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Why don't I have access to forecasting yet in RunSmart?

Learn why forecasting requires 24 months of QuickBooks history, which features are available before then, and when forecasting will automatically become available.

If you're using RunSmart's Standard or Premium plan and have less than 24 consecutive months of QuickBooks Online history, you can still use RunSmart to analyze your business's historical financial performance.

This allows newer businesses to begin using RunSmart immediately instead of waiting until they've accumulated enough historical data for forecasting.

What can I use with less than 24 months of data?

RunSmart will analyze whatever historical QuickBooks data is available and provide insights to help you understand how your business is performing today.

Depending on your plan, you can access:

Standard Plan

  • Dashboard

  • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

  • Profit & Loss

  • Cash Flow

  • Balance Sheet

Premium Plan

Everything included in the Standard plan, plus:

  • Financial Health Scorecard

  • Industry Benchmark Comparisons

  • Reports

These features help you monitor financial performance, identify trends, track important metrics, and better understand the overall financial health of your business while you continue building your financial history.

Why isn't forecasting available yet?

RunSmart requires at least 24 consecutive months of QuickBooks Online history before forecasting features become available.

The platform uses your historical financial data to identify long-term trends and seasonal patterns that help produce more reliable forecasts. With less than 24 months of history, there typically isn't enough information to generate forecasts with the level of accuracy we expect.

Rather than providing unreliable projections, RunSmart enables you to use its historical analysis features until sufficient history has been accumulated.

Which features are unavailable until I have 24 months of history?

The following planning and forecasting features will become available automatically once your QuickBooks Online account contains at least 24 consecutive months of financial data:

  • Forecasting

  • Sales Forecast

  • Budgeting

  • Progress Tracking

  • Scenario Planning (additional scenarios)

  • Workforce Planner

  • Marketing Budget Planner

Until then, you'll continue to have access to the historical analysis features included with your plan.

How will I know when I don't have enough history?

After your analysis finishes, RunSmart will display a one-time notification if your business has fewer than 24 months of QuickBooks history.

The notification will tell you:

  • How many months of historical data were found

  • Why forecasting requires at least 24 months of history

  • That you can continue using the historical analysis features available with your plan

After you acknowledge the message, it won't appear again unless you perform another QuickBooks data refresh.

What happens once I reach 24 months of history?

Nothing needs to be reconfigured.

After your next QuickBooks data refresh, RunSmart will automatically detect that you have at least 24 consecutive months of financial history and unlock the forecasting and planning features included with your Standard or Premium subscription.

You'll immediately be able to begin creating forecasts, budgets, scenarios, and other planning analyses without upgrading your plan.

Does this apply to the Pro plan?

No. This experience is only applies to users on the Standard and Premium plans. Pro plan users will still need to have at least 24 consecutive months of QuickBooks Online history before a RunSmart analysis can be completed or use of the tool is granted.

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