Forecast Review: Slash Admin Time by 50% to Boost Agency Project Margins

Still relying on manual project juggling?

If you’re struggling to keep your projects, resources, and budgets aligned, you know how messy things can get in professional services or digital agency work.

And let’s be real: you end up fighting bottlenecks and burnout every week trying to get the right people on the right tasks, while the numbers never quite add up.

Forecast aims to change that. By combining AI-driven resource forecasting, integrated financials, and project management in a single tool, it promises to help you make faster, smarter decisions—without drowning in spreadsheets or constant guesswork.

In this review, I’ll break down how Forecast’s unified AI platform actually helps you deliver projects profitably and where it sets itself apart for project and resource planning headaches.

In this Forecast review, you’ll see an honest look at the core features, pricing, usability quirks, and if it’s really a contender to replace legacy project tools.

You’ll walk away knowing the features you need to decide if Forecast fits your workflow—or not.

Let’s get started.

Forecast Overview

Forecast is an AI-powered platform designed for holistic project, resource, and financial management. They’ve been around since 2016 and are based out of London, UK.

I see them targeting professional services firms and software companies that need more than a simple task manager. Their goal is unifying projects, resources, and financials into one operational platform.

Their biggest recent move is the acquisition by Kantata in 2024. As we’ll see through this Forecast review, this signals a major shift in the professional services automation market.

Unlike tools like Asana or Trello that focus primarily on tasks, Forecast competes by offering predictive insights beyond basic task tracking. It feels built for business operations, not just project execution.

They work with professional services firms, digital agencies, and software companies. You’ll find them in businesses with 50+ employees who need serious operational and financial control.

From my perspective, their core strategy is all about connecting project delivery directly to financial outcomes using AI. This directly addresses the growing need for better profitability forecasting.

Now let’s examine their core capabilities.

Forecast Features

Struggling to keep your projects, resources, and financials aligned?

Forecast features are designed to give you a unified, AI-powered view of your entire operation. Here are the five main Forecast features that truly streamline project and resource management.

1. AI-Powered Resource Management and Forecasting

Are you always guessing resource needs?

Manual resource planning often leads to over- or under-utilization, causing project delays and team burnout. This can truly impact your profitability.

Forecast’s AI predicts your resource needs and suggests optimal team assignments, learning from historical data to minimize manual input. From my testing, this feature significantly enhances resource optimization, preventing common pitfalls. It helps you balance workloads efficiently.

This means you can make more precise staffing decisions, ensuring your team is always productive and well-allocated.

2. Integrated Project Management

Tired of fragmented project tools?

Managing projects across disparate systems can create chaos, making it impossible to get a clear, real-time overview. This often leads to missed deadlines and poor visibility.

Forecast provides a full suite of project management features, from Gantt charts to agile sprint planning, all in one place. What I love about this approach is how it simplifies task management and scheduling, making it quick and intuitive. This feature supports every stage of your project.

You get a centralized hub for all project activities, ensuring everyone is on the same page and progress is easily tracked.

3. Financial Management and Revenue Recognition

Do you lack clear financial oversight?

Disconnecting project progress from financial health can lead to inaccurate budgeting and revenue forecasts. This directly impacts your business’s bottom line.

Forecast integrates financial management directly, allowing you to generate invoices and track payments effortlessly. Here’s what I found: the revenue recognition feature enhances forecasting accuracy and simplifies compliance. This feature gives you real-time insights into planned versus actual costs.

This means you can proactively manage your project finances, ensuring profitability and simplifying regulatory adherence.

4. Time Tracking

Struggling with inaccurate time logging?

Manual or disconnected time tracking can lead to imprecise billing, poor project estimates, and a skewed view of team effort. This often impacts future planning.

Forecast’s AI-powered timesheets allow easy time registration, providing a solid foundation for accurate reporting and forecasting. This is where Forecast shines: time entries from integrated tools seamlessly sync, giving you a comprehensive view of project progression. This feature helps refine future project estimates.

The result is transparent, accurate time data that empowers better decision-making and ensures correct billing for your services.

5. Comprehensive Reporting & Analytics

Can’t get actionable insights from your data?

Without robust reporting, you’re flying blind, unable to spot inefficiencies or understand true project profitability. This slows down strategic decision-making.

Forecast offers powerful reporting and analytics, including utilization reports and a project portfolio view. From my testing, these insights provide real-time updates on cost, revenue, and profit. This feature helps businesses make data-driven decisions.

This means you can quickly identify areas for improvement, optimize resource use, and truly understand your projects’ financial health.

You’ll actually appreciate how these Forecast features work together as a cohesive system for project delivery, ensuring clarity and control.

Forecast Pricing

What’s the real cost of software?

Forecast pricing isn’t publicly listed with exact figures, but my research shows a tiered, user-based model that scales with your business needs. This means you’ll find custom quotes for larger plans.

Plan	Price & Features
Essential Tier	Around $29/user/month (billed annually, min 10 seats) • Basic project management • Resource management • Basic time tracking
Professional Tier	Around $49/user/month (billed annually, min 10 seats) • All Essential features • Financial management • Business intelligence • Advanced reporting
Enterprise Tier	Custom quote – contact sales • All Professional features • Enhanced security options • Dedicated support • Tailored integrations

1. Value Assessment

Value for your budget.

From my cost analysis, Forecast’s per-user pricing, especially for the Professional tier, offers substantial value by integrating AI-powered features for improved forecasting and financial oversight. This combines multiple tools into one platform, saving you potential subscription overlap costs.

This means your budget gets a comprehensive solution designed to optimize project profitability and resource utilization.

2. Trial/Demo Options

Try before you buy.

Forecast provides a free trial, allowing you to explore its AI capabilities and integrated project management features. What I found valuable is how this trial helps you assess the platform’s fit for your specific workflows before committing to any pricing tier.

This lets you test the system with your team, ensuring it meets your operational needs and budget expectations.

3. Plan Comparison

Choosing your ideal plan.

For most growing professional services organizations, the Professional Tier offers the best balance of features and pricing, including critical financial tools. What stands out is how the Enterprise tier caters to larger organizations needing specialized security and support.

This tiered structure helps you align Forecast pricing with your business size and complexity, avoiding overspending on unused features.

My Take: Forecast’s pricing strategy focuses on delivering integrated, AI-powered value, making it ideal for professional services firms scaling beyond basic project management tools.

The overall Forecast pricing reflects predictable per-user value for complex project needs.

Forecast Reviews

What do real customers actually think?

To help you understand real-world experiences, I’ve analyzed numerous Forecast reviews, looking at common themes and overall sentiment to provide balanced insights.

1. Overall User Satisfaction

Users seem largely pleased.

From my review analysis, Forecast generally receives positive feedback, often highlighting its comprehensive features and unified platform. What I found in user feedback is that ease of use for basic functions contributes significantly to positive reviews, even with advanced capabilities.

This suggests that most users find value, despite some specific challenges.

2. Common Praise Points

Users love the unified platform.

Review-wise, the most frequently praised aspect is Forecast’s ability to consolidate resource planning, time tracking, and financial management. From customer feedback, the real-time visibility into project profitability is consistently highlighted as a major benefit in many reviews.

This means you can expect better decision-making from having all data in one place.

3. Frequent Complaints

Learning curve is a common hurdle.

What stands out in user feedback is that while basic functions are intuitive, some advanced features present a steeper learning curve for new staff. From my analysis, integration depth issues, particularly with Jira, also appear frequently in critical Forecast reviews.

These are considerations, but not necessarily deal-breakers for most users.

The overall Forecast reviews demonstrate strong core satisfaction with some areas for improvement, particularly around onboarding and integration depth.

Best Forecast Alternatives

Confused by all the project management options?

The best Forecast alternatives include several strong options, each better suited for different business situations and priorities regarding project and resource management.

1. Jira

Need specialized agile development support?

Jira excels if your primary need is a highly specialized tool for software development, bug tracking, and agile project management. From my competitive analysis, Jira offers robust agile methodology support for development workflows, though it lacks Forecast’s integrated financial management.

Choose Jira when your team’s core focus is agile software development with extensive customization for coding workflows.

2. monday.com

Prioritize visual customization and ease of use?

monday.com works better if you prioritize a highly customizable, visually driven platform with a lower learning curve for basic project management. What I found comparing options is that monday.com offers superior project planning and automation, though it doesn’t provide Forecast’s deep AI-powered financial insights.

Consider this alternative when you value intuitive visual workflows, strong mobile support, and extensive automation for various project types.

3. ClickUp

Seeking an all-in-one productivity hub?

ClickUp provides a highly versatile and customizable platform with extensive task management features, aiming to consolidate various productivity tools. Alternative-wise, ClickUp offers strong free tier and comprehensive task features but isn’t as specialized in AI-driven financial forecasting as Forecast.

Choose ClickUp if you need a flexible, all-in-one workspace for task management and team collaboration, especially on a tighter budget.

4. Asana

Focusing on task organization and team collaboration?

Asana is a better fit if your main requirement is robust task management, team collaboration, and straightforward project tracking. From my analysis, Asana provides a user-friendly interface for task management, but it doesn’t offer Forecast’s deep resource allocation or financial oversight.

Choose Asana when streamlined task organization and simple team collaboration are your top priorities without complex financial forecasting needs.

The best Forecast alternatives depend on your specific business needs and budget priorities rather than just a feature list.

Forecast Setup

Is Forecast implementation as complex as it seems?

This Forecast review section analyzes the practical realities of deploying and adopting the platform, helping you set realistic expectations for your implementation journey.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

Getting Forecast up and running requires thoughtful preparation.

The setup process involves configuring finance settings, onboarding teams, and creating initial projects. From my implementation analysis, the time commitment grows with your business complexity, particularly with integrating existing systems and setting up advanced features.

You’ll need to allocate dedicated time for data migration and initial configuration to ensure a smooth transition.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

Consider your current IT infrastructure.

As a cloud-based solution, Forecast requires a stable internet connection. What I found about deployment is that customized integrations may require technical assistance due to their REST API, which can extend your timeline.

Plan for IT resources to handle any custom API integrations and ensure your network can support the cloud-based platform.

3. Training & Change Management

User adoption is key to maximizing your investment.

New users will need time to grasp Forecast’s comprehensive features and integrate them into daily workflows. From my analysis, investing in training is crucial for rapid adoption, preventing a steep learning curve from hindering productivity.

Budget for training resources like videos or consulting to help your team fully leverage the platform’s capabilities from day one.

4. Support & Success Factors

Reliable support streamlines your rollout.

Forecast offers various support options, including chat and a knowledge base, which users generally rate highly. From my implementation analysis, responsive support directly impacts your go-live efficiency, helping you quickly resolve any unexpected issues during setup.

Factor in leveraging their support resources to navigate any challenges and ensure a successful, timely deployment.

Overall, your Forecast setup journey demands strategic planning for success, particularly regarding integration and user adoption, but offers significant returns.

Bottom Line

Is Forecast the right fit for your business?

This Forecast review synthesizes comprehensive analysis into a decisive final assessment, guiding you on who benefits most from its robust project and resource management capabilities.

1. Who This Works Best For

Mid-sized to large professional services firms.

Forecast excels for organizations, particularly digital agencies, IT/software development, and professional services, needing unified project, resource, and financial management. From my user analysis, businesses struggling with resource optimization and accurate forecasting find it ideal for gaining real-time insights and enhancing profitability.

You’ll see significant success if your team requires AI-powered predictive analytics for strategic decision-making and operational efficiency.

2. Overall Strengths

Unified platform with intelligent AI capabilities.

The software stands out by integrating project, resource, and financial management into one system, leveraging AI for predictive insights and automation. From my comprehensive analysis, its AI-powered insights reduce manual labor significantly, allowing teams to focus on core tasks and maximize billable hours efficiently.

These strengths directly translate into improved visibility, higher productivity and increased profitability for your complex project environments.

3. Key Limitations

Learning curve and integration depth issues.

While powerful, some advanced features require a steeper learning curve, and certain third-party integrations, like Jira, lack desired depth. Based on this review, onboarding new staff effectively may take more time due to the extensive feature set, potentially impacting initial adoption rates.

I find these limitations manageable if your business prioritizes comprehensive functionality over immediate ease of use and deeper integrations are not a critical need.

4. Final Recommendation

Forecast earns a strong recommendation for specific scenarios.

You should choose Forecast if your mid-to-large business requires a unified, AI-powered solution for project, resource, and financial management, prioritizing profitability and efficiency. From my analysis, this solution is ideal for complex project environments where real-time visibility and predictive analytics are paramount to your operations.

My confidence level is high for professional services organizations, but small businesses may find the cost less accessible for their needs.

This Forecast review outlines strong value for mid-to-large professional service firms while highlighting important considerations for smaller teams.