What basic forecast software would you recommend for my company?

By Ramon Ray •

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Forecast today is done in Excel but I cannot input seasonality, impact on new products etc. I want to enter certain variables that can affect my forecast with better accuracy than Excel. What software would you recommend for me?
There are many options available to you and it really depends on your specific needs and budget. Basic accounting software such as Quickbooks, Peachtree and Microsoft accounting have basic sales and/or forecasting tools.

Of course Salesforce.com and Saleslogix - two well known sales tools - are built and made in particular for sales.

All of these tools will only work as well as the data input into them so keep this in mind as well.

ACT! and Goldmine Software are contact management software leaders with sales components.
Wavy Line

Ramon Ray is editor of SmallBizTechnology.com and author of Technology Solutions for Growing Businesses.

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