What Are Revenue and Cost Forecasts?

Revenue and Cost Forecasts project the expected financial performance of the project through completion, based on current performance data. In PMBOK 8, forecasts are forward-looking performance documents updated throughout execution as actual data becomes available. Cost forecasts use Estimate at Completion (EAC) formulas from Earned Value Management to project the final cost based on current CPI and SPI. Revenue forecasts, relevant for projects that generate income (commercial projects, product launches), project expected revenue based on delivery milestones and business case assumptions. Together, they give the sponsor and financial stakeholders a continuously updated picture of the project's financial trajectory.

What's Inside This Revenue and Cost Forecasts Example

This Revenue and Cost Forecasts example covers Project Phoenix — MCG's $72,250 website launch, March 17 to June 13, 2025. The spreadsheet contains:

• Cost Forecast tab: Weekly EAC calculations using three methods — EAC(CPI), EAC(SPI×CPI), and EAC(remaining at budget) — plotted against the Cost Baseline to show convergence or divergence over time
• Revenue Forecast tab: Projected new client revenue attributable to the website launch — based on MCG's business case assumption of 15% increase in qualified inbound leads over 12 months, valued at $180,000 annually. Monthly revenue attribution model showing ramp-up curve from June through December 2025.
• ROI Summary tab: Return on investment calculation — $72,250 project cost against $180,000 projected first-year revenue uplift = 149% ROI, 4-month payback period at the low-case scenario
• Variance Analysis tab: Weekly cost variance (CV) and schedule variance (SV) trend, with explanatory notes for anomalies

How Alex Morgan Used These Forecasts

Alex Morgan updated the cost forecasts every Friday alongside the status report. The EAC evolution told the financial story of Project Phoenix:

• Week 6: EAC(CPI) rose to $76,900 — above the $72,250 baseline. This was the peak cost risk, driven by the content migration underestimate. Alex's CR-002 scope reduction brought the Week 8 EAC(CPI) back down to $70,200.
• Week 10: EAC(CPI) stabilized at $68,400. With three weeks remaining and a CPI of 1.07, the forecast indicated final cost well below baseline. Alex reported this to Riley Park with a revised EAC range of $65,000–$70,000.
• Final: Actual cost $65,980, within the Week 10 forecast range. EAC accuracy: ±1.5% in the final three weeks.

The revenue forecast was Riley Park's favorite section. As COO, Riley Park needed to connect the $72,250 investment to MCG's revenue pipeline. The 149% ROI figure from the Revenue Forecast was included in the Project Closure Document — giving MCG's board a clear picture of the website launch's expected business impact and establishing a baseline for measuring actual revenue attribution 12 months post-launch.

Download and Customize

This Revenue and Cost Forecasts example is available as a free download. Use it as a reference to build your own forecasting model, or start with the blank template and apply EAC calculations to your project's earned value data.

• Download the Revenue and Cost Forecasts Template — PMBOK 8 (blank, ready to use)
• Read the article: Revenue and Cost Forecasts in PMBOK 8 — Guide and Best Practices

Revenue and Cost Forecasts Example: Key Takeaways

The most revealing moment in Project Phoenix's forecast history was Week 6 — when the EAC climbed above the baseline and the forecast required an honest conversation with Riley Park. Rather than waiting until the overrun materialized, Alex brought the EAC data to Riley Park along with the CR-002 proposal to descope content migration. The forecast made the problem visible in time to solve it. That is exactly what forecasting is designed to do: not to predict the future with precision, but to surface trajectory problems early enough for the project team and sponsor to change the trajectory. An EAC that never changes is not a forecast; it is a wish.

Want to go deeper? The PMBOK Guide 8th Edition is the definitive reference for modern project management. Get your copy and use it alongside these examples to build a solid, practical understanding of every performance domain.