The Actual Sales worksheet is a core worksheet within the Demand Planner that records and displays historical sales data for all SKUs. It provides a monthly aggregated view of sales quantities over the past 12 months, giving demand planners a clear picture of what has actually been sold.
Planners can create, edit, and delete actual sales records directly within the worksheet, eliminating the need for a separate Excel upload cycle when only a few records need updating. For bulk data, Excel upload remains available through Data Management.
Tip: Right-click on any SKU row and select “Add Actual Sale” to quickly create a new sales record without switching to the Detail view.
Where to Find It
Navigate to Demand > Actual Sales in the PLAIO platform. The worksheet appears as a tab within the Demand module.
How to use Actual Sales page
Add, Edit, or Delete Actual Sales
When you select a row (SKU) in the main grid, you can open the Actual Sales Detail sub-worksheet. This transactional view shows individual sales records rather than monthly totals.
Action | How |
Add | Select “Add Actual Sale” from the dropdown menu in the Detail sub-worksheet. Enter the date and quantity. |
Edit | Click on an existing sales record in the Detail sub-worksheet to modify the quantity or date |
Delete | Select a sales record and delete it. The main Actual Sales grid updates to reflect the change. |
Bulk Import or Inline Editing
Actual sales data can enter PLAIO through two channels:
Inline Editing
Best for small updates, corrections, or companies with small portfolios. Add, edit, or delete individual records directly in the worksheet without leaving the planning interface.
Excel Upload
Best for bulk data loads, such as monthly imports from an ERP system. Upload via Data Management > Actual Sales.
Note: Inline editing requires Demand edit access. Users with read-only Demand access can view actual sales data but cannot modify it.
How Actual Sales Data Is Used
Actual sales data is foundational to multiple areas of PLAIO:
Area | How Actual Sales Are Used |
Forecast Accuracy | Error and Bias metrics are calculated by comparing forecasted values against actual sales. Incomplete or incorrect actual sales data will produce misleading accuracy metrics. |
Demand Planner | Actual sales appear as a line on the Demand Planner chart, providing the historical baseline that planners compare their forecasts against. |
ML Forecasting | The machine learning model uses actual sales history as its primary training input. More complete and accurate history leads to better forecast quality. |
Benchmark Forecast | The benchmark forecast is calculated as the average of recent actual sales months. Missing recent months make the benchmark less reliable. |
Configuration
No additional setup is required to enable the worksheet — it is available by default in the Demand module once actual sales data has been uploaded or entered.
Setting | Description |
Horizon | The Actual Sales worksheet displays the past 12 months of data. This is a fixed window that rolls forward automatically. |
Access control | Inline add/edit/delete requires Demand edit access. Upload requires Demand Upload access. Read-only users can view but not modify data. |
Filters | The worksheet supports filtering by Product Family and Demand Segment to narrow the view to specific product groups. |