How to Forecast and Set Custom Goals in Ninety

Ninety's Scorecard tool gives you three ways to adjust a Measurable's goal beyond the default target set at creation: you can change the goal permanently from a specific date forward, override it for a single reporting period, or enter forecasted values for future periods. 

Owners, Admins, Managers, and Team Members can use all three features. Observers cannot edit Measurable data.

Setting a new permanent goal

Use the Set new future Goal feature to change a Measurable's goal to a specific date in the future. This preserves your historical data under the original goal while applying the new target to all future reporting periods. This feature is not available for smart Measurables.

When you save a new permanent goal, Ninety automatically converts all previous scores to custom goals to reflect the original target — so your historical performance is still measured accurately against what the goal was at the time.

To set a new permanent goal:

1. Click Scorecard from the left navigation.
2. Select your team from the Team dropdown.
3. Select a Scorecard tab (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual).
4. Right-click the Measurable's row anywhere to the left of the reporting period columns.
5. Select Set new future Goal from the menu.
6. Enter the new target in the Goal field.
7. Optionally, update the goal orientation rule using the dropdown.
8. Click Save & Reload.

Setting a custom goal for a single reporting period

Use the Set custom Goal or note feature to override a Measurable's goal for one specific reporting period. This is useful for accounting for absences, holidays, seasonal variation, or other one-time exceptions that make the standard goal temporarily inappropriate.

To set a custom goal for a single reporting period:

1. Click Scorecard from the left navigation.
2. Select your team from the Team dropdown.
3. Select a Scorecard tab (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual).
4. Right-click the cell for the reporting period you want to adjust.
5. Click Set custom Goal or note.
6. Enter the custom goal number.
7. Click Save.

Forecasting future values

You can enter projected values for future reporting periods to plan ahead and visualize expected performance. To see future cells on your Scorecard, change the Date Range dropdown to either Current Quarter or Current Year. Both options extend your Scorecard view to include blank cells for upcoming periods in the selected range.

To enter a forecasted value, click any cell representing a future date and type a projected value. If the Measurable uses a range goal, you'll enter a minimum and maximum value for that period.

To forecast future values:

1. Click Scorecard from the left navigation.
2. Select your team from the Team dropdown.
3. Select a Scorecard tab (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual).
4. Click the Date Range dropdown and select Current Quarter or Current Year.
5. Click a cell representing a future date.
6. Enter the projected value (or minimum and maximum values for range goals).

Troubleshooting

My Scorecard totals are incorrect after I enter values in future cells. Values entered in future cells are custom goals, not actual scores. They're treated as forecasts and aren't counted in your Scorecard totals the same way actual data is. To record actual data, wait until the reporting period begins and enter the score then.

The Set new future Goal option isn't appearing when I right-click. This feature isn't available for smart Measurables (indicated by a lightning bolt icon). To check whether your Measurable is a smart Measurable, look for the lightning bolt icon to the left of the Measurable's title. For smart Measurables, edit the underlying formula or data source instead.

I don't see future cells when I change the date range. Future cells are only visible when Current Quarter or Current Year is selected in the Date Range dropdown. Other options (Custom, Last 13 Weeks, QTD, YTD) only display past or current periods. Confirm your selection and verify you're on the correct Scorecard tab.

I set a custom goal for a period, but the cell color doesn't look right. Custom goals affect how Ninety evaluates performance for that period. If the color status (red, yellow, or green) looks unexpected, confirm that the custom goal value and goal orientation are set correctly. For more on how status colors work, see Customizing Your Team's Scorecards with Settings.

If you need additional help, contact support.