Forecast project costs

Overview

The forecasting tools in the Budget vs Actual table let you estimate remaining costs on a project and see how those costs affect your final margin. You enter a Forecasted Cost to Complete for each expense segment, and the table calculates your Forecasted Cost at Complete, Over/Under Cost, and Forecasted Margin in real time. This gives project managers a forward-looking view of project health before costs are finalized.

Things to know

• Forecasting is available in the Segments view of the Budget vs Actual table. The forecasting columns also appear in the GL view.

• Forecasting columns only display on Expense rows. They do not display on Revenue (Billed) rows. The Forecasted Margin $ and Forecasted Margin % values display in the Margin summary rows at the bottom of the table.

• If no forecast has been saved for a segment, the Forecasted Cost to Complete, Forecasted Cost at Complete, and Over/Under Cost columns display a dash (—).

• When you open sandbox mode, all expense segments auto-expand so that leaf segments and their edit icons are visible. You do not need to expand them manually.

• You can save a forecast as a draft or finalize it. Drafts do not update the live Budget vs Actual table values. Finalized forecasts update the table immediately.

• Each saved forecast is stored as a snapshot in the Forecast Records table. You can review past forecasts at any time.

• For more on the existing Budget vs Actual columns and table layout, see Understand Budget vs Actual.

Best practices

• Forecast costs on a regular basis. Many project managers forecast monthly, but a weekly cadence catches cost variances earlier.

• Start with the segments where you expect the most variance from the original budget. Focus on labor and materials first.

• Use the Forecast Note field to record why you made changes. This helps your team understand the context when they review past forecast records.

• Compare the Over/Under Cost column to the Variance column. Variance shows where you are today. Over/Under Cost shows where you expect to land.

Use cases

• A project manager reviews the Balance to Finish column mid-project and sees that the remaining budget for electrical materials is too low. They enter a higher Forecasted Cost to Complete to reflect the expected overrun and present the updated margin to the project owner.

• A controller runs a monthly forecast review across all active projects. They open each project's Budget vs Actual table, enter updated Forecasted Cost to Complete values, and save each forecast with a descriptive name like "June 2026 Monthly Forecast."

• A project manager realizes a subcontractor bid came in lower than budgeted. They enter a negative Forecasted Cost to Complete for that segment to reflect the savings, and the Over/Under Cost column turns green to confirm the project is under budget.

Understand the forecasting columns

The Budget vs Actual table includes the following forecasting columns. You can show or hide these columns from the Edit Columns panel:

• Balance to Finish: Total Budget minus Projected (Committed Costs plus Actual). This is how much of your budget remains. Negative values display in red.

• Forecasted Cost to Complete (FCTC): The amount you expect to spend to finish the work for a segment. You enter this value in the forecasting popover. Displays a dash (—) if no forecast has been saved.

• Forecasted Cost at Complete (FCAC): Projected costs (Committed plus Actual) plus Forecasted Cost to Complete. This is your estimated total cost for the segment when the project is complete. Displays a dash (—) if no FCTC has been entered.

• Over/Under Cost: Total Budget minus Forecasted Cost at Complete. Positive values (under budget) display in green. Negative values (over budget) display in red. Displays a dash (—) if no FCTC has been entered.

• Forecasted Margin $: Total Contract Value minus Forecasted Cost at Complete. Displays in the Margin $ summary row. Positive values display in green. Negative values display in red.

• Forecasted Margin %: Forecasted Margin $ divided by Total Contract Value. Displays in the Margin % summary row. Inherits the same color treatment as Forecasted Margin $.

Note: All forecasting columns respect the $ and QTY toggle. Each column header includes a tooltip that explains the calculation.

Sandbox mode

Sandbox mode is the editing layer in the Budget vs Actual table. Changes you make in sandbox mode are not applied to the live table until you save them. All expense segments expand automatically so you can see the leaf segments and the edit icons.

Enter a forecast

To enter a forecast for your project:

1. Search for and go to the project you want. The Project screen opens.

2. In the side menu, click Financials.

3. On the Financials screen that opens, scroll down to the Budget vs Actual section.

4. Click Forecasting and Adjustments > Create Forecast. 

   

5. On the Forecasting Sandbox screen, click the Edit icon on the Forecasted Cost to Complete column in the leaf segment row you want to forecast. The forecasting popup opens. 

   

6. In the popover, enter the forecast values:        

   • In the Forecast Amount dollar field, enter the dollar amount you expect to spend to complete this segment. If you enter a percentage in the % field instead, the dollar amount calculates automatically based on the Total Budget for the segment.

   • In the Segments view, select a GL account from the dropdown to associate the forecast with a GL account.

   • In the GL view, select a budget code from the dropdown to associate the forecast with a budget code item.

   Note: Both the dollar and percentage fields accept negative values. Use a negative value if you expect to spend less than the remaining budget.

   

7. Review the live preview at the bottom of the popover. It shows the updated Forecasted Cost at Complete and Over/Under Cost values as you type.

8. Click Apply to save the value to the sandbox. The row shows an unsaved indicator until you finalize the forecast.        

   Note: Applying a value in the popup does not save the forecast. It holds the value in the sandbox until you save or discard your changes.

9. Repeat steps 5 through 8 for each segment you want to forecast.

Save or draft a forecast

After you enter forecast values for one or more segments, save or draft the forecast to create a forecast record:

1. In the Forecasting Sandbox screen, click Save.

2. In the Save Changes? popup that opens, enter a name for this forecast in the Forecast Name field. For example, you can enter June 2026 Monthly Forecast. This field is required.

3. In the Forecast Note field, enter a summary of what changed and why. For example, you can enter Updated MISC charge to reflect permit fees. This field is required and has a 100-character limit.

4. Choose one of the following:        

   • Click Save Changes to finalize the forecast. The Budget vs Actual table updates to reflect the forecast values. A success message confirms the save. The forecast record is stored in the Forecast Records table.

   • Click Save Draft to save the forecast as a draft. Draft forecasts do not update the live Budget vs Actual table. The forecast record is created with a Draft status in the Forecast Records table.

   • Click Cancel to return to the forecasting sandbox without saving. Your unsaved changes remain in the sandbox.

     

Note: The Save Changes? popup also appears if you try to exit the Forecasting Sandbox with unsaved changes.

After you save, the forecasting sandbox closes and the Budget vs Actual table displays your updated forecast values. Verify that the Forecasted Cost to Complete, Forecasted Cost at Complete, and Over/Under Cost columns reflect the values you entered.

Want to learn more?

• Visit ServiceTitan Academy and enroll in Project Tracking Basics

• See Understand Budget vs Actual

• See Understand project financials

• See Understand project records