---
title: "View and apply forecast recommendations"
slug: "view-and-apply-forecast-recommendations"
updated: 2026-09-28T14:34:11Z
published: 2026-09-28T14:34:11Z
canonical: "help.servicetitan.com/view-and-apply-forecast-recommendations"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.servicetitan.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# View and apply forecast recommendations

## Overview

Use the *Forecast Recommendation* banner on the *Financials* screen to start a forecast from calculated figures. ServiceTitan recommends a Forecasted Cost to Complete for each expense line. You accept, change, or clear each one.

Starting from a calculated figure takes less time than building a forecast by hand. That makes it practical to reforecast every billing cycle, so you catch cost overruns while you can still act.

---

### 

#### Who uses this feature

- Administrators, accountants, bookkeepers, and managers
- Primarily benefits Residential Construction and Commercial Construction business types
- Applies to all trades

#### Feature configuration

- This feature is currently in Private Preview and available for specific accounts. It is subject to change. If you want to enable this feature for your account, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM).
- Account configuration is required to use this feature. Please contact [Technical Support](http://go.servicetitan.com/ask) for details.
- The *Show Project Financials* permission is required to use this feature. Please contact the account administrator on your team.

## Things to know

- Recommendations appear on expense lines only. Revenue lines do not change.
- A recommendation fills a field. It does not change your project. Your live *Budget vs Actual* figures hold until you save the forecast.
- The banner explains how ServiceTitan reached the figure and shows your projected margin fade or gain. Read it before you apply the recommendation.
- Material, equipment, and subcontractor recommendations use committed costs. These are open purchase order values not yet converted to Actual. They exclude costs you have not yet put on a purchase order.
- A blank recommendation means ServiceTitan could not calculate that line, usually because the project has too little history. A zero means the calculation ran and returned zero.
- Choose *Segments* view or *GL* view before you create a project's first forecast. The project keeps that view for its lifetime.
- Accepting a recommendation does not create a cost adjustment. Create the cost adjustment yourself as a separate step. For more, see [Create cost adjustments](/v1/docs/create-cost-adjustments).
- Labor recommendations adjust for how your project has been spending recently. When there is not enough recent history, ServiceTitan still recommends a figure, calculated without that adjustment.

## Best practices

- Check labor recommendations against what you know about the schedule. The calculation assumes your current spend rate holds, so adjust it when a crew leaves the job or scope changes.
- Override material and subcontractor lines when you know about a cost you have not yet put on a purchase order.
- Forecast to budget during a project's first weeks. Recommendations carry more weight once actual cost and labor accumulate.
- Record why you overrode a recommendation in the *Forecast Note* field. This gives the next reviewer your reasoning.
- Review the *Over/Under Budget* figure on each line before you save, not just the project total.
- Reforecast on a regular cycle rather than in response to a problem. Recommendations update as your project data changes.

## Use cases

- A project manager opens a project mid-month and reviews the recommended cost to complete on each budget code. They adjust two labor lines for a crew change and save the forecast before billing closes.
- A controller switches the *Project Summary* to the forecast view to compare forecasted margin against budgeted margin. They then work the projects showing the largest fade.
- A project manager accepts recommendations on subcontractor lines where every commitment is on a purchase order. They override material lines where a price increase is known but not yet ordered.
- An accountant opens a saved forecast in *Forecast Records* to see which figures came from a recommendation and which a project manager entered.

## How ServiceTitan calculates a recommendation

ServiceTitan calculates each recommendation differently depending on whether the line is labor or material, equipment, and subcontractor cost.

### Labor lines

ServiceTitan multiplies your remaining budgeted hours by a blended labor rate drawn from what you have actually spent on the project. It then weights the result against your recent burn rate. The figure reflects whether your crew is ramping up, winding down, or holding steady.

When your project does not yet have enough recent history, ServiceTitan skips that weighting and recommends the unadjusted figure. When a line has consumed all its budgeted hours, the recommendation is zero rather than a negative figure.

### Material, equipment, and subcontractor lines

ServiceTitan passes through your committed costs, meaning open purchase order value not yet converted to Actual. These lines carry no trend weighting. Material variance comes from one-off events such as expedite fees and price changes rather than a repeating pattern.

### What the calculation excludes

- It does not predict material costs beyond what you have committed on a purchase order.
- It does not forecast a partial period. Every recommendation covers the full remaining scope of the project.
- It does not read percent complete from *Project Plan*.

### What the explanation covers

The explanation on the banner and on each line names what is driving your forecast: labor, materials, or both. It tells you whether your margin is fading or gaining against budget, and flags a project running under budget. On a first forecast it says so, because there is no prior spend to compare against.

## View forecast recommendations in a project

1. [Search for](/v1/docs/use-search-in-servicetitan) and go to the project you want. The *Project* screen opens.
2. In the side menu, click **Financials**. The *Financials* screen opens.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** The figures on this screen reflect your current costing method. To review it, click **View Costing Settings**.
3. At the top of the screen, review the *Forecast Recommendation* banner.

![Financial summary for Morgan Hall HVAC project, highlighting forecast recommendation and budget details.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/forecast-banner.png)

The banner shows the following:

| **Element** | **What it tells you** |
| --- | --- |
| *Recommended total* | The forecast ServiceTitan recommends for the whole project |
| *Period* | The period the recommendation covers, for example *Month of September* |
| *Explanation* | How ServiceTitan reached the figure, and your projected margin fade or gain |
| *Forecast Summary* | Your actual cost, actual labor hours, and forecasted margin, set against your budgeted costs, budgeted labor hours, and budgeted margin |

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** Click the **Collapse** icon to collapse the banner. If no recommendation is available for the project, the banner does not appear and the rest of the screen works as usual.

### If you have a forecast in progress

When a draft forecast exists for the project, the banner shows a *Forecast In Progress* label, how much you have allocated so far, and your projected margin fade or gain. Click **Continue Forecast** to pick up where you left off.

## Apply forecast recommendations to a project

1. On the *Financials* screen, go to the *Forecast Recommendation* banner. For more, see [View forecast recommendations in a project](/docs/view-and-apply-forecast-recommendations#view-forecast-recommendations-in-a-project).
2. Click **Apply Recommendation**. The *Create Forecast* screen opens with recommended figures in the *Forecasted Cost to Complete (FCTC)* column.

![Forecast recommendation details showing allocations, expenses, and projected costs for various segments.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/forecast-recommendation-forecastscreen.png)

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** To forecast without recommendations, click **Start Without Recommendation**. To return to a forecast you already started, click **Continue Forecast**.
3. Review the *Forecast Recommendation* panel at the top of the screen.
4. Click **Segments** or **GL** to choose the view you want to forecast in.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** A project keeps the view you first forecast in. In *GL* view, the panel names your primary forecasting view.
5. Review each line in the table. A recommendation icon next to a figure in the *Forecasted Cost to Complete (FCTC)* column marks a line ServiceTitan filled for you.

![Financial summary showing actual and projected costs with highlighted forecasted expenses.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/forecast-line-recommendation.png)
6. Change any lines you disagree with. For more, see [Change a recommendation on a single line](/docs/view-and-apply-forecast-recommendations#change-a-recommendation-on-a-single-line).
7. Click **Save Forecast**. The *Save Forecast?* dialog opens.
8. Enter a *Forecast Name*. Add an optional *Forecast Note* to record why you made the changes.

![Forecasting details including allocations, costs, and notes for September adjustments.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/save-forecast.png)
9. Do one of the following:

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** If your line items do not add up to your Forecast Cost to Complete, ServiceTitan asks you to confirm first. For more, see [Resolve an allocation mismatch](/docs/view-and-apply-forecast-recommendations#resolve-an-allocation-mismatch).
  - Click **Save Forecast** to finalize your adjustments and update the *Budget vs Actual* table.
  - Click **Save Draft** to keep your progress without finalizing.

## Read the forecast allocation panel

The *Forecast Recommendation* panel sits above the table and splits into two groups.

*Forecast Allocation*, on the left:

| **Figure** | **What it tells you** |
| --- | --- |
| *Forecast Cost to Complete* | The total you are working toward. Click the **Edit** icon to change it. |
| *Current Allocation* | The sum of every line item's FCTC, with the percentage of your total it accounts for |
| *Remaining* | The gap between your total and your current allocation, with that gap as a percentage |

*Forecast Impact*, on the right, shows *Forecasted Margin* in dollars and as a percentage, with a *Margin Fade* or *Margin Gain* badge.

Read the allocation figures together:

| **State** | **What you see** |
| --- | --- |
| Fully allocated | *100% Allocated* and *$0.00* remaining |
| Under allocated | Less than *100% Allocated* and a positive *Remaining* figure |
| Over allocated | More than *100% Allocated*, a warning icon beside *Current Allocation*, and a negative *Remaining* figure |

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** When you change the total, ServiceTitan shows how far your figure is above or below the recommended amount.

## Change a recommendation on a single line

1. In the table, click the *Forecasted Cost to Complete (FCTC)* cell on the line you want. The forecast panel opens.
2. Review the *Recommended Forecast* card. It shows the recommended amount and the reasoning behind it. To read the full reasoning, click **Show more**.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/forecast-line-recommendation-edit.png)
3. Enter your own amount in the *Forecast Amount* field, or enter a percentage of the budget in the field beside it. To remove the forecast for this line, clear the field.

> [!TIP]
> **Tip:** Use the *Balance to Finish* hint below the field to forecast the remaining budget as it stands. Click the **Copy** icon to enter it.
4. Review the note. ServiceTitan seeds the *Notes* field with the reasoning behind the recommendation. Edit or clear it as you like.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** ServiceTitan leaves a note you already wrote in place.
5. Total allocation must reach 100 percent before you can save the line.
6. Click **Save**.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** Clicking **Save** holds the figure in the sandbox. Complete the save workflow to save your forecast. For more, see [Apply forecast recommendations to a project](/docs/view-and-apply-forecast-recommendations#apply-forecast-recommendations-to-a-project).

To return to the recommended amount after an override, reopen the cell and click **Apply recommendation** on the card.

### Read the line markers

Each *Forecasted Cost to Complete* cell shows its state:

| **Marker** | **Meaning** |
| --- | --- |
| Recommendation icon | The cell holds a recommended figure you have not opened or changed. |
| Check | You changed the figure and saved it. |
| Check and recommendation icon | You opened the recommendation, reviewed it, and saved without changing it. |

Hover over a cell to show the **Edit** icon alongside its marker.

## Adjust the forecast total

1. In the *Forecast Recommendation* panel, click the **Edit** icon next to *Forecast Cost to Complete*.
2. Enter the total you want to work toward.

![Forecast recommendation shows total cost, current allocation, and remaining budget details.](https://cdn.document360.io/961862ab-d0f2-4d91-bb62-a62ee8184eff/Images/Documentation/edit-forecast-recommendation-total.png)
3. Click the **Accept** icon to commit your figure, or the **Cancel** icon to discard it.
4. Check *Current Allocation* and *Remaining* to see how far your line items are from your total.
5. Adjust individual lines until the figures align.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** Treat the total as a target. ServiceTitan saves the sum of your line items as the forecast, not the target.

## Resolve an allocation mismatch

When you click **Save Forecast** and your line items do not add up to your *Forecast Cost to Complete*, the *Current Allocation Doesn't Match Forecast Cost to Complete* dialog opens. It names both figures and the difference between them.

Choose one of the following:

| **Option** | **What happens** |
| --- | --- |
| **Cancel to Review** | Returns you to the table so you can change your line items |
| **Save Draft** | Saves your progress without finalizing the forecast |
| **Continue to Save** | Saves the forecast using your current allocation as the final Forecast Cost to Complete |

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** Your Forecast Cost to Complete does not adjust to match your line items. Whichever figure you save becomes the forecast.

## Remove the recommendation

1. In the *Forecast Recommendation* panel, click **Remove Recommendation**. ServiceTitan clears every recommended figure from the table.
2. Enter your own figures, or reapply the recommendation to start over.

## Compare actual and forecasted figures

1. On the *Financials* screen, go to the *Project Summary* section.
2. Click **Forecast** in the view toggle. The summary figures switch from your actual position to your forecasted position.

> [!NOTE]
> **Note:** Click **Actual** to return to actual figures, or **Project Costing** for the costing view.

## Want to learn more?

- Visit ServiceTitan Academy and enroll in [Project Tracking Basics](https://servicetitan.docebosaas.com/academy/learn/courses/253/project-tracking-basics)
- See [Forecast project costs](/v1/docs/forecast-project-costs)
- See [Understand Budget vs Actual](/v1/docs/understand-budget-vs-actual)
- See [Understand project financials](/v1/docs/understand-project-financials)