To learn more about this feature, view the Custom Labor Forecasting Overview training article.
Once the Labor Matrix is setup and the Sales Forecast is complete, the Labor Forecast is ready to be generated. The Hourly Forecasting screen uses the Sales Ticket data from your POS to determine how the Sales Forecast you have created for your Location is likely to be distributed throughout the hours of the day.
Hourly Forecasting can be customized to further display expected increases in Sales, and therefore, in Labor. Once Approved, a forecast will then be posted to the Schedule to ensure that the correct amount of Employees are working the correct amount of hours allocated for each Job.
Review the Custom Labor Forecasting Security Roles to ensure that you have the correct access to forecasting Labor for your Location.
Forecast Grid Actions
1) Week Selection - The week that will be forecasted. To select the correct week, you can either navigate through the weeks by clicking the arrows displayed before and after the listed week or click the date and use the pop-up calendar and clicking 'Ok'
2) Location - The Location forecasting Labor. Select or type in the correct Location
3) Refresh - This button refreshes the screen
4) Generate - This button will create a Custom Labor Forecast based on the Forecasted Sales Data and the Labor Matrix
- Note: When clicked, this button will be replaced with the Reset, Save, and Approve buttons, as shown above
5) Reset - This button will reset the created forecast back to the original forecast. If a forecast has been Approved before, it will be reset back to the last Approved version
- Note: This function cannot be undone
6) Save - This button will Save any updates made to the Labor Forecast
7) Approve - This button will Approve the Labor Forecast. Once Approved, the forecast will be transferred to the Schedule
Creating a Forecast
To begin a forecast, first navigate to 'Hourly Forecasting' under 'Scheduling' in the 'Scheduling' module. The Hourly Forecasting grid will fill the screen where you will select the week that needs forecasting.
Review the selected week's Sales Forecasts for any discrepancies or 'Incomplete' forecasts and, if found, click the Navigational Link
to navigate to Daily Forecasting, if Custom Sales Forecasting is enabled, or Smart Forecasting, if Custom Sales Forecasting is not enabled. Create and save your Sales Forecast and return back to the Hourly Forecasting grid where your saved Forecast will now be listed.
Click 
and the grid will populate.
1) Forecast - The Sales and Labor forecast for the date listed
- Sales - This is the Sales Forecast configured by either the Daily Forecast or Smart Forecasting
- Labor - This is the Labor Forecast configured by the the Labor Matrix and based on the Sales Forecast. The amount displayed is the number of Employees needed per hour totaled for that day
2) Variance - The difference between the amount forecasted and the amount entered in the Labor Forecast grid. One of two options will be displayed:
- +/- Amount - The amount increased or decreased from the original number forecasted. This amount is displayed in red. For Sales data, +/-$1 is typical due to rounding
- Check Mark - No difference exists between the forecasted amount and the actual amount
3) Hourly Forecast - The amount forecasted for that hour. The hour slots outside of Operating Hours should be grayed out
- Sales- This amount is based on the following calculation, which is explained in the example of forecasting labor for 3 pm to 4 pm on a given Wednesday:
- Total all Sales tickets from between 3 pm to 4 pm on the 8 prior Wednesdays ($1,084.35)
- Divide this sum by Total Sales for all 8 prior Wednesdays ($34,026.55)
- Take the resulting percentage (3.19%) and multiply it by the day's Sales Forecast for the Wednesday being forecasted ($3,223)
- Round the result ($102.81) to the nearest dollar
- Display the rounded result ($103) on the Labor Forecast for the 3 pm hour on Wednesday
- Labor - The number of Employees that need to be working for that hour, based on the Labor Matrix and the Sales Forecasted for that hour
4) Save - This button will Save any updates made to the Labor Forecast
5) Approve - This button will Approve the Labor Forecast. Once Approved, the forecast will be transferred to the Schedule
Review both the Sales and Labor forecasts that populated the screen. If a certain day's forecasts need to be further adjusted, continue on to the following section. When you are satisfied with the forecast, click 'Save' or 'Approve', depending on your Security Role.
- Note: Approving a forecast will post it to the Schedule Calendar. Additional edits can be made and re-Approved after an initial forecast is complete.
Customizing an Hourly Forecast
An Hourly Forecast can be further customized to reflect a predicted fluctuation in Sales, such as a holiday rush or coupon drop.
To do this, click the amount of Hourly Sales and Labor forecasts and adjust accordingly by typing in a new amount. Any changes made will be displayed in blue and reflected in the variance. Hovering over an hourly Sales and Labor forecast will display the original amount listed.
- Note: Adjustments made will display an 'Unapproved Changes' icon
next to the listed Location.
When a customized Hourly Forecast is Approved, the updated amounts will still be reflected in the Sales Variance, but not the Labor Variance, as that has now been marked as Approved with a check mark.