> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.trykompass.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Forecast with projections

> Project your history three to five years ahead, then try what-ifs against a base case.

A budget is the plan you commit to. A projection is a forecast built from your history: where the numbers go if they keep moving the way they have. Each run writes its own forecast scenario, so your actuals are never touched.

## Before you start

You need a few years of actuals in Kompass; see *Bring in your actuals*. Three years is the minimum lookback, five gives steadier trends.

Creating projections takes the Analyst or Admin role. Reviewers and Board Members can open and compare them.

## Build a base case

1. Open **Projections** and click **New projection**.
2. **Basis:** name it, for example *FY26–FY30 base case*, and choose how many years of history to read.
3. **Horizon:** pick the **Anchor period**, the first month to project, and how far ahead to go: three, four or five years.
4. **Method assignment:** choose the default way lines move, such as **Growth rate (year on year)**, **Moving average** or **Seasonality**. Lines with their own method keep it.
5. **Assumptions & drivers:** link the balance sheet (retained earnings, cash and, if you borrow, a revolver) and add driver lines such as interest on a loan. Rates are decimals: 14% is 0.14.
6. Click **Create and run**.

## Read the result

The run opens on **Overview**: actuals and forecast on one chart. **P\&L**, **Balance sheet & check** and **Workbook** show the detail.

> **Check the balance first.** If **Balance check** does not pass, the balance sheet links in step 5 need another look before you trust the numbers.

In **Workbook** you can override a month by hand, then click **Recompute from overrides** to carry the change through.

## Try a what-if

1. On your base case, click **Clone what-if**.
2. Change one assumption, such as the growth method or a driver rate, and run it.
3. Click **Compare** and pick the base case. **What changed in the assumptions** and **What it did to the numbers** show the effect side by side.

Change one thing per what-if. Two changes at once make it hard to tell which one moved the result.

> **Projections compare with each other, not with a budget.** To see how this year is tracking against plan, use *Track budget vs actuals*.


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