Ive been helping, but mostly watching, one of my clients go through the process of forecasting revenue for a financial package intended for the reading pleasure of a potential buyer. Hes doing well, but its a reminder that projections should not be a task done only when youre putting your company on the market. Its critically important then because buyers buy the future and they want to see the future through the eyes of the seller. They may not agree with the numbers, but the forecast is a useful piece of the value setting process. Unfortunately, forecasting should not an event, it should be part of the management process. Setting aside the obvious business use of forecasts, presenting a revenue and cost forecast to a buyer without some history showing how accurate earlier forecasts were provides little confidence to the buyer that the numbers make sense.