Zignyl Management Portal - Forecasting
Zignyl Forecasting and How to Create/Modify Your Forecast
The Forecasting module allows you to predict future sales based on historical data. By creating reliable forecasts, you ensure your labor schedule matches your actual needs—preventing you from having too many or too few crew members on any given day.
Please watch this video below, and then read the article as follows:
To access your forecast, click Forecasting in the main navigation, or this link here.
Configuration (Admins Only)
Before managers can forecast, Company Admins or Area Directors must configure the rules in the Zignyl Management Portal (link here): Location Settings > Locations > Admin Settings.
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Auto-Generation: Set Zignyl to automatically set up a baseline template to forecast X weeks out (e.g., 6 weeks). This limits how far into the future managers can see.
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Deadlines: Define strict due dates (e.g., "Forecast must be active 2 days prior by 5:00p"). Missed deadlines trigger "Task Late" notifications to the assigned manager.
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Assignment: Assign the forecasting responsibility to a specific user.
Creating A Forecast
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Zignyl Management Portal: Go into the portal here.
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Click Forecasts: In the hamburger drop down menu, click Forecasts or this link.
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Select Location & Week: Make sure you have the right location selected in the dropdown menu on the top left under Forecasts. Then locate the upcoming week you are forecasting for.
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Trend Analysis Dates: Verify the dates used for historical comparison.
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Best Practice: Use historical data from the same time frame from the Previous Year to ensure reliability.
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Alignment: Dates shift year-to-year, so ensure you match Monday to Sunday as closely as possible for accurate data comparison.
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Apply: Click Apply to generate the baseline graph. Verify that all pertinent days of the week have been filled out.
Tweaking The Data
Once the baseline is generated, you must tweak it to account for growth, weather, or special events.
Trend Adjustment (Global Growth) To account for projected growth (e.g., "We are up 5% this year"), use the Trend Adjustment tool.
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Click the (+) Plus or (-) Minus buttons to raise or lower the percentage for the entire week.
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Note: The "Total" card on the far right is a summary only; you cannot edit it directly.
Daily Notes & Weather
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Weather: Check the weather icon in the daily header to anticipate rain or snow impacts.
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Notes: Click the Notes button under any specific day. Add a reason for your changes (e.g., "Marathon in town") or a reminder of a special event.
Hourly Adjustments You can fine-tune sales for specific hours (e.g., a catered lunch at 11:00 AM).
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Click on the specific day to view the hourly breakdown at the bottom of the screen.
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Click on the specific hour you want to change.
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A text popover will open, allowing for you to manually input a dollar amount in the text box.
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Also, you may use the (+) or (-) buttons to raise or lower sales for that hour.
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Balancing Warning: Be careful to keep your daily total realistic. If you subtract $25 from the 11 AM hour, consider adding that $25 to another hour to balance the day's total.
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Saving & Publishing
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Save: To save your work for review without publishing, simply click Save. Do not click the blue Publish button until you are ready to finalize and submit.
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Publish Forecast: When the numbers are final, click the blue Publish Forecast button in the upper right.
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Result: The screen will timestamp the publish action and the user who performed it.
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Scheduling Impact: Publishing unlocks the Scheduling module for that week, allowing the system to calculate Sales Per Labor Hour (SPLH) targets.
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Revisions If you need to change a forecast after it has been published:
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Make your changes (Trend, Hourly, or Notes).
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Click the Submit Revisions button to update the system.
Troubleshooting
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"Why can't I see next month?" You can only forecast as far out as the "Auto Generate" setting allows (e.g., 6 weeks). Contact your Area Director if you need to see further ahead.
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Late Notifications: If you miss the deadline configured in Admin Settings, you (and your Director) may receive a "Task Late" alert.
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"All my numbers are the same per hour or lumped into the same hour": When our system analyzes the total forecast for a day in hourly forecasts, we look at how the sales were distributed across the hours of operation during the most recent active equivalent day. If all of your sales were distributed unevenly or concentrated across a single hour or not correctly distributed, you will have to manually edit on a per-hour basis until you have more populated sales history.