🔮 How to Forecast Revenue Accurately in Pipedrive
Turn your pipeline data into reliable sales projections.
Forecasting revenue in Pipedrive helps you predict future earnings, set realistic goals, and make informed business decisions. Pipedrive’s built-in forecasting tools allow you to estimate incoming revenue based on deal values, close dates, and probability—ensuring you stay ahead of the curve.
🧭 What is Revenue Forecasting?
Revenue forecasting is the process of estimating the amount of revenue your team is likely to generate in a future period based on your current deals and pipeline activity.
In Pipedrive, forecasting is powered by:
- Deal values
- Expected close dates
- Stage probabilities (weighted forecasting)
- Historical trends
📍 Where to Access Forecasting in Pipedrive
- Go to the Insights tab from the left-hand menu
- Click + Add new > Report
- Select Deals or Revenue Forecast as the report type
- Choose how to group and filter your data (by user, pipeline, stage, etc.)
You can also view forecast widgets in your Sales Dashboard.
🧮 Methods of Forecasting in Pipedrive
1. Weighted Forecasting (Most Common)
Each pipeline stage has an associated win probability (e.g., 20%, 50%, 80%).
Pipedrive multiplies each deal’s value by its current stage probability to generate a weighted estimate.
🧠 Example: A $10,000 deal in a stage with 50% probability will forecast as $5,000.
2. Expected Revenue Forecasting
Uses each deal’s full value but only includes deals with an expected close date within the forecast period.
📅 Great for planning by month or quarter.
3. Custom Field-Based Forecasting
Use a custom field like “Forecast Category” or “Forecast Confidence” to create more tailored reports.
🛠 How to Set Up a Revenue Forecast
Step 1: Assign Deal Values
Ensure every deal in your pipeline has a realistic monetary value assigned.
Step 2: Set Expected Close Dates
Forecasts rely heavily on accurate close dates—update these regularly.
Step 3: Use Probability Settings
Check that each pipeline stage has the correct win probability configured:
- Go to Pipeline Settings
- Set or adjust win probabilities per stage (e.g., 10%, 40%, 90%)
Step 4: Build Your Forecast Report
- Go to Insights > Add new > Report
- Select “Deals” or “Revenue”
- Filter for “Open” and “Expected close date is this month/quarter”
- Group by “Owner,” “Pipeline,” or “Expected close month”
📈 How to View and Analyze Forecasts
- Use bar charts or line charts to compare forecasted vs. actual revenue
- Break down forecasts by sales rep, product, or source
- Add your forecast report to a Dashboard for continuous monitoring
- Compare current forecast with past periods to identify growth trends
🧑💼 Who Should Use Forecasts?
| Role | Use Forecasting To… |
|---|---|
| Sales Managers | Track pipeline health and rep projections |
| Executives | Set budgets and revenue targets |
| Sales Reps | Manage personal quotas and pipeline |
| Finance Teams | Align sales estimates with budgeting |
📅 Forecasting Best Practices
| Tip | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Update deal values and close dates weekly | Keeps your forecast reliable |
| Remove stale or unlikely deals | Reduces overestimation |
| Use filters to separate pipelines or regions | Adds clarity |
| Track forecast accuracy over time | Improve estimates based on performance |
| Combine with activity reports | Understand the effort behind the forecast |
📤 Export and Share Forecasts
- Export forecast reports to Excel, CSV, or PDF
- Share Dashboards with team members
- Schedule automatic forecast emails (available on Professional plan and above)
🔧 Advanced Forecasting Options
| Tool/Method | Use Case |
|---|---|
| Custom Fields | Add deal stage confidence levels or forecast categories |
| Google Sheets (via Zapier or native integration) | Create external forecast models |
| Power BI / Looker Studio | Build advanced dashboards and scenario models |
| Pipedrive API | Pull raw data for custom forecasting pipelines |