Introduction
Projected revenue for deals in Productive was previously assigned to a single date, usually the deal start date.
While straightforward, this approach made long-term revenue forecasting less reliable, especially for retainers or multi-month engagements.
With the new Projected Revenue Distribution feature, you can now spread a deal’s projected revenue across a custom time period.
Why This Matters
Many teams work on retainers or phased projects where revenue is earned gradually. For example, if you entered a €24,000 deal spanning 6 months, all of that revenue would appear in one month, leading to possibly inaccurate forecasts.
The Projected Revenue Distribution functionality lets you smooth revenue across time, giving you a more realistic forecast.
Plan Availability
Even Distribution is available on all subscription plans. This allows you to spread projected revenue evenly across a selected time period.
Custom Distribution, where you can define specific dates and assign custom amounts or percentages—is available on the Ultimate plan only.
How It Works
Click the coins icon in the top-right corner of a deal to open the Projected Revenue Distribution setup. You’ll have two options: even and custom distribution.
1. Even Distribution
Pick a start and end date.
Projected Revenue is spread evenly across the period.
📌 Example 1
You choose to spread revenue evenly across 31 days (July 1 – July 31).
Budget Total (total deal value): €5,000
Deal Probability: 20%
Projected Revenue: €1,000
This projected revenue is divided across the selected period. Each day in July now carries €32.26 of projected revenue, as seen in the Financial items data source report below.
📌 Example 2
You again choose to spread revenue evenly across 31 days (July 1–July 31), but with a higher probability.
Budget Total (total deal value): €5,000
Deal Probability: 90%
Projected Revenue: €4,500
With a higher probability, the forecasted revenue per day increases. Each day in July now carries €145.16 of projected revenue.
2. Custom Distribution
Manually add multiple distribution periods.
For each, set a percentage of the projected revenue.
📌 Example
You choose to spread revenue across July and August, but not evenly:
1–31 July → 20% of the projected revenue
1–31 August → 80% of the projected revenue
Budget Total (total deal value): €5,000
Deal Probability: 20%
Projected Revenue: €1,000 (20% of €5,000)
This projected revenue is now split between the two periods:
July (31 days) → €1,000 × 20% = €200 → €200 ÷ 31 = ~€6.45 per day
August (31 days) → €1,000 × 80% = €800 → €800 ÷ 31 = ~€25.81 per day
Each day in July now carries €6.45 of projected revenue.
Each day in August now carries €25.81 of projected revenue.
This gives you full control to model expected revenue distribution more accurately.
How Projected Revenue Appears in Forecasting Charts
You can now see the results of your projected revenue distribution directly in the forecasting chart in each deal.
What the Chart Shows
When viewing a deal, the chart includes:
Deal Value: shown as a fixed green line (equal to the budget total).
Projected Revenue: the budget total multiplied by probability. Distributed across time according to your selected projected revenue distribution.
Expected Revenue: the amount of revenue per period assuming the deal is fully won (100% probability), shown in light yellow.
Cost: displayed as red bars in the per-period view, or as red lines in cumulative mode.
Cumulative and Per-Period Views
Deal Value always remains constant.
In cumulative view, projected revenue and expected revenue build up over time based on the distribution dates (for example, evenly across the selected period).
In per-period view, the chart shows the exact projected revenue per period (based on your distribution settings), both at the current probability and at 100%.
Based on Projected Revenue
Distribution is based on the projected revenue, which equals the deal’s budget total multiplied by probability.
If the deal’s probability changes, the forecast will update accordingly, while keeping your chosen distribution pattern intact.
📌 You can review your projected revenue distribution in a deal’s forecasting chart, or report on it by using the Projected Revenue field in the Financial Items data source.
Reporting & Forecasting Notes
How projected revenue is distributed is visible in the Financial Items report and the deal forecast charts. This feature doesn't affect time tracking or booking dates.
The distribution dates are only for expected revenue distribution. Users can still track time against deal services before or after these dates as needed.
Revenue distribution helps answer questions like:
“Can I split the total deal revenue across multiple months?” Yes, you now can.
Managing Won and Lost Deals
When a deal is won, a green label appears at the top. Click Edit to adjust the won date if needed.
Once a deal is marked as won, its probability is automatically set to 100%, meaning the full Budget Total becomes projected revenue. This revenue will be spread according to your selected distribution and dates.
When a deal is lost, use the red label to adjust the lost reason and lost date.
Marking a deal as lost sets its probability to 0% for all days regardless of the selected distribution settings or dates.
