Hey everyone,
I’m trying to move my forecasting work from Excel to Google Sheets, but I’m hitting a wall. I’ve been using FORECAST.ETS and FORECAST.ETS.CONFINT in Excel, and they’re super helpful. But I can’t seem to find anything similar in Google Sheets.
Does anyone know if there are matching functions in Google Sheets? Or maybe some workarounds that could give me similar results? I’d really appreciate any tips or suggestions.
I’ve tried looking through the built-in functions, but nothing seems quite right. Maybe I’m missing something obvious? If anyone has experience with this kind of switch, I’d love to hear about it.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!
As someone who’s worked extensively with both Excel and Google Sheets for forecasting, I can relate to your frustration, Noah. While Google Sheets lacks direct equivalents to FORECAST.ETS and FORECAST.ETS.CONFINT, there are alternative approaches you can consider.
One method I’ve found effective is utilizing the FORECAST function in combination with LINEST for more advanced trend analysis. For confidence intervals, you can implement a manual calculation using the standard error of the forecast and appropriate t-values.
If you’re comfortable with scripting, Google Apps Script offers powerful capabilities to create custom functions. I’ve successfully implemented more sophisticated forecasting models this way, including Holt-Winters exponential smoothing.
For complex forecasting needs, you might also explore connecting Google Sheets to external statistical packages through APIs. This approach has allowed me to leverage advanced forecasting techniques while still using Sheets as the primary interface.
Remember, the transition may require some adjustments to your workflow, but with some creativity, you can achieve comparable results in Google Sheets.
hey Noah_Fire, i get what u mean. google sheets can be a pain. try the forecast function, it isnt as slick as excel’s ets. for confidence, maybe try forecast.linear with a few extra steps. nothing perfect but it might work for u. best luck!
I’ve been in your shoes, Noah. The transition from Excel to Google Sheets for forecasting can be frustrating. While there’s no direct equivalent to FORECAST.ETS, I’ve found some workarounds that might help.
For basic forecasting, the FORECAST function in Sheets is serviceable, though not as sophisticated as Excel’s offerings. To get confidence intervals, you’ll need to do some manual calculations using STEYX and TINV functions, combined with your forecast results.
Another approach I’ve used is implementing the Holt-Winters method using Google Sheets’ scripting capabilities. It takes some setup, but it can provide more robust forecasting with trend and seasonality components.
These aren’t perfect solutions, but they’ve helped me bridge the gap. Keep in mind that for more complex forecasting needs, you might need to look into add-ons or external tools that integrate with Google Sheets.