User Guide › Performance Forecast

Performance Forecast

Upload a CSV of dated business metrics and SWOT Intelligence will chart the trends, project them forward, and write an AI narrative interpreting what the numbers mean.

Preparing your CSV

Your CSV must follow this format:

  • First column: dates (any standard format — 2024-01-01, Jan 2024, 01/01/2024 all work)
  • Remaining columns: your metrics — revenue, customers, costs, headcount, or anything numeric
Date,Revenue,Customers,Marketing Spend
2024-01-01,48200,112,7800
2024-02-01,46900,98,7400
2024-03-01,51100,124,8200

Tips:

  • Values can include $, %, and commas — they are stripped automatically
  • Each column becomes its own chart
  • Up to 10 MB file size
  • The more months of data you provide, the more reliable the projection

Running a forecast

  1. Go to Forecast → New Forecast
  2. Give it a title (or leave blank — the filename will be used)
  3. Upload your CSV
  4. Choose a Projection period — how many months forward to project (3, 6, 12, 24, or 36 months)
  5. Optionally connect a completed Business Health Check — see below
  6. Optionally add an Analysis Focus — a specific question to address, e.g. "Is our headcount cost sustainable given revenue trends?"
  7. Click Generate Forecast

Reading your charts

Each metric gets its own chart showing:

  • Solid line — your actual historical data
  • Dashed line — the projected trend (linear regression)
  • Shaded band — the confidence band. Wider bands mean the data is more volatile and the projection less certain
  • Three scenario lines fanning out from your last data point: Expected (base projection), High (20% stronger trend), Low (20% weaker trend)

For cost metrics, lower is the desirable outcome — the labels are intentionally neutral (High/Low, not Best/Worst) for this reason.

Extending the projection

Each chart has an Extend projection control below it. Enter a number, choose months or years, and click Update to extend the projection further into the future. Click Reset to return to the original period. This happens instantly in your browser — no new charge.

Linking a Business Health Check

If you have a completed Business Health Check, you can connect it to your forecast using the Connect a Health Check dropdown on the upload form. When linked, your health check findings are cross-referenced with the metric trends — explicitly connecting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to what the numbers actually show. This produces a richer, more specific narrative than a standalone forecast.

Click the ? next to the dropdown for a full explanation of how the linking works.

The narrative

Below the charts, the AI writes a narrative covering a headline summary, key observations per metric, risks to watch, and recommendations.

Exporting

Use the Download PDF or Download CSV buttons to export your forecast.

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