Definition of Sales forecast

Sales forecast

A key input to a firm's financial planning process. External sales forecasts are based on
historical experience, statistical analysis, and consideration of various macroeconomic factors.

percentage of sales models

Planning model in which sales forecasts are the driving variables and most other variables are
proportional to sales.

Conditional sales contracts

Similar to equipment trust certificates except that the lender is either the
equipment manufacturer or a bank or finance company to whom the manufacturer has sold the conditional
sales contract.

Consensus forecast

The mean of all financial analysts' forecasts for a company.

Contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC)

The formal name for the load of a back-end load fund.

Days' sales in inventory ratio

The average number of days' worth of sales that is held in inventory.

Days' sales outstanding

Average collection period.

Domestic International Sales Corporation (DISC)

A U.S. corporation that receives a tax incentive for
export activities.

Foreign Sales Corporation (FSC)

A special type of corporation created by the Tax Reform Act of 1984 that
is designed to provide a tax incentive for exporting U.S.-produced goods.

Price/sales ratio (PS Ratio)

Determined by dividing current stock price by revenue per share (adjusted for stock splits).
Revenue per share for the P/S ratio is determined by dividing revenue for past 12 months by number of shares
outstanding.

Sales charge

The fee charged by a mutual fund when purchasing shares, usually payable as a commission to
marketing agent, such as a financial advisor, who is thus compensated for his assistance to a purchaser. It
represents the difference, if any, between the share purchase price and the share net asset value.

Sales-type lease

An arrangement whereby a firm leases its own equipment, such as IBM leasing its own
computers, thereby competing with an independent leasing company.

NET SALES (revenue)

The amount sold after customers’ returns, sales discounts, and other allowances are taken away from
gross sales. (Companies usually just show the net sales amount on their income statements, omitting returns, allowances, and the like.)

NUMBER OF DAYS SALES IN RECEIVABLES

(also called average collection period). The number of days of net sales that are tied up in credit sales (accounts receivable) that haven’t been collected yet.

RATIO OF NET INCOME TO NET SALES

A ratio that shows how much net income (profit) a company made on each dollar of net sales. Here’s the formula:
(Net income) / (Net sales)

RATIO OF NET SALES TO NET INCOME

A ratio that shows how much a company had to collect in net sales to make a dollar of profit. Figure it this way:
(Net sales) / (Net income)

Cost of sales

The manufacture or purchase price of goods sold in a period or the cost of providing a service.

Forecast

A revised budget estimate or update, part-way through a budget period.

Sales mix

The mix of product/services offered by the business, each of which may be aimed at different customers, with each product/service having different prices and costs.

Sales

Amounts earned by the company from the sale of merchandise or services; often used interchangeably with the term revenue.

Sales discounts

A contra account that offsets revenue. It represents the amount of the discounts for early payment allowed on sales.

Sales journal

A journal used to record the transactions that result in a credit to sales.

Sales returns

A contra account that offsets revenue. It represents the amount of sales made that were later returned.

return on sales

This ratio equals net income divided by sales revenue.

sales mix

the relative combination of quantities of sales of the various products that make up the total sales of a company

sales value at split-off allocation

a method of assigning joint cost to joint products that uses the relative sales values of the products at the split-off point as the proration basis; use of this method requires that all joint products
are salable at the split-off point

Gross sales

The total sales recorded prior to sales discounts and returns.

Net sales

Total revenue, less the cost of sales returns, allowances, and discounts.

Sales allowance

A reduction in a price that is allowed by the seller, due to a problem
with the sold product or service.

Sales discount

A reduction in the price of a product or service that is offered by the
seller in exchange for early payment by the buyer.

Sales value at split-off

A cost allocation methodology that allocates joint costs to joint
products in proportion to their relative sales values at the split-off point.

Sales Tax

A tax levied as a percentage of retail sales.

Sales Revenue Revenue recognized from the sales of products as opposed to the provision of

services.

Sales-type Lease

Lease accounting used by a manufacturer who is also a lessor. Up-front gross
profit is recorded for the excess of the present value of the lease payments to be received across
a lease term over the cost to manufacture the leased equipment. Interest income also is recognized
on the lease receivable as it is earned over the lease term.

Cash Flow Forecast

An estimate of the timing and amount of a company's inflows and outflows of money measured over a specific period of time typically monthly for one to two years then annually for an additional one to three years.

Forecast

Future-oriented financial information prepared using assumptions all of which reflect the entity's planned courses of action for the period covered given management's judgment as to the most probable set of economic conditions.

Related to : financial, finance, business, accounting, payroll, inventory, investment, money, inventory control, stock trading, financial advisor, tax advisor, credit.