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Federal fiscal-year and state or local forecast dates explained

Learn how Hunter shows the date that the buyer expects to post the bid request: fiscal years for federal buyers, calendar words for local buyers.

Written By GovPreneurs

Last updated 21 days ago

The date on a forecast is the day the buyer expects to post the bid request. It is a plan, not a deadline. Buyers often give only a month, a quarter or a year. Hunter shows the date at the precision that the buyer gave.

How Hunter reads the date

Buyer givesHunter showsWhy
A real dayThat dayThe buyer gave it.
The first or last day of a monthAround that monthHunter reads it as the whole month.
A federal quarter startAround Q2 FY... (or Q3 or Q4)A federal fiscal year runs from 1 October to 30 September.
1 October or 30 September (federal)Some time in FY...Buyers use these days when they have no real date.
A local budget year endBetween two monthsHunter reads the 12 months that end on that day.
1 January or 31 December (local)Some time in that yearHunter reads it as the whole calendar year.
No dateNo date yetThe buyer has not given one.

For local buyers, Hunter uses calendar words only. A local buyer's budget calendar is not the federal one. A local date also reads Around because it is an estimate.

Example

A federal forecast has the date 1 October. The card reads Some time in FY and the next year. The buyer has not given a day. Hunter counts the time left from the middle of that year.

How the date feeds the time cards

Hunter counts the days to the middle of the period. That count puts the forecast under Act now, Start capture, Position early or Watch. See Find forecasts for you, browse all, or see saved forecasts.

What happens after the date

A forecast past its date is not closed. The card reads Expected date passed. It shows under Watch until it leaves the list. The bid request may already be posted, or it may not come. About six months after the window ends, the forecast leaves Forecasts for you and All forecasts. A forecast that you track stays in Saved.

What Hunter cannot know

  • Hunter cannot know if the buyer will keep the date. Buyers move dates.
  • A page tag Our read means Hunter worked the date out. The buyer did not say it.

✅ What to do next: Open a forecast and read its timeline. See Read Grant's forecast assessment and plan.

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