AcquiHigher Instructions

1. What’s Included

Summary & Metrics pages: compare atomic inputs, calculated metrics, and valuation multiples across companies.
Dashboard page: per-company detail view with scenario controls, valuation sandbox, attachments, and customizable metric gauges.
Calculated Metric Impact watchlist: pick up to ten KPIs; gauges and Δ vs. baseline indicators refresh as you edit atomic data.
Frameworks: weighted diligence scoring per company with CSV exports.
SWOT workspace: curated default templates plus a focus editor that stores one SWOT per company/portfolio in private S3.
Chat panel with model selection, auto model picker, depth/strict controls, digest preload/refresh, document attachments, and transparency on context/models.
Privacy/Security: Privacy & Security page and OpenAI trust center link.
Personalization: guided tour overlays, per-user summary preferences (companies, columns, column width, compact layout), accessible color palette toggle, and chat history stored in your private S3 space.

2. Page Guide

Summary: Portfolio-wide comparison with tuck-away company/column selectors, per-row scenario pickers, and an Opportunity heatmap you can invert when lower values are “better.”
Metrics (Compare): Deep dive into atomic inputs and calculated metrics; select multiple companies and categories to chart side by side.
Dashboard (Per-company): Detailed view for a single company with scenario controls, valuation sandbox, attachments, and the Calculated Metric Impact panel (customize up to ten gauges).
Frameworks: Weighted criteria scoring per company. Edit scores/weights; exports available for audit trails.
SWOT: Launch the dedicated workspace to review seeded content, edit wide cards with live word counts, or pop out into Focus View; saves sync automatically to private S3.
Chat: Ask cross-company questions, preload/refresh digests for speed, attach portfolio-level documents, choose model/depth/strict options, and see the context/models used.

3. Guided Tour & Personalization

Guided Tour: Click the lower-left “Guided Tour” button to highlight each major module. Steps auto-open company/column panels, surface attachments, and walk through the metric watchlist and SWOT workspace. Tours respect prefers-reduced-motion—animations are disabled automatically for sensitive users.

Summary preferences: Company/column selections, the Opportunity bounds, column width, and the optional “Compact columns on small screens” toggle are stored per user. Switch devices or browsers and the layout follows you.

Metric watchlist: The Calculated Metric Impact panel includes a “Customize metrics” button; selections (up to ten gauges) save per user and restore automatically after login.

Compact layout: When enabled, the summary table automatically collapses to the first two selected metrics on viewports under 1024 px (Opportunity always remains). Use this during demos to avoid horizontal scrolling.

Accessible palette: Toggle high-contrast colors from Settings → Accessibility. The Opportunity heatmap defaults to a neutral palette but switches to an accessible red → yellow → green scale (with invert option) when enabled.

Chat history: Every chat request (question, answer, usage metadata) is stored privately per user in S3. Use the chat history panel to search, reopen, or delete entries. Clearing history removes the S3 objects immediately.

4. Download & Format the Template

Download the latest metrics workbook: template_metrics.xlsx.
Every company workbook must follow the naming pattern [business_name]_metrics.xlsx. The dashboard derives the displayed company name from this filename.
Do not modify the tab names (Atomic_Data, Financial_Performance, Valuation_Deal_Math, Metric_Lineage). Columns may be left blank if data is not available—the dashboard can reset everything to a null state.
Numeric inputs should be stored as numbers (no currency symbols). Descriptions and sources can be kept as free text.
Validation: uploads are checked against the template for column and row-key consistency; mismatches are blocked with a clear error.

5. Uploading Metrics

Sign in with your assigned credentials. Have an administrator create an account for you if needed.
Use the Upload Metrics button on the Dashboard tab. Select your completed [business]_metrics.xlsx file.
If the filename matches an existing business, the app warns that continuing will overwrite the saved metrics for your user. Rename the file if you want to keep both versions.
Uploaded companies appear instantly in the target selector and comparison controls. All uploaded data (metrics, lineage, frameworks) stays private to the signed-in user.

6. Operating the Dashboard

Reset to Blank: Use the Reset to Blank control to clear every metric and framework to the template defaults before starting a new scenario.

Manual Adjustments: Every atomic data point is editable via sliders, numeric inputs, and the All Atomic Data table. Changes immediately recalculate dependent metrics.

Metric Impact Watchlist: Click “Customize metrics” above the metric gauges to pick up to ten KPIs. The gauges and Δ vs. Baseline badges refresh live as you tweak inputs, and the watchlist is saved to your profile.

Comparisons: The Metric Deep Dive page lets you toggle one or more companies (including your uploads) for any metric category. All metrics defined in the template are visualized.

Frameworks: Edit score/weight cells to capture diligence notes per company. The system stores your overrides per user; resetting a company restores the original or template-driven scores.

SWOT Workspace: Launch the SWOT link from the dashboard to view wide Strength/Weakness/Opportunity/Threat cards, live word counts, and a distraction-free Focus View. Seed templates live in public S3, while your edits save to a private company+portfolio file.

Export: The Export Metrics button generates a workbook containing the current atomic data, every metric category, the metric lineage, and the framework table.

7. Chat Guide & Privacy

Models & scope: Choose “Auto (recommended)” in the model dropdown to let the system pick based on scope, history, and success rates; select a specific model if you need to force one. Advanced menu: choose depth (Brief/Standard/Full) and “Strict numeric table + narrative.” Portfolio-level and per-company attachments automatically join the retrieval set before a run.

Context controls: Wide-scope questions automatically preload embeddings + digests; the chat shows context mode, models tried, portfolio, scope, company count, and response time.

Async progress: Each chat request runs as a background job; the status bar shows queueing, prep, model calls, and a percent-complete indicator so you know the site is still working.

Answer caching: Repeating the same question with unchanged context instantly replays the cached answer so you aren’t billed twice; edit metrics/scenarios if you need a fresh run.

History & search: Every completed chat is saved privately per user. Use the new history panel to search past questions, reopen responses, or delete individual entries/the entire log. Data lives in your private S3 space and can be cleared anytime.

Good questions: Be specific and scoped: “Compare EBITDA margin and CAGR drivers across all companies; rank top/bottom and cite risks.” Name scenarios explicitly (e.g., “AOM Growth vs Baseline”). Ask for rankings, deltas, risks, and numbers.

Strict mode: Use when you want a table-first answer with a short narrative. Use Standard/Brief for quicker free-form summaries.

Privacy & security: See Privacy & Security. ChatGPT Business API: data not used for training by default; encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest; access limited to authorized personnel. Trust center: trust.openai.com.

8. Calculated Metrics Reference

Revenue CAGR (3yr): Compound annual growth rate using the current period and the value three comparable periods back.
Gross Margin %: Gross profit divided by revenue; highlights pricing power and manufacturing efficiency.
EBITDA Margin %: EBITDA as a percentage of revenue; measures cash earnings power before depreciation and amortization.
FCF Margin %: Free cash flow (cash from operations minus capex) as a percentage of revenue; measures cash conversion quality.
ROIC %: After-tax operating profit divided by invested capital; measures the efficiency of value creation.
DSO / DIO / DPO: Days sales outstanding, days inventory outstanding, and days payables outstanding quantify how quickly receivables turn, how long inventory sits, and how slowly the company pays suppliers.
Cash Conversion Cycle: DSO + DIO − DPO; the net number of days working capital ties up cash.
EV / Revenue: Enterprise value divided by revenue; a top-line oriented valuation multiple.
EBITDA (computed): EBIT plus depreciation and amortization; provides the derived EBITDA figure used in multiples.
EV / EBITDA & EV / EBIT: Enterprise value divided by EBITDA or EBIT; core valuation multiples that incorporate profitability.
WACC: Weighted average cost of capital that blends the cost of equity and debt based on capital structure.

9. User Management & Security

Only admins see the sidebar user-management panel. Admins can create additional usernames, assign admin privileges, and delete accounts (at least one admin must remain).
Each user stores uploads, framework overrides, SWOT narratives, chat history, and summary preferences in an isolated private S3 vault. Switching accounts never exposes another user’s data.
Encourage users to export their work regularly for archival purposes or to share with stakeholders.

10. Quick Checklist

Download the template and populate the required tabs.
Ensure the file is named [business]_metrics.xlsx.
Sign in (or ask an admin to create your credentials).
Upload the workbook, adjust assumptions, compare companies, and document frameworks.
Export the final package when analysis is complete.

Need additional guidance? Refer back to this page anytime via the sidebar “Instructions” link.