Data flow and source-system dependencies for agreement actuals and forecasts
Key Takeaway
Match the actuals setup to where the sales data lives. Orders tied to the sales agreement use an automatic mode. Order, contract, and proof-of-sale data in external systems calls for manual calculation with a bulk import. Sales data in custom object records can be read by a cloned and customized Data Processing Engine template for Sales Agreements.
Sales agreement actuals are the actual revenue and quantity values from fulfilled orders. Agentforce Manufacturing compares them with the planned values to show whether a customer is keeping to the agreement. Advanced Account Forecasting also builds its numbers from org records such as orders, opportunities, and sales agreements. Each actual and each forecast value depends on specific source records and processes, and sometimes on outside systems.
Sales agreement actuals and their sources
Sales agreement actuals are the actual revenue and quantity values from fulfilled orders. Sales teams compare actuals with the planned revenue and quantity on the agreement to track customer compliance.
Actuals can come from three sources: direct orders, orders associated with contracts, or quantities imported from external systems. An admin chooses the source with the "Actuals Calculation Mode" setting on the Sales Agreements page in Setup. The setting has three options, and the right one depends on where the sales data lives.
If actuals should come from orders created on the sales agreement...
Select "Automatically from direct orders". Users create orders from the related list on the sales agreement record. A daily automated process derives the product quantity fulfilled in each activated order and then updates that quantity on the sales agreement.
If actuals should come from orders associated with contracts...
Create the sales agreement with "Automatically from orders through contracts" as its actuals calculation mode. Users create orders and contracts that are related to the sales agreement. A daily automated process derives the product quantity fulfilled in each active order and updates the actual quantity on the sales agreement.
If your company stores order, contract, and proof-of-sale information in external systems...
The admin configures the sales agreement settings in Setup so that actuals are calculated manually. Actuals are then updated by importing product quantity data in bulk from those external systems.
Besides the daily automated process, users can manually recalculate the actuals of an activated sales agreement.
Marco is an account manager at a valve maker. His sales agreement with a distributor plans 2,000 valves for the year. The admin set "Actuals Calculation Mode" to "Automatically from direct orders". In April, Marco creates three orders from the related list on the sales agreement record. After the orders are activated, the next daily run derives the quantity fulfilled in each order and updates the actual quantity on the agreement. Marco compares the actual quantity with the planned 2,000 valves to see whether the distributor is on track. If he needs a fresh number before the next daily run, he can recalculate the actuals manually because the agreement is activated.