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Alan@AvidAlan@Avid 

Calculated Amount Field in Opportunity

We're considering starting to use the Forecasting functionality in Salesforce. 
 
What I've found is that the Forecast amount is driven by the Amount field (standard field) in the Opportunity.  We are not using that field.
 
We have 4 revenue componants that we track for each deal.  I've created custom fields for each one, and a calculated field (called 1st Year Revenue) to sum the componants.  It is this field that we report on as our Pipeline revenue. 
 
When I ran my first Forecast, the "Amount" for the deals in my Pipeline was "0."
 
So... I either need to:
  • Somehow, update the "Amount" field with the contents of the calculated field "1st Year Revenue" each time the Opportunity is edited.
  • or, make the "Amount" field a calculated field.
  • or, drive the Forecast calculations off of the "1st Year Revenue" field I've created.

Does anyone out there have a solution or workaround for this issue?

Alan@Avid

 
 
NPMNPM

Not sure what Edition you have but if you have Workflow available (Enterprise or Unlimited Edition) you should be able to set up a Field Update to set Amount = 1st Year Revenue.

Barring that, not as nice, take manual intervention, but supposed to be available in all editions, you could set up a custom button that copies 1st Year Revenue to Amount when clicked.

 
JohanLiljegrenJohanLiljegren
If you're on Enterprise or Unlimited Edition, Apex triggers are also available and they would probably be able to do what you're looking for.
Scenic SunriseScenic Sunrise
Hi - we've had a similar need that we resolved. In our case, we had multiple factors that created an overall worth. We created a custom formula field that grabbed amounts from certain fields in our Opportunity screen and applied some calculations.  This custom field then had the amount we wanted in our Amount field for forecasting purposes.  We then created a Workflow that simply copies the value from the calculated field any time there is a change to it and puts that value in the Amount field.  Works great!
seandseand
What about for Professional Edition as we do not have workflow in PE but we need the same solution, any suggestions as we cannot find much help relating to this at all, thanks in advance :smileysurprised:
JakesterJakester
Hi Alan,

My company also focuses on several financial metrics including First-year revenue values. I'm very confused by the suggestions that NPM and Scenic have made because, as far as I can tell, Amount is basically a calculated field that will always rollup the total price of all of the line items on the opportunity. I'd be glad to be proven wrong, but I've made lots of attempts to modify the Amount field on the opportunity and not had any luck.

If anyone could chime here I'd really appreciate it, because I had written off the Forecast module in SF since it couldn't look at anything other than the Amount field and that field appears to be locked.

Thanks!

-Jake

ps Alan - it might be fun to compare notes sometime about how you derive the First-year revenue values. My methodology involves a fairly complex set of procedures that accomodates the ability to automatically calculate this amount for each line item and also allows us to manually override any line-item calculation. I used a consultant to create a button to generate these calculations and he was fantastic - I'd love to send him more business if you have a need.
Alan@AvidAlan@Avid
Jake--  I started typing a response, and it might have been sent prematurely.
 
I figured it out, but someone had already given me the suggestion.  We use the Enterprise version.  I created a Workflow trigger and a Field Update.  The Workflow is triggered any time the Opportunity is edited and the calculated 1st Year Revenue field I created in <> 0 (which is always).  The Workflow then calls the Field Update action that replaces the value of the Amount Field with the 1st Year Revenue value.
 
I've been trying to get us ready to use the Forecasting module in SF, but until I figured this out it was unusable.
 
Hope that helps.
 
Alan
Alan@AvidAlan@Avid

NPM--

Thanks for the suggestion.  Yes, we're on the Enterprise Edition, and that's exactly what I did.  I created a Workflow trigger and Field update that updates the value of the Amount field with the calculated value in the 1st Year Revenue field I created any time the Opportunity is edited.

Thanks again.

Alan
JakesterJakester
I found the problem: you can only have a workflow rule update the Amount field when there are no products on an opportunity.
UK CliveUK Clive
We have been trying to calculate amounts in opportunities (we are a logistics company) but keep having problems becuase of the formula size restrictions. We would be interest in talkig to a consultant that could solve our problem ?
 
We currenly use the Profession Edition
 
REgards Clive   tel 0044 870 950 7997 or e mail clive @ dxlparcels .co . uk
NPMNPM
There may be plenty of folks who would to consult if needed - but, depending on how large your formula is you may be in luck with Spring '08.  The limit is being increased from 1300 characters to 3900 characters.
UK CliveUK Clive
I dont think that size would help because we start by getting a zone number for the Country we are shipping to and then every other formula also takes into account the previous formulas used so we seem to be doubling the size every time.
 
but thanks for the info
 
Regards Clive
NathanJamesNathanJames
I am in the same boat as the rest of you.  I am trying to forecast against revene and quantity.  We use a field "Net Revenue" that we calculate and need to override Amount.  It works until we add products. Any advice on how to override amount field or change what is forecasted when products are involved? 

ShazzaShazza

I am in the same boat that I need to show a different opportunity amount than the standard one in my forecasting but am unable to fathom it out.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 
penguinatorpenguinator

I ran into this old thread, but for those who still find this... check the documentation for the "Amount" field in the Opportunity object:

 

"Estimated total sale amount. For opportunities with products, the amount is the sum of the related products. Any attempt to update this field, if the record has products, will be ignored. The update call will not be rejected, and other fields will be updated as specified, but the Amount will be unchanged."

 

You'll need to dig into OpportunityLineItem to get the price of each product in the opportunity.  Sometimes, those have quantity and/or revenue schedules, so you'll also need to check OpportunityLineItemSchedule if the OpportunityLineItem has the "HasQuantitySchedule" or "HasRevenueSchedule" set to true.  If for some reason you don't want to alter the schedule to make your forecast match exactly when you expect to incur the revenue, you can make use of the OpportunityOverride and/or LineItemOverride objects.

Message Edited by penguinator on 03-25-2010 10:11 AM