3.3. Sales Forecast & Turnover Planning

The calculation of the sales quantity is tied to various initial conditions. When a company is founded, the goods or services must be produced or purchased as initial stock. If these are products, there are usually upfront costs that must be "financed. The products or the goods must be available, the service offer must be developed and ready for the market so that it can be sold.

Depending on the type of service, the sales volume is expressed in numbers of units, in numbers of projects, in numbers of products or in numbers of individual services. The quantity is given as a quantitative measure, the value of the services is calculated in euros. The sales forecast, together with the calculation of the sales prices, also represents the turnover forecast in euros.

The sales volumes and thus the turnover result from the course of actual sales:

Sales is the sale of services, i.e. the quantity of services sold	Sale of 500 pieces of product A
Trade margin is the sales price in relation to the purchase or procurement price	Selling price per piece     = 1.00 €. /. Purchase price per piece      = 0.40 €= Trade     margin per piece = 0.60 €
Stock is the quantity and value of services purchased less services sold	Purchase           ./. sale           200 pieces=    stock 300 pieces

Table 6: Sales volume

The basic principle is that a company's range of services should be such that it can always be produced or delivered. The stock level should not be higher than required by the economic process (sales). Excessive stocks deprive the company of "liquid funds". Stocks that are too low jeopardise the ability to sell or produce and may require expensive orders in order to be able to satisfy customer demands.

If services are produced, there are usually no stocks. The equivalent of this are resources in the form of employees, rooms, networks and the like, which must be employed, held in stock or engaged in order to be able to produce the service in a professional, timely and customer-oriented manner. In order to be able to produce services, inputs in the form of "provisions" are necessary.