Sales Forecasting Software
Sales Forecasting Software Overview
Top Rated Sales Forecasting Products

These products won a Top Rated award for having excellent customer satisfaction ratings. The list is based purely on reviews; there is no paid placement, and analyst opinions do not influence the rankings. Read more about the Top Rated criteria.
Sales Forecasting Products
(1-25 of 45) Sorted by Most Reviews
The list of products below is based purely on reviews (sorted from most to least). There is no paid placement and analyst opinions do not influence their rankings. Here is our Promise to Buyers to ensure information on our site is reliable, useful, and worthy of your trust.
Salesforce is a web-based CRM application that enables users to forecast revenues and track leads. It is a leading sales, service, and marketing app. Salesforce.com's Sales (CRM), Service, Platform and Marketing applications are designed to help companies connect with customers,…
Key Features
- Opportunity management (184)80%8.0
- Customer data management / contact management (188)80%8.0
- Customizable reports (184)80%8.0
Prophix offers a Corporate Performance Management (CPM) software that enables budgeting, planning, and reporting. Prophix emphasizes the software’s ability to automate data management and reporting tasks.
Key Features
- Financial budgeting (150)91%9.1
- Management Reporting (144)91%9.1
- Management reporting (149)91%9.1
Pipedrive is a customer relationship management (CRM) software built to help small teams to drive sales.
Key Features
- Opportunity management (58)90%9.0
- Pipeline visualization (61)86%8.6
- Custom fields (57)73%7.3
SAP Sales Cloud (formerly SAP Cloud for Sales) is a cloud sales application with sales automation, enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration, and collaboration capabilities.
Key Features
- Customer data management / contact management (51)90%9.0
- Opportunity management (50)85%8.5
- Workflow management (52)82%8.2
Tableau CRM (formerly Einstein Analytics) from Salesforce is a cloud-based business intelligence solutions and analytics software. It provides users with automated data discovery, CRM-connected analytics, top-down views of data, augmented analytics, predictive insights, and customizable…
Key Features
- Drill-down analysis (46)78%7.8
- Customizable dashboards (46)71%7.1
- Mobile Application (64)60%6.0
Oracle CX Sales (formerly the Engagement Cloud, and before that the Oracle Sales Cloud) is a sales automation software accessible through Microsoft Outlook, iOS, and Android, along with territory and quota management and social collaboration. CX Sales includes modules such as the…
Key Features
- Customer data management / contact management (12)87%8.7
- Role-based user permissions (13)86%8.6
- Single sign-on capability (13)73%7.3
QuotaPath automates the commission process, helping revenue teams manage and track variable pay more seamlessly. Teams that use QuotaPath gain real-time visibility into commissions and forecasted earnings and see an increase in revenue and quota attainment as a result.
Key Features
- Sales compensation plan creation (14)81%8.1
- Sales compensation process automation (13)81%8.1
- Sales compensation dashboards & forecasting (14)81%8.1
Nutshell offers a CRM with contact management, calendar sync, click-to-call, and collaboration features.
Key Features
- Customer data management / contact management (10)90%9.0
- Mobile access (11)75%7.5
- Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail) (11)75%7.5
Jedox is a Business Intelligence and Corporate Performance Management solution. According to the vendor, their solution’s unified planning, analysis and reporting empowers decision makers from finance, sales, purchasing and marketing. Additionally, the vendor says this solution helps…
Key Features
- Mobile Application (6)70%7.0
Learn More About Sales Forecasting Software
What is Sales Forecasting Software?
Sales forecasting software evaluates historical business data and produces a report of expected sales based on trends. Forecast reports show sales targets vs. achieved sales vs. potential sales.
Sales forecasting technology aims to answer these questions:
- What amount of revenue can we expect? This can be organized by salesperson, territory, or account.
- How did actual sales compare to expected sales? If those two numbers don’t match, why not?
- What method will produce the most accurate forecast?
Sales forecasting software includes templates. These templates run statistical analyses on data and produce sales forecast reports. Typically, users program the templates with “assumptions” to simulate sales behavior and market conditions.
Ultimately, forecasting is a process of self-assessment, market assessment, and self-reflection. Accurate forecasts require detailed finances and business records, as well as external market conditions.
Benefits of Dedicated Sales Forecasting Software
You can create sales forecasts using spreadsheets or a general BI tool. However, the benefits of a dedicated sales forecasting tool are:
- A UI for Sales (vs. IT or data scientists)
- Forecast templates
- Visuals for sales managers
- Better contextual understanding of forecasts
- Deep integration with other sales technology
- Sophisticated CRM systems often include sales forecasting as a capability
Sales Forecasting Software Features
Functionality differs depending on the complexity of the product, and whether it’s a point solution or part of a Sales technology suite. Features may include:
- Sales forecast benchmarking: Forecast sales and compare to company or industry benchmarks.
- Quick forecasts / Dashboard: A quick overview of sales forecasts.
- Sales forecast visuals: Clear and helpful visuals.
- Sales forecast templates: Pre-built templates for forecast reports.
- Sales forecasting factors: Multivariate forecasting algorithms that allow users to adjust the factors that influence projections.
- Sales forecast review: Tracks forecast accuracy/model fit and confidence.
- Sales forecasting management: Ability to manage models and assumptions based on forecast reviews.
- Custom forecast models: Allows for granular control over the forecasting approach.
- Record of previous sales forecasts: Record of previous forecasts/audit trail.
- Sales forecast collaboration: Allows users to collaborate on sales forecasts. For example, different users may access, comment on and adjust forecasts.
- Data import: Import historical data from CRM systems and other sales software.
- Export to Excel
Demand Planning vs. Sales Management
Sales forecasting serves two main use cases. First, projections can be used for demand planning. In this ERP-use case, forecasts inform product inventory, and resource planning. The goal is to improve production scheduling, inventory management and workforce logistics.
Second, projections can be used to monitor expectations vs. sales performance. This supports corporate planning, as well as sales performance management. It can help with goal-setting, territory and quota adjustments, and compensation plans.
Sales Forecasting Software Comparison
Before choosing to invest in a new sales forecasting software, consider the following key points:
- Reporting: Some sales forecasting tools offer static reports. More sophisticated tools offer dynamic forecasts that continually test model fit. In other words, they test how well certain assumptions predict sales accurately. Either way, the software should document the models used and provide visibility into underlying assumptions. Sales forecasting templates help simplify the math and data analysis. However, they should not be a black box. The mechanisms should be available for review and adjustment.
- Types of errors: Projected sales numbers are rarely 100% accurate. Therefore, it is important to understand trends in the inaccuracy of the sales forecasts themselves. This will help managers produce more realistic forecasts in the future. It will also provide insight into what type of operational inefficiencies might arise because of inaccurate forecasts. For example, under-estimation can lead to limitations or customer service failures. Over-estimation can lead to wasted overhead due to over-investment in products and resources. The most robust sales forecasting tools will perform meta-analyses on the type of errors made in forecasts, and improve model fit accordingly.
Determining whether or not you need a tool that offers more dynamic reporting capabilities can help you narrow down the list of options you are considering. In addition, look for sales forecasting tools that will proactively adjust their forecasting models to help make predictions increasingly accurate over time.
Related Categories
Frequently Asked Questions
What is sales forecasting?
Why is it important to use sales forecasting software?
What is the best sales forecasting tool?
Sales forecasting capabilities are often included in larger customer relationship management (CRM), corporate performance management (CPM), revenue operations, or predictive sales analytics platforms. Some examples of tools that also have robust sales forecasting features are: