Getting started

SaleCast looks at what you've sold, works out how many units of each product you'll sell in the coming months, and checks that against your stock and orders — so you know what to reorder, how much, and by when.

Once a month:

1. Upload Files — your latest sales history. Your product, customer and channel lists only when they change.
2. Forecast — choose the starting month, click Update forecast, then look it over. Type a different number anywhere you know better (a promotion, a lost customer). It saves by itself.
3. Upload Files — your current inventory, open sales orders and open purchase orders.
4. Demand Planning — point at each highlighted reorder quantity and approve, change or dismiss it. Tick "Only products to order" and click Download Excel for your order list.
5. Actual vs Forecast — next month, see how the forecast did.

What the words mean

SKU

One product as you sell it (its item code). Each row is one SKU.

Channel

A group of customers you sell through — for example distributors, retail or online.

Samples & marketing channel

A customer channel you've ticked in Settings → Customers & channels because it isn't real demand — free samples, marketing or giveaway shipments. It's left out of the forecast and the totals unless you tick "Include samples & marketing". Promotions or sale events with customers are real demand and stay in.

Lifecycle

The product's status: Active, Pending, Inactive… Inactive products aren't forecast; Pending ones start at 0.

Successor

The product that replaces an old one. The old one's sales, stock and orders count for the new one.

Last 4 months avg

Average units sold per month over the last 4 full months — a quick reality check next to the forecast.

Index

Raises or lowers a whole row: 1.10 = 10% more, 0.80 = 20% less.

Your number

A number you typed into the forecast (shown in orange). Right-click it to go back to SaleCast's number.

Lock

Freezes a row so nothing changes it. Unlock puts it back exactly as it was.

Open sales orders

Orders from customers that haven't shipped yet. Counted in the month they're due to ship.

Open purchase orders

Orders you placed with suppliers that haven't arrived yet. Counted in the month they're expected.

Past due purchase order

One whose expected date has passed (or that has no date). SaleCast counts it a week from today and highlights it so you can enter the real date.

In stock

Units in stock from your inventory file — only the locations and statuses you count. Short-dated and expired stock counts as 0; it's listed underneath as "Not counted".

Short-dated

Stock that expires soon (you set how soon in Settings), or has already expired. SaleCast treats it as 0 in stock. This is checked month by month: stock that will become short-dated later (and isn't sold by then) comes off that month's Start, marked with an hourglass.

Available

In stock − open sales orders.

Start / End of month

Stock you'll have at the start and end of each month.

Weeks of supply

How many weeks the stock at month end will last at the expected sales rate. Stock that will expire before it can sell isn't counted — so a product never shows "overstock" when its stock is really about to expire.

Safety stock

A cushion you never want to go below. Orders needed to stay above it are highlighted red.

Lead time

Weeks from placing an order with a supplier to receiving it. Orders needed because stock would run out before a new order could arrive are highlighted orange.

Minimum order (MOQ)

The smallest order a supplier accepts. When the stock you are short is at least 80% of the minimum order, the suggestion is raised to the minimum order. When it is less than 80%, no order is suggested yet — what is short carries into the next months until it reaches 80%. If keeping under your overstock limit would cut an order below 80% of the minimum order, no order is suggested either.

Pieces per case / full cases only

How many pieces are in one case, and whether the vendor only ships full cases. If so, suggested orders are rounded up to whole cases (e.g. 12 per case: 5,000 becomes 5,004 = 417 cases).

Reorder

A purchase you plan to receive that month — SaleCast's suggestion, or the number you approved or typed.

Placed with supplier

An order you've sent to the supplier. It counts in the plan until it appears in a purchase order upload; then it counts there.

Order by

The last day to place the order so it arrives in time.

Overstock

More weeks of supply than the limit you set in Settings (30 weeks unless you change it). Suggested orders never go over it.

How the forecast works

For each product in each channel, SaleCast averages the units sold over the last 3, 6 and 12 full months and blends them: 70% last 3 months + 20% last 6 months + 10% last 12 months. Recent months count most, but one unusual month can't swing the forecast on its own. Months with no sales count as zero.

If seasonality is turned on (Settings → Forecast method), each month is nudged up or down by its share of a typical year from your own history. Settings → Forecast method also shows that pattern: each calendar month's share of a typical year, from the latest forecast. Channels are then added up per product; samples & marketing channels are kept separate.

Actual vs Forecast colours show how far sales were from the forecast, over or under: green within 10%, amber 10–20% off, red more than 20% off. Click a colour above the table to see only the products in that range for the latest full month. A month that is still selling isn't coloured. Why did a product sell more (or less)? Click the product's month (or "By channel" under its name): that month's forecast and actual sales for each channel, the difference and actual as a % of forecast, plus the customers who bought it that month and their share of the channel — so you can see, for example, that one customer in one channel doubled its order, and adjust the forecast for the months ahead. The channel forecasts add up to the product's forecast in the table, including your changes. Which channel does a sale count in? The customer's channel from your customer list; only if the customer has none, the channel column of the sales file.

Your profile (Settings → Profile): your first name, last name and role, and what kind of business you are. Your name and the business answers can't be changed after they're saved — email solutions@bluehatch.net if something is wrong. Your role can be changed any time.

Your changes — index, typed numbers, locks, added and hidden products — sit on top. They're kept when you update the forecast, and SaleCast's own numbers are never overwritten.

Starting month. You choose it on the Forecast page. The forecast uses the full months before it: start in November and October's sales count once October is complete. "Based on sales", next to the Update button, shows which months of sales the forecast uses — and warns you when the month before the start isn't complete yet, because a part month would count as a whole one and pull the forecast down. Each sales upload makes a new forecast that starts in the right month by itself.

The forecast booster

The forecast is an average of past months, so when sales suddenly rise or fall it takes a few months to catch up. The booster closes that gap.

1. For each of the last 3 full months, SaleCast works out what it would have forecast at the start of that month, using only the sales before it, and compares it with what actually sold.
2. It does this per channel and for the whole business. For example: "Adult Distributors sold 85% of forecast."
3. The next forecast is corrected by part of that difference — 75% by default. Small channels lean on the business-wide figure, because a few orders can swing them. The forecast is never moved more than ±30%.
4. On when it helps (recommended): SaleCast first tries the booster on the 6 months before, as if it had been on then. It's only used if those forecasts would have been closer to what actually sold.

A month whose sales aren't complete yet is never used. Samples & marketing channels and products set to forecast 0 aren't corrected. The note under the Forecast page's Update button says what the booster did, and "By channel" shows each channel's correction. Your own changes (index, typed numbers, locks) still sit on top.

Change it in Settings → Forecast method, then click Update forecast.

How demand planning works

For each product, month by month for this month and the next 7:

1. Start with what's in stock (only the locations and statuses you count). Short-dated and expired stock counts as 0. Sales use the earliest-expiring stock first; whatever is left of a lot when it becomes short-dated comes off that month's start.
2. Take away demand — the larger of the forecast and the open sales orders due that month. Orders already placed use up the forecast, so nothing is counted twice. This month, what has already shipped comes off the forecast first.
3. Add purchase orders arriving that month and any reorders.
4. What's left is the end of month stock, which becomes the next month's start.

When a month would end below safety stock — after the purchase orders arriving that month — SaleCast suggests an order arriving that month, big enough to cover the next month (4 weeks, until another order can arrive) + safety stock, never below the minimum order. The lead time decides when you have to place it: the order-by date is the month minus the lead time, and it says "late" when that date has passed. A month with enough stock never gets an order, even if a purchase order arrives that month. (The older rule — keep a full lead time of stock at every month end — can still be chosen in Settings → Planning rules → More options.) Orders already on the way count first: purchase orders (and orders you approved or placed) arriving within the next 4 weeks + safety stock after that month are taken off what's needed, so a suggestion never repeats a purchase order that lands a month or two later. Stock that becomes short-dated in that time is added back to what's needed, since it won't sell. If stock dips below safety stock but an order already on the way covers it, no new order is suggested — the details say to ask the supplier to ship that order earlier. A suggestion never takes stock past the "overstock" limit (30 weeks unless you change it): if the minimum order or full cases would go over it, the order is lowered (full cases rounded down) and the details say so. A number you type yourself is used as typed, with a warning if it goes over. Inactive products never get a suggestion (their Reorder line says "Inactive"; you can still type an order), and a product with nothing left to sell never gets one either — not even the minimum order. The quantity appears on the Reorder line — red for below safety stock (orange, for lead time, only appears with the older rule). Point at it (or tap it) to see when to order by, the stock and weeks of supply after the order, and the Approve / Change / Dismiss buttons. Only each product's next order is highlighted for you to decide; orders it will need after that show in grey and become the next one to review once you decide. Approved orders show in blue.

Two views. Overview shows one line per product: what's wrong, what to do and the main reason. Monthly breakdown shows how stock moves month by month: start, end, coverage (weeks of supply) and the order for each month. Type straight into a month's recommended order to change it — the end of month, coverage and later months update right away (empty it to go back to SaleCast's suggestion). Click a month to see its details: demand, stock, coming orders, and why the order is that size, step by step from the same calculation; click anywhere else to close it. In Overview, point at a risk to see why it's a risk. Click a product name in either view for everything about it in one panel. Filters stay the same when you switch views. Search takes several item codes or names: press Enter after each one. Notes about your data (like a forecast that doesn't reach every month) are behind the "notes about this plan" link at the top.

The cards at the top each lead to one kind of action — click one to filter, click again to show all. The same choices are in the first dropdown above the table, next to the brand filter. Projected stockouts: stock, purchase orders and your approved orders don't cover demand in some month (suggestions you haven't approved don't count). Orders to approve or place: a suggested order waiting for you to approve, change or dismiss — or one you approved that hasn't been sent to the supplier yet (click Placed with supplier once it has). Open purchase orders: products with a purchase order on the way; the card also counts the past due ones (ask purchasing for the new date) and new ones to check against an order you planned. Short-dated: some stock is expiring or expired, or is too short-dated for a customer. Overstock: over your limit today.

Placed with supplier. Once you've sent an approved order to the supplier, point at it and click Placed with supplier (type the PO number if you have one). It keeps counting in the plan, shown in green. When a later purchase order upload has that PO number (or, without a number, the same quantity), the order counts there as a coming order instead — never twice — and shows "On order". Click "Not placed yet" to change it back.

Filters and reset. Tick "Recommended orders" for products with an order above 0 in any month (the "Open purchase orders" card shows the ones with a purchase order on the way). Sort puts the products in order of Coverage or Start for the month you pick, or by what's available today; the default is "Needs attention first". Reset all filters clears the search, filters and sort. Undo my changes undoes all your order decisions or purchase order date changes at once (it asks first).

How fresh is your data? The "Using:" line shows when each file was uploaded. One older than a week turns red ("14 days old") — upload a newer one so the plan uses today's stock and orders.

Your order list: tick "Recommended orders", then Download Excel. The "Orders" sheet lists every reorder quantity with its status (suggested or approved), the order-by date and the weeks of supply after the order; the "Full plan" sheet has every month.

Lead time, minimum order and safety stock come from each product (Settings → Products, or the "Lead times, minimum orders & cases" upload). Products without their own use the averages in Settings → Planning rules.

Cases: fill in "Pcs per case" for a product and, if its vendor ships full cases only, the suggested order is first raised to the minimum order and then rounded up to whole cases. Whether vendors accept part cases is set once in Settings → Planning rules → Full cases, and can be changed per product. If you type your own quantity that isn't full cases, the details show a warning with the nearest full-case quantities.

Questions

Your plan and your team

SaleCast is one price per business. Everyone at your business can have their own login at no extra cost.

• Add a colleague: Account → Add a person. Type their name, email and role. SaleCast shows a temporary password once; pass it on to them. They can change it under Account → Your password.
• Change your password: Account → Your password. Type your current password and the new one twice. Forgot it? Use "Forgot your password?" on the login page, or ask the account holder for a new one (Account → New password).
• Remove someone: Account → Remove next to their name. Their login stops working right away; what they changed in SaleCast stays.
• Card, invoices, cancelling: Account → Manage billing opens Stripe's secure page. If you cancel, SaleCast keeps working until the end of the period you've paid for.
• Plans with a commitment: if your discount came with a minimum term (for example 6 months), you cancel with "Cancel my plan" on the Account page instead. It shows what the remaining months of the term cost before anything is charged.

Only the person who signed up (the account holder) can add people or change billing. Everyone else can see the plan and the team list. See the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Still need help?

Email the Blue Hatch team at solutions@bluehatch.net. Tell us which page you were on and what you tried — attach the file if it's about an upload. We'll get back to you.