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Distribute Projected Revenue Across Time in Deals

Distribute your projected deal revenue across a date range to improve revenue forecasting and reporting accuracy.

Updated over 3 weeks ago

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:

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.

📌 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 July20% of the projected revenue

  • 1–31 August80% 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 recognition more accurately.

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’ll see the results of this distribution in the Financial Items report, using the Projected Revenue field.

Reporting & Forecasting Notes

  • How projected revenue is distributed is visible only in the Financial Items report, this feature doesn't affect time tracking or booking dates.

  • The spread dates are only for revenue recognition. 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 in my report?” 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.

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