary forecast affecting financial reports

4. Forecast Amount Details

• For Uncommitted Costs:
  • Enter the starting amount
  • Set the likelihood percentage (probability that the cost will be incurred)
• For Contingencies:
  • Enter the starting amount
  • Set the remaining amount (as contingency is used)
  • The system calculates the current contingency

5. Budget Assignment

• Select which budget the forecast should be assigned to
• This determines where the forecast appears in the financial hierarchy

6. Completing the Forecast

• Add any relevant notes
• Upload attachments if needed
• Click Add to create the forecast

Managing Forecasts

1. Editing Forecasts

• Click the three dots next to a forecast
• Select Edit Forecast
• Update any field as needed

2. Closing Forecasts

• When a forecast is no longer needed:
  • Click the three dots next to a forecast
  • Select Edit Forecast
  • Change the status to Closed
  • Click Update

3. Best Practice: Close vs. Delete

• It's recommended to close forecasts rather than delete them
• Closing maintains the historical record while removing the financial impact
• Closed forecasts remain visible in the Forecast module and forecast tables on dashboards
• They no longer affect the Forecast Final Cost or Estimate at Completion

Understanding Risks in Forecasts

1. Risk Integration

• Risks created in the Risk module can be sent to the Cost module
• These appear as forecasts with a yellow risk icon
• They're managed in the Risk module, but impact financial forecasting

2. Viewing Risk Forecasts

• Risks appear in the Forecast module with their cost impact
• They contribute to the uncommitted costs in financial reports
• They cannot be directly edited in the Forecast module

Common Pitfalls and Solutions

• Issue: Forecast not appearing in financial reports
  • Solution: Ensure status is "Open" or "Draft"
• Issue: Contingency values are incorrect
  • Solution: Check both starting amount and remaining amount
• Issue: Forecast appearing after closure
  • Solution: Refresh the page or clear cache
• Issue: Deleted forecast still needed
  • Solution: Always close forecasts rather than deleting them

Next Steps

Now that you understand how to manage forecasts, explore the Payment Management guide to learn how to track and manage payments in Mastt.