Contents

Getting Started

Quickstart Guide

3 min read

Getting a starting point is automated so you can get right to understanding, assessing, and planning.

Step 1: Import Your Books

  1. Open My Business and click "Import Your Business".
  2. Fill in Basics first if Occam asks for it: "Business Info", "Your Story" and "Your Info".
  3. Drop your files into the boxes: "Sales", "Expenses" and "Costs And Anything Else", and select your baseline period. None of the files is required; .csv, .xlsx and .xls all work.
  4. Talk it through. Occam reads the files and asks about anything it can't tell from them.
  5. Read the proposal, "Your Business In A Normal Year", then click "Approve And Build".

The result is an annualized version of the baseline period you chose. If your business has materially changed in the last 3 months and that's the new normal, annualizing those 3 months is the best starting point for forecasting and decision-making.

Screenshot to come: The import conversation with the four steps along the top: Your Files, Talk It Through, Proposal, Approve (import-conversation.png)

The import is free and uses no credits. No spreadsheet to hand? Click "Enter Your Numbers Yourself" instead.

Full guide: How to Import Your Books.

Step 2: Complete the Picture

An import fills your sales, your costs and, if your files hold it, your inventory balance. Files rarely hold the rest, so the sections below are optional. Completing them maximizes the number and quality of your insights and unlocks modules.

  1. Open My Business and look for "Not yet in these numbers" on the Financial Summary. Click "Add It" to open the first section left.
  2. Correct and tag. Fix any imported row in "Revenue", "Direct Costs" or "Administration", then tie each "Marketing" line to the revenue streams it supports. Why: untagged marketing reads as blended spend, so Marketing Efficiency can't tell which stream earns its keep.
  3. Check Owner Pay. Add health insurance and retirement contributions, plus salary and dividends if you're taxed as an S-Corp or C-Corp (the payroll tax on your salary is worked out for you). Why: Total Value to You is only what the business pays you, so it's wrong until your pay is in.
  4. Add Long-Term Investments. Equipment, software and vehicles. Why: they are real cash investments that also lower your tax bill.
  5. Add Funding. Loans, credit cards and "Cash on Hand". Why: debt payments come out of cash, and the Debt Restructuring Play needs your loans.
  6. Enter Cash Timing. How fast customers pay you, how long you take to pay vendors, and your inventory. Why: it shows when cash arrives, not just how much, and the Cash Timing Play needs it.

Everything here is free and uses no credits. Skip what you don't know yet rather than entering zero: zeros in Cash Timing would grade as a perfect cash cycle.

Full guide: Complete the Picture.

Step 3: Read Your Financial Summary

Approving the import opens the Financial Summary. Later, it's "Summary" in the sidebar.

  • Let the walkthrough play once. It steps from revenue down to "Total Value to You".
  • Read "Key Financial Metrics": Revenue, Gross Profit and Total Value to You.
  • Scroll "Revenue to Cash Flow" and expand any line to see the details.
  • Open a Deep Dive (paid tier) for the full story behind a number: Revenue, Gross Profit, Operating Profit, Cash Conversion, Marketing Efficiency, Taxes, Finance Charges, Cash Timing and Financial Statements.

Screenshot to come: The Financial Summary with Key Financial Metrics at the top and the Revenue to Cash Flow table below (financial-summary.png)

Full guide: How to Read Your Financial Summary.

Step 4: Check Your Score Card

Click "Assessment" in the sidebar.

  • The headline is "Overall Score: N/100".
  • Four areas make it up: "Revenue Health", "Margin Health", "Marketing Efficiency" and "Financial Stability".
  • Each area is made up of specific metrics, all of which are ranked from Lagging to Excellent with third-party sourcing disclosed.
  • A grade with missing inputs shows as not applicable and doesn't count.

Screenshot to come: The Score Card showing the Overall Score out of 100 and the four graded areas (score-card.png)

Full guide: How to Read Your Score Card.

Step 5: Start Planning

  • Click Plays to assess the impact of any decision on your financials, complete with a step-by-step plan to implement. Run and customize as many scenarios and rank them by cash impact.
  • Click Blueprints to forecast the next two to five years of your business. Design the path from where you are today to the business that doesn't rely so much on you, or fully scales into an enterprise.

Full guides: How to Test a Price Increase Before You Raise Prices, How to Try Any Change Yourself With a Custom Scenario and How to Start a Blueprint From Your Business.

What's Next?

Common Questions

Can I leave while the import runs?
Yes. You can use this time to complete your personal audit and an in-app alert will let you know when it's ready. And if you need to leave the site, we'll email you when complete.