Auto-Generate Purchase Order by Forecast

The "By Forecast" feature enables the system to predict the required quantity for each SKU based on factors such as seasonality, business trends, and SKU popularity, and then generates a draft purchase order for your review.

Things to know:

• The ability to auto-generate purchase orders is governed by the "Manage Purchase Orders" access control setting.
• Visibility of the By Forecast option is controlled by a hidden setting that must be enabled by the MyTime team. To enable it, contact support@mytime.com.
• When selecting By Forecast, the system suggests a default start date (current date) and end date. You can adjust these dates, but the start date must be on or before the end date; otherwise, the Auto Generate button will be disabled.
• Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) logic:
• If the forecasted quantity is below the MOQ, the system rounds up to meet the MOQ.
• If it exceeds the MOQ, the system uses the forecasted value as-is.
• Forecast-based quantities are rounded up to the nearest multiple of the SKU’s MOQ without exceeding the max limit. Example: MOQ = 5, Min = 10, Max = 30, Current Stock = 12 → the system generates 15.
• When auto-generating by forecast, the system also includes products generated by Max. For example, if Max adds 10 SKUs and Forecast adds 2, all 12 SKUs will appear in the PO.
• An icon next to Quantity Ordered indicates how the value was added:
• Blue: Manually entered
• Orange: Auto-generated by Max
• Grey: Auto-generated by Forecast
• Hovering shows a tooltip with the source. If a generated quantity is edited, the icon updates to manual. Reverting restores the original icon.
• The forecast chart icon appears next to each product but will be inactive if the SKU has no forecast data or was not generated by forecast.
• Clicking the forecast chart icon opens a modal displaying:
• Training Data (blue): Historical usage
• Forecast Data (orange): Predicted demand
• The chart supports zooming, panning, day/week/month views, gap smoothing, and includes a product dropdown to compare SKUs.
• Another forecast icon shows consumption history for the past 30, 60, and 90 days, including periods of zero usage, helping staff review demand trends.
• For each item in the draft PO, the system displays the Quantity on Hand and Max value.
• By default, forecasted quantities are not capped. Enabling the Limit Purchase Order Forecasting by Max setting ensures forecasted amounts never exceed the SKU’s max.
• Additional hidden settings can be enabled to control forecast eligibility and performance:
• Inventory Forecast Eligibility Period (Days): Defines how far back to look (e.g., 90 days).
• Minimum Number of Forecastable Days: The SKU must show usage on at least this many days within the eligibility window. 
• Historical Data Requirement: At least 3 months of data is required; up to 1 year is used when available.
• Maximum SKUs Forecasted in One Request: A performance limit can restrict how many SKUs are forecasted at once. Actual SKUs included may be fewer if some have zero forecasted demand.
  

To auto-generate a purchase order by forecast:

1. Navigate to POS > Inventory
2. Select Purchase Orders from the left panel 
3. Click Create Purchase Order button in the upper right corner
4. Choose a supplier from the Vendor list then select "Next"
5. Add products to your purchase order using the "Auto Generate" button 
6. Select the option to auto-generate purchase order items based on forecast
7. Select a start date and an end date
8. Click on the "Auto Generate " button 
9. Next to each generated product is a chart and a forecast icon; clicking the forecast icon opens a modal displaying its historical consumption over the past 30, 60, and 90 days, even if there was no usage during those periods. For products created using forecast data, clicking the chart shows both past usage and predicted demand for more accurate planning.

   
   

   
   

10. The generated products will also be displayed with their quantity on hand, maximum quantity, cost, ordered quantity, and subtotal.
11. Once the products generated are acceptable, click the 'Submit Purchase Order' button at the top right-hand corner
12. The purchase order will be created and display the full information of the order 

If you have any questions, please contact our Support Team at support@mytime.com. 

Related Articles:

• Creating Purchase Orders
• Auto Generate Purchase Order by Max Quantity
• Exporting Purchase Order
• Email / Print / Export Purchase Orders to Vendor
• Importing Purchase Orders via CSV File (Ingest Data)
• Receiving / Checking In Purchase Orders