From Guesswork to Confidence: A Forecasting Story

When Sarah walked into the Monday morning meeting, she already knew what was coming.

“Can we get an updated forecast by Wednesday?” her manager asked.

Sarah took a breath. She’d been through this before. The spreadsheets were scattered across six departments. Some were outdated. Some riddled with errors. Marketing had added extra columns again. Operations used different naming conventions. And finance? They were still waiting on last month’s numbers to begin.

By the time she merged the data, filled in the gaps, and sanity-checked the logic, it was already Friday.

The forecast had missed its window. Again.

In today’s fast-moving business world, this is far too common....

75% of comparable businesses still forecast this way, and 88% of spreadsheets contain errors.

Forecasting Shouldn't Feel Like Chasing Shadows

Forecasting is one of the few areas in BI where art meets science.

Yet many organisations still rely on instinct, legacy spreadsheets, or siloed tools… making consistent, data-driven forecasting nearly impossible.

So, how do we move from chaos to clarity…?

The Forecasting Journey

Sarah’s challenges weren’t unique, they were just symptoms of a wider issue: her forecasting process lacked structure.

She wasn’t alone. Many teams begin forecasting without clearly answering four key questions:

• What exactly are we forecasting?

• Where does the data come from?

• Who’s driving the forecast ,people or data?

• When is the data available?

Know What You’re Forecasting

Before improving forecasts, define them clearly. Are you predicting sales, customer demand, downtime, or product returns? Each requires different data and logic. Without alignment here, the rest of the process unravels.

Connect the Dots

Sarah’s data was scattered across systems, apps, and Excel sheets. Accurate forecasting starts by understanding your data sources:

• Data warehouse

• Manual entry

• Forecasting tools

• Disjointed spreadsheets

PTR training helps unify this chaos into a consistent, structured flow.

Human vs. Data-Driven

Sarah’s forecasts were instinct-based, helpful, but unreliable. The best forecasts combine human insight with data-led models. With the right training, she learned how to balance both.

Timing is Crucial

Forecasts lose impact when data comes in late. Sarah’s team set up automated schedules and reminders, ensuring forecast data was ready before decisions were due.

• Forecast dashboards refreshed in time for key decisions

The Courses That Changed Everyone’s Story

Let’s face it….at some point, we’ve all been a Sarah.

Scrambling to clean up messy spreadsheets. Waiting on late data. Making last-minute guesses instead of confident projections.

The good news? It doesn’t have to stay that way.

The right training doesn’t just help one person, it changes the way entire teams approach forecasting.

Here are the courses that have helped professionals like Sarah (and the rest of us) turn guesswork into great work:

💡 Power BI: Forecasting & Predictive Analytics

Build dynamic dashboards using DAX, time series forecasting, and visuals that bring your trends to life. Introduction To Power BI

💡 SQL: Forecasting & Predictive Analytics

Manipulate and transform data into a valuable data sets for predictive analysis and forecasting. SQL for Data Analysts - Advanced SQL For Data Analysts - Basic SQL For Data Analysts - Intermediate

💡 Microsoft Business Intelligence Solutions

Gain confidence working with structured data. Extract, clean, and prepare data directly from your database for stronger forecasting foundations. Understanding Microsoft BI Solutions

💡 Excel for Forecasting

Make Excel work for you, from what-if analysis to exponential smoothing and scenario modelling. Microsoft Office Excel Level 1 Microsoft Office Excel Level 2 Microsoft Office Excel Level 3

Whether you’re battling messy spreadsheets, late data, or gut-feel forecasting, the right skills can transform your process.

Explore our forecasting-related courses and take the first step toward clarity, accuracy, and smarter decisions.

Let’s talk and connect, email us at training@ptr.co.uk or call 0118 979 4000 to discuss the right course for your team.