A forecast record is one planned contract action for the fiscal year. Create one as soon as you know you will need to buy something, even if the vendor is still unknown.
Before you start
You will need: the fiscal year and quarter, your office's priority number, the office/division name, a short title, a description of what you are buying, the action type, the estimated amount, and the date the period of performance should end. Vendor, NAICS code, and notes can be added later.
Create the record
- Click Forecasts in the top menu.
- Click Initiate an Acquisition Forecast (top right). The Initiate a New Acquisition Forecast form opens.
- Fill in the Core Forecast Information section. Fields with red labels are required. Click the ? icon on a section header for field-by-field guidance.
- Optionally add notes in Additional Descriptive Information and Notes.
- Click Save.
The form closes and the new row appears in the list in Phase 1. Click its name to open the full record, where the intake, approval, and identification sections appear.
Can't see the new row? Check the list's Fiscal Year filter matches the year you entered.
Field guide: Core Forecast Information
| Field | Required | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year | Yes | Defaults to the current federal fiscal year. |
| Quarter | Yes | Q1–Q4 in which the action is planned. |
| Priority | Yes | Your office's ranking of this action, as a number (1 = highest). |
| Office/Division | Yes | The requesting office, for example NCI-CBIT. |
| Contract Name/Project Title | Yes | A short, recognizable title. This is what appears in lists. |
| Description of Product/Service | Yes | What is being bought and why. |
| Vendor (if known) | No | Type two or more letters to search known vendors. If the vendor is not listed, the name you type is saved as is. |
| NAICS Code | No | Industry code, if known. |
| Action Type | Yes | New, Recompete, Exercise Option, or Modification. |
| Estimated Amount of Action | Yes | Dollars, without the $ sign. |
| POP End Date | Yes | When the period of performance should end. Date-based alerts and the Dashboard's “approaching” card use this date. |
| R&D / SOAR Contract / Delegated Purchase | No | Check any that apply. |
Messages you may see
- Please correct the following before saving – a required field is empty or a number is negative. The list names each field. Note that Priority appears in this list as Priority by Office/Division.
- No Vendor Results Found – the vendor is not in the list yet. Keep typing; the name is saved as typed.
Have a workbook already?
You can load an existing forecast workbook instead of typing each row. See Using the Acquisition Forecast list.
Next step
Open the record and work through the phases. See Moving a forecast through the phases.