Forecast performance analysis

Forecast performance analysis

Last modified on 15/05/2023: Performance analysis in forecasts is now available for all Zoho CRM users in all DCs. Note that it was an early access feature available only upon request. As of May 10, 2023, it is rolled out for all Zoho CRM accounts. Find out more about forecasts in our help doc.

Hello everyone! 

We are thrilled to announce an exciting update on comprehensive performance analysis for CRM forecasts, including trends, gap reasons, improvement suggestions, and more.

Forecasts help organizations estimate how sales will progress in the approaching months, quarters, or fiscal years, as well as monitor current sales growth and find ways to accelerate it. They yield important insights into the company's performance and enable businesses to plan upcoming activities accordingly.

In the revamped forecast, until now, we provided the Target Achievement Report page, which showed the targets set for different roles within the organization, their achievements, and the number of open deals they had in a hierarchy. We're introducing a few enhancements to forecasts to provide even more details about performance, as well as an overview—which can be found in the User and Roles Performance pages and Forecast Overview section of the Target Achievement Report page.

We've introduced the following:
  • Performance Trend
  • Achievement Comparison
  • Comparison Across Forecast
  • Current Deals by Stages
  • Reasons for Gaps
  • Improvements


Let's have a look at these charts and at the overall enhancement in detail.

Forecast Overview

We've introduced a section at the top of the Target Achievement Report page called Forecast Overview. The analytics in this section help users track their performance and plan according to their targets and requirements.

  • Performance Trend: Users can analyze their performance with the help of the performance trend chart, which compares actual achievements across time with target achievements. The trend line predicts whether the achievement can be met within the forecast period based on the current performance, and shows the predicted achievement on particular dates. Users, therefore, have a visually clear representation of what's necessary to improve performance to reach targets.

  • Achievement Comparison: Users can compare their performance at different intervals to analyze how their performance has changed over time. They can set the chart to compare performance on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

  • Comparison Across Forecasts: This chart helps users compare their targets, open deals, and achievements across different forecast periods. The bars signify the total deal value assigned to a particular user and contrast it with the deal value closed at the end of the period. Combined with the line plot representing targets in the selected time frame, this enables users to determine whether the target is achievable, and how much more effort is required.

User Performance page
We've introduced the User Performance page for users and admins to track individual performance in a particular period. Apart from providing insights into users' performance, on this page, there are additional details including charts and other widgets. Users can see suggestions for improving their performance or the reasons for which they're not able to meet their targets, and can therefore act accordingly.


The following details are available on the User Performance page:
  • Open deals
  • Deals in the best case, pipelines, and omitted deals.
  • Predictions
  • Targets
  • Achievements
The User Performance page also has charted—Performance Trends and Achievement Comparison—with similar functionality as those in the Forecast Overview section.


The Achievement Comparison chart compares total achievement over time with the number of available deals that can be completed, with a plot for overall targets provided for context.


Apart from these two charts, the User Performance page features the additional Current Deals by Stages chart. The main purpose of this chart is to show deal amounts in different stages. All deals in the current period are plotted as bar graphs according to the deal stage. Each bar breaks down the sum of the deal amounts into three forecast categories: pipeline, best case, and committed. If a pipeline is added, you can also view the current deals by stage based on that pipeline.


We didn't stop just at providing insight into user performance; we've also introduced two additional sections: reasons for gap, which highlights the gap between the target and the achievement and provides reasons that could have led to the gap, and the improvements section, which lists out the various improvements the user can make in order to reduce the gap.

Here are some examples:

Reasons for gaps
  • High number of untouched deals: Any untouched deals will be mentioned here, along with the actual count of untouched deals. Clicking the deal count makes a list of those specific deals pop up.
  • Failed to approach at the right time: Deals that were not approached at the right time are referenced here. Clicking on the link reveals a list of deals that weren't approached at the right time.
  • Doesn't fall in this forecast period: Deals that are outside of the forecast period are referenced for this reason.
  • Deal value insufficient to close target: Deals in the pipeline whose values are too low to reach the target are referenced here.

Improvements
  • Focus on recommended deals: Deals that are likely to be won are referenced here, along with the total deal value upon closing. The deal count is hyperlinked to summon the deal list.
  • Focus on high-value deals: This improvement recommendation suggests which deals to focus on, including high-value deals or low-value deals, based on the win rate for each type of deal. It also mentions the number of such deals available in the pipeline and lists them via a link.
  • Improve closing rate: This improvement is suggested if the user needs to improve their closing rate, along with the percentage by which it needs to increase.
  • Kick out the stalled deals: If a high number of deals in the pipeline have a low chance of being won, they will be mentioned here. Users can click on the deal count to see a list of such deals.

Role Performance page
Users can access the role performance report via the Roles Performance page by clicking on a particular role in the hierarchical view of the Target Achievement Report page.

The Roles Performance page also features sections that show reasons for achievement gaps and improvements (different than those suggested in the User Performance page). Admins can thereby analyze the performance of particular roles and their direct subordinates.

Here are examples of reasons for achievement gaps and improvement suggestions:

Reasons for achievement gaps
  • Users recently switched roles: Users who have switched roles are cited here as a potential reason for a performance gap, along with the count of such users and the percentage of the target deal value that they owned. Clicking on the count of users summons a list of users who have switched roles.
  • Mismatch found in the split and target: In case there is a delay in the allocation of values in the target, it will be mentioned as the percentage of the value in the target that is mismatched.
  • Low user performance: The number of users who closed less than 20% of their targets is cited here. The list of users is linked with the provided count.
  • Overrated targets: If users' targets are overrated, this reason will appear, along with the percentage of how overly rated the targets are.

Improvements
  • Identify users who have a low follow-up rate: Users who have contributed to a decline in customer happiness are referenced here, along with a list linked to the user count.
  • Right deals to the right person: If a certain user has a high win rate of 76% on high-value deals and 60% on low-value deals, the system will suggest assigning high-value deals to that user to get better results.
  • Reassignment yields better results: If two users have some stagnant and untouched deals, the system will suggest that those deals be reassigned to help closure.
  • Target correction: If five users have overrated targets and three users have low-rated targets compared to the individual's average performance, the system will suggest reassigning targets based on performance.

Notes:
  • The charts on the User and Role Performance pages are available only for completed and current forecasts only.
  • The Current Deals by Stages chart is available only for the Current forecast.
  • The Achievement Comparison chart is only available if there is data from previous forecast periods.
  • Improvements and reasons for performance gaps are updated once per week





        • Recent Topics

        • "Is Zoho CRM customer" vs "Is linked with Zoho CRM"

          Recently while building a Flow, I was setting up a Decision action following a Zoho Invoice Fetch record action. There were 2 choices that I had not seen as something I could manually action in Zoho Invoice: "Is Zoho CRM customer" and "Is linked with

        • Client Script | Update - Introducing ZRC: Simplified HTTP request library

          Hello Developers! Are you tired of juggling different methods to make API calls? Are you confused with multiple syntaxes and version restrictions? Have you ever wished for one simple way to make all API calls in CRM? We heard you :) Here comes ZRC (Zoho

        • Selection Filed for Data Export section

          Hi FSM Team, I hope you are all doing well. I would like to share an idea for future development based on my experience. Currently, in FSM, we can only download up to 5,000 records at a time. If the development team could add a selection option to choose

        • Text wrap column headers in reports?

          Is it possible to auto wrap column headers so that a longer multi-word header displays as two lines when the column is narrower than the width of the header title?

        • What if I dont see contacts on the left side list

          My CRM does not show the contacts tab. In order to create list this is needed and I cant find it.

        • Comments Vs. Replies

          I'm curious as to the difference between a "Reply" and a "Comment" on a ticket. It appears that "Replies" are what's used to determine response time SLA's and there are also used to automatically re-open tickets. I'm just trying to understand the key differences so I can educate both our clientele and our back-end users on which function/feature to use to better improve the ticket lifecycle. If anyone has any insight it would be appreciated. Thanks!

        • Transitioning to API Credits in Zoho Desk

          At Zoho Desk, we’re always looking for ways to help keep your business operations running smoothly. This includes empowering teams that rely on APIs for essential integrations, functions and extensions. We’ve reimagined how API usage is measured to give

        • Resetting auto-number on new year

          Hi everyone! We have an auto-number with prefix "D{YYYY}-", it generates numbers like D2025-1, D2025-2, etc... How can we have it auto-reset at the beginning of the next year, so that it goes to D2026-1? Thanks!

        • Can you prevent closing Ulaa window when the last tab is closed (inadvertently)?

          Most browsers have started to bring this feature in to prevent closing their windows when the last tab is closed (inadvertently). I hope Ulaa should get this in too.

        • Microsoft Phone Link

          Does anyone know if you can use Microsoft Phone Link to make calls through Zoho?

        • Voip Phone system that integrates with Zoho

          Just checking to see if anyone could tell me what phone system they are using with Zoho that is on the list of systems that integrate with Zoho.  I use Vonage and have been with them for quite a few years but their service has really gone down hill and

        • Removing Related Modules Lookup Fields Assignment / Relationship

          Issue: When creating a related list, I accidently selected module itself creating a circle reference. See attached. Situation: I wish to relating a custom module called "Phone Calls" to Leads and Contacts. Outcome: 1) I either want to remove the this

        • Kaizen #210 - Answering your Questions | Event Management System using ZDK CLI

          Hello Everyone, Welcome back to yet another post in the Kaizen Series! As you already may know, for the Kaizen #200 milestone, we asked for your feedback and many of you suggested topics for us to discuss. We have been writing on these topics over the

        • Seriously - Create multiple contacts for leads, (With Company as lead) Zoho CRM

          In Zoho CRM, considering a comapny as a lead, you need us to allow addition of more than one contact. Currently the Lead Section is missing "Add contact" feature which is available in "Accounts". When you know that a particular lead can have multiple

        • can I link a contacts to multiple accounts

          can I link a contacts to multiple accounts

        • Free webinar! Digitize recruitment and onboarding with Zoho Sign and Zoho Recruit

          Hello, Tired of being buried in onboarding paperwork? With the integration between Zoho Sign and Zoho Recruit, a powerful applicant tracking system, you can digitize and streamline the entire recruitment and onboarding process, all from one platform.

        • Open Activities view.

          I really like the new views for the open and closed activities inside the deals. But when you are in the tab view instead of the column view you can only complete and edit the open activity there isn't the 3 dot option to be able to delete the activ

        • Potentially Outdated and Vulnerable Chromium Engine Installed by Ulaa Browser Installer

          I just installed Ulaa Browser a few minutes ago. Whats My Browser page shows I am using an outdated Chromium engine meaning I might be vulnerable for security exploits that might have got fixed in the new version.

        • Potentially hardcoded list of Browsers to import from (after Ulaa Setup)

          I have just installed Ulaa Browser and found that the list of browser to import data is potentially hardcoded ones rather than looking at the system. I do not have FF, IE and Edge is not my default itself. I would appreciated if Ulaa detected my browsers

        • From Layout to Code: Finding Custom Field IDs in Zoho Projects.

          Hello everyone! Ever found yourself wondering how to get the API names and IDs of custom fields in Zoho Projects while working on custom functions? Here’s a simple and effective way to do it! This method makes it super easy to locate the right field details

        • Employee type and source translation

          In Zoho People, when I fill in the employee’s information, there is the option to determine the type of employment (employee type) and the hiring source. Both options ALWAYS appear in English. It is extremely inconvenient to deal with poorly translated

        • Sync Issue Between Zoho Notebook Web App on Firefox (PC) and Android App

          Hi Zoho Notebook Community, I'm facing a sync problem with Zoho Notebook. When I use the web version on Mozilla Firefox browser on my PC, I create and save new notes, and I've synced them successfully. However, these new notes aren't showing up in my

        • Request for Clarity on Timeline for True GPT/Zia Auto-Response Capabilities

          I appreciate Zoho’s steady innovation, but I’m concerned that Desk and Zia remain well behind modern AI capabilities. For years, GPT-based tools have been able to generate and send contextual responses, yet Zoho Desk only supports summarization or suggested

        • Notebook audio recordings disappearing

          I have recently been experiencing issues where some of my attached audio recordings are disappearing. I am referring specifically to ones made within a Note card in Notebook on mobile, made by pressing the "+" button and choosing "Record audio" (or similar),

        • Has anyone built a ticket export that allows Help Center users to export the tickets shown in the My Area list they are looking at?

          Hi, We are moving to Zoho Desk soon. Our current support system displays an option in our help center allowing customers to export their Open, Closed, or all tickets based on which list they are looking at. We need to offer the same in Zoho Desk help

        • Zoho Desk: Q2 2025 | What's New

          Hello everyone, We are excited to announce Zoho Desk's 2025 Autumn updates. This release brings new features and enhancements that improve work management and enable businesses to provide a better overall support experience. Spanning from Zia Agents to

        • Checkboxes not adhering to any policy in mail merge - data from CRM

          I want checkboxes to appear depending on whether the checkbox in the CRM module is ticked or not. However, the tickboxes that appear are either ticked or not, but don't correlate to the actual selections in the CRM module. This is is despite updating

        • Items Landed Cost and Profit?

          Hello, we recently went live with Zoho Inventory, and I have a question about the Landed Cost feature. The FAQ reads: "Tracking the landed cost helps determine the overall cost incurred in procuring the product. This, in turn, helps you to decide the

        • CC and/or BCC users in email templates

          I would like the ability to automatically assign a CC and BCC "User (company employee)" into email templates. Specifically, I would like to be able to add the "User who owns the client" as a CC automatically on any interview scheduled or candidate submitted

        • Create Contract API Endpoint Unclear "inputfields" Requirements

          Hello, I'm trying to create a Deluge function that accepts inputs from a form in Zoho Creator and creates a barebones contract of a given type. See below for the current code, cleaned of authentication information. // Fetch form data // Hidden field client_name

        • Kaizen #46 - Handling Notes through Zoho CRM API (Part 1/2)

          Hello everyone! Welcome back to another week of Kaizen! This week, we will discuss Handling Notes through Zoho CRM API. What will you learn from this post? Notes in Zoho CRM Working with Notes through Notes APIs 1. Notes in Zoho CRM 1a. Why add Notes to records? Notes are a great way to summarize your observations on customer and prospect interactions and outcomes. By saving notes as CRM data, a sales rep will always be able to keep track of how a sale is progressing. To know more about notes in

        • Marketer's Space - Why email marketing matters in ecommerce (and how to get started with Zoho Campaigns)

          Hello Marketers, Welcome to this week's Marketer's space post. Today, we'll discus why email marketing matters in ecommerce businesses. Running an online store is exciting but challenging. If you're running an online store, you've probably experienced

        • Zoho Campaigns Event timestamps do not propagate to Zoho CRM

          We have integrated Zoho CRM and Zoho Campaigns. But when looking at Contact records, the Campaign event data is missing the actual timestamps: especially when a particular email was sent. They're not in the Campaigns related list, and the cannot be found

        • Kaizen #121 : Customize List Views using Client Script

          Hello everyone! Welcome back to another interesting Kaizen post. In this post, we can discuss how to customize List Views using Client Script. This post will answer the questions Ability to remove public views by the super admin in the Zoho CRM and Is

        • Setting default From address when replying to request

          At the moment, if I want to reply to a request, the From field has three options, company@zohosupport.com, support@company.zohosupport.com, and support@company.com.  The first two are really internal address that should never be seen by the customer and

        • Tip #45 - Explore Your Support Reach with Zoho Assist’s Geo Insights - 'Insider Insights'

          Understanding where your remote support sessions are happening can help you make smarter decisions, allocate resources effectively, and improve overall customer satisfaction. In this week's Zoho Assist's community post we will be exploring Geo Insights

        • Formatting of text pasted into Zoho documents

          Howdy, I'm a newbie and finding Zoho an improvement to MS Word. Consider yourself hugged. High on my wish list would be plain text cut-and-paste. When pasting text from the web to Zoho, presently Zoho imports the formatting along with the text. This means that every cut-and-paste operation brings in text in a different font, size, or style. Can we have at least the option of importing plain text without formatting (or better yet, is this option already out there?) ... Thanks Helen

        • Add additional features to Zoho Tables

          Zoho Tables is a really great tool, why not add features like diagramming capability into the tool from applications like Draw.io which I believe is open source, you should be able to do wireframes, process flow diagrams, network design, etc. Please note

        • The Social Wall: August 2025

          Hello everyone, As summer ends, Zoho Social is gearing up for some exciting, bigger updates lined up for the months ahead. While those are in the works, we rolled out a few handy feature updates in August to keep your social media management running smoothly.

        • The Social Wall: July 2025

          Hello everyone! July has brought some exciting new updates to Zoho Social. From powerful enhancements in the Social Toolkit to new capabilities in the mobile app, we’ve packed this month with features designed to help you level up your social media presence.

        • Next Page