Moving Average & Trend Forecast

There are, and some are fine. The difference is what has been checked. This file was built from scratch, then every formula in it was recalculated by a separate checker that compares each result against an independently worked-out answer — 74 of them here. A template that looks right and totals wrong is worse than no template at all, and that is the usual failing of one downloaded from a search result.

It also opens with sample rows already filled in, so you can see every formula working before you touch it, and it is set up to print without fighting the page setup. No watermark, and you can use it commercially.

A simple, transparent forecast is often more useful than a complicated one nobody trusts. This Excel template takes a history of monthly figures, calculates a three-period moving average and a least-squares trend line, then extends the trend to forecast the next three periods.

It measures the error for every period and shows the fit quality (R²) and the mean absolute percentage error, so you can see how far to trust the forecast.

Replace the Actual column with your own figures. The trend line is a least-squares fit; the forecast extends it, and MAPE tells you how much to trust it.

The file opens with sample rows so you can see every formula working before you change anything. Type your own figures over them. When you need more rows, insert them inside the existing block rather than underneath it, so the totals keep covering every row.