======Using Offtoa=======

{{keywords>start-ups, entrepreneurship, Offtoa, pro forma, financial statements, capitalization table, IRR, cap table, lean startup, viral growth, organic growth, paid growth, validate assumptions, pivot, hypotheses, assumptions, Sustainable engines of growth, customer acquisition cost, viral coefficient, sticky growth, retention rate, attrition rate, average order size, sales cycle, viral cycle, planning a business, AOS, CAC}}

<php>echo "<b>What does ".$conf['comp_name']." do?</b>";</php>

<php>echo $conf['comp_name'];</php>:

  * Provides step-by-step guidance to craft your business strategy and capture your business strategy as a set of assumptions.
  * Automatically creates your //pro forma//  financial statements from your business strategy assumptions.
  * Provides detailed analysis of your pro formas, just like a potential investor or lender would. And we recommend what you need to change in your strategy to fix any problems.

<php>echo "<b>How do you use ".$conf['comp_name']."?</b>";</php>
  * Go to <php>echo "<a href='http://www.".$conf['comp_name'].".com/app/login'>www.".$conf['comp_name'].".com/app/login</a>";</php>
      * If you do not already have an <php>echo $conf['comp_name'];</php> account: Press **Sign Up**. Select a subscription package.  Follow the registration instructions.
      * If you already have an <php>echo $conf['comp_name'];</php> account: Enter your email and password and press the **Log In** button at the bottom.
  * In the upper left, press **Create New Plan**. Then press **Continue** in the lower right corner.
  * You will be asked to enter assumptions about your company in this order:
    - General Assumptions
    - Products
    - Markets
    - Pricing
    - Sales Model - Predict Units Sold/Year<sup>1</sup>
    - Raw Materials<sup>2</sup>
    - Cost of Goods Sold<sup>2</sup>
    - Personnel
    - Commissions<sup>2</sup>
    - Other Expenses
    - Major Purchases<sup>2</sup>
    - Loans<sup>3</sup>
    - Investments<sup>3</sup>
    - Customer Payments
    - Supplier Payments
    - Cash at Beginning
  * Use **Back** and **Continue**  button of every screen to navigate between screens.  To jump to any specific screen, just press the **Assumptions** link in the expanding menu bar on the left of the page.
  * While you enter your assumptions
    * Occasionally take a quick look at the **OfftoaScore** to obtain a very quick idea of the financial health of your company - on a scale from 0 to 100.
    * Occasionally press the gray <php>echo $conf['comp_name'];</php> **Scoreboard** link in the upper right (just below the <php>echo $conf['comp_name'];</php>Score) to obtain a slightly more detailed summary of the financial health of your company.
    * At any time, press the **Reports** link in the expanding menu bar on the left to examine your financial statements.  <php>echo $conf['comp_name'];</php> produces them for you automatically.
  * Before taking a close look at your //pro forma// financials, we recommend you let <php>echo $conf['comp_name'];</php>  do a check of your assumptions to make sure that what you entered makes sense.  Do this by clicking on **Business Analysis/Assumptions Review** link in the expanding menu bar on the left.
  * When examining your income statement, press the **Analysis Findings** link at the bottom of the page to look for issues in your income statement. Use the blue **View Next Finding** and **View Previous Finding** buttons to thumb through all issues. When you find something you wish to address, press the green **How Do I Fix This** button, and <php>echo $conf['comp_name'];</php> provides a list of changes you can make to your assumptions that could fix the problem.
  * When examining your cash flow statement, press the **Analysis Findings** link at the bottom of the page to look for issues in your cash flow statement. Use the blue **View Next Finding** and **View Previous Finding** buttons to thumb through all issues. When you find something you wish to address, press the green **How Do I Fix This** button, and <php>echo $conf['comp_name'];</php> provides a list of changes you can make to your assumptions that could fix the problem.
  * Repeat the previous step while examining your balance sheet, capitalization table, and valuation and IRR report. Fix any problems.
  * In many cases, fixing one problem may cause other problems. So before you declare yourself complete, take one more pass through all the issues by pressing the **Business Analysis/Final Review** on the menu on the left and fix any remaining problems.

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<php> echo '<small><sup>[1]</sup> For more accurate results, use top-down ("Predict Market Penetration") and bottom-up ("Marketing and Sales Dollars Spent to Drive New Customer Acquisition") models of sales projections and compare them.</small>';</php>

<php> echo "<small><sup>[2]</sup> ".$conf['comp_name']." will give you the option to skip this step if it isn't applicable to your business.</small>";</php>

<php> echo "<small><sup>[3]</sup> If you have specific plans for future loans or investments, you may also enter them now, or you can wait, and ".$conf['comp_name']." will tell you when you need to raise money and how much.</small>";</php>
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