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Bottom line: The fastest way to build a rolling forecast is to start from a working model, not a blank sheet. Build it driver-based, anchor it to your last closed month, layer in base/upside/downside scenarios, and refresh monthly. The free template below already has that structure — download it and adapt, or follow the steps to build your own.
Free download: Aleph's rolling forecast template for SaaS is a rolling 12-month model with an ARR bridge, driver-based logic, base/upside/downside scenarios, and built-in data validation. Use it as-is, or as the starting point for the build below.
What is a rolling forecast?
A rolling forecast is a financial forecast that updates continuously, always projecting a fixed number of periods ahead — usually 12 to 18 months — by adding a new period as each one closes. Instead of a static annual budget that shrinks to a few months of runway by Q4, it always keeps a full window in view, so an October decision is informed by a forecast that runs through the following October.
How to build a rolling forecast, step by step
- Pick a horizon and cadence. 12 months refreshed monthly is the common default; 18 months suits faster-moving or capital-intensive businesses.
- Anchor to your last closed month. Start from actuals so the model always shows trailing actuals plus the forward window. (The template does this automatically.)
- Build it driver-based. Model the drivers — new bookings, churn, headcount, usage — rather than growing last year by a flat percentage.
- Layer in scenarios. Add base, upside, and downside cases so you plan a range, not a point estimate. See scenario planning in FP&A.
- Refresh on cadence and review variance. Each close, roll the window forward and explain actual vs. forecast so the next cycle gets sharper.
What a good rolling forecast template includes
If you're starting from a template, these are the elements that separate a useful one from a static spreadsheet with month columns:
- A rolling structure anchored to your last close — trailing actuals plus a constant forward window, not a fixed Jan–Dec grid.
- Driver-based revenue and cost — assumptions you can change in one place and have flow through the model.
- An ARR bridge or revenue waterfall — new, expansion, contraction, and churn broken out (essential for SaaS).
- Base, upside, and downside scenarios that flex both revenue and operating expenses together.
- Actual-vs-forecast variance built in, so each refresh is a review, not a rebuild.
- Data validation to flag missing or duplicate inputs before they corrupt the forecast.
Aleph's free rolling forecast template for SaaS ships with all six, so you're adapting a working model instead of building structure from scratch.
Rolling forecast vs. static budget
A static annual budget is set once and measured against all year; a rolling forecast is re-projected on a cadence. They're not mutually exclusive — many teams keep the budget as the commitment and run a rolling forecast alongside it as the live view.
Why driver-based forecasting matters
A rolling forecast is only as good as its logic. If it's last year plus 10%, rolling it forward just moves a stale number. Driver-based forecasting ties revenue and cost to the operational inputs that actually move them — so when sales raises a hiring plan or churn ticks up, the forecast reflects it without a manual rebuild. It's also what makes the maintenance sustainable. For the tools that build the revenue side of that forecast from CRM and billing data, see our guide to revenue forecasting software for B2B companies.
Best tools for rolling forecasts
Most rolling forecasts start in a spreadsheet and stay there until the manual upkeep gets painful — the common failure mode is a forecast that depends on manual data pulls each month and quietly stops being current. The tools worth looking at:
- Aleph — best for a driver-based rolling forecast on live, connected data while staying in Excel and Google Sheets.
- Cube, Datarails — spreadsheet-native options for lean teams.
- Planful, Workday Adaptive Planning, Anaplan — web-based suites for larger or more complex modeling.
Sources and related reading
Guidance here reflects standard FP&A practice; for a general definition see Corporate Finance Institute on rolling forecasts. Related: scenario planning in FP&A and best FP&A software by company size and stage.
Start from a working model: download the free Aleph rolling forecast template for SaaS, or book a demo to run it on live, connected data.
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