Shopping for Business Forecasting SoftwareBy: Chris Spears

Businesses today have to keep up with the multitude of changes and fluctuations that can happen at any time as well as the cyclical changes in the marketplace. Being able to predict with some degree of accuracy how things will progress at your company, whether it's operational, budgeting or some other scenario, can help you make the right decisions and avoid costly mistakes.There isn't a business crystal ball that can tell you what to expect, but forecasting software is the next best thing. Today's business forecasting software packages can interpret vast amounts of data and produce valuable reports that forecast trends within your company with amazing accuracy, allowing you to make decisions based on sound business modeling.Finding the Right FitBut how do you choose the right forecasting software for your business? There are several key features that you should look for regardless of the industry you are in or how large or small your company. These features include:* Ease of Use. Some forecasting software is incredibly complex yet easy to use and understand because of its intuitive design. Be sure to try out free betas or demos to see how easy it is to understand and operate. This will reduce training time and ensure that the software is actually used. Good forecasting software should also be compatible with your business operating system. If you company operates exclusively using Lotus Notes internally, your forecasting software needs to seam with Lotus flawlessly.* Customizing Options. Each business operates on its own particular timeline with its own milestones. Be sure that the forecasting software you select can be adjusted to fit your own calendar. You should also be able to design your own queries and reports based on the information collected.* "What If" Scenarios. This is essentially the ability to set up a separate but integrated program that you can run with "fictional" information you input so that you can see what the potential outcome would be if you changed something.* Good Visual Aids. It's never fun to read through reports, whether its business analysis, forecasting or budget reviews. The best forecasting software uses numerous visual aids such as color graphics to make the material clearer, easier to understand and somewhat less boring. Take a look at the system's bar graphs, charts, etc. to see how they look.* Internet Capability. Large companies should take particular care to make sure their forecasting software is fully Internet capable. That is, it can be used for easy file transfer, will provide email notifications to subscribers when new reports are available and can provide web data storage and retrieval if desired.Keeping these five keys in mind will help you choose a forecasting software package that your company will use with maximum results. From there, you have only to learn how to use it and be sure that everyone at your company takes as much advantage of it as possible.