Is this an Excel plugin?
A stated goal at the outset was to NOT be a plugin, as they're great until the next person in your audience doesn't have (and can't have) the plugin! ClearFactr is built from the ground up using completely proprietary approaches, down to the formula parser. We knew that to be truly novel and in total control of our own destiny, this was the only way to fly.
What languages does the API work with?
If you can make a REST API call with a POST, and read/write JSON, you can use ClearFactr's API.
Does this work with other financial applications?
ClearFactr's Server-side API is the gateway to having it integrate with any other application and workflow. We've seen highly successful integrations with custom systems, BI tools, workflow orchestrators, and more. And the Client-side API can allow ClearFactr to bring its modeling and SDLC capabilities to your custom web apps, too.
Can I manage large portfolios with this?
If you're currently using legacy spreadsheets to do that, chances are excellent that ClearFactr will handle things perfectly. But once you get to see "the ClearFactr way" of doing things, you might want to change your approaches a bit. We'd love to discuss this further with you.
Can I set up teams to share models and control access?
Absolutely. Our custom administration tool, which at least one user within the overall customer account will have access to, allows for all of this. Teams are a great way to share and collaborate, but they're not required -- you can share and collaborate with individuals, too, even from other ClearFactr customers.
Can I import my existing spreadsheet file?
Absolutely. Our importer handles about 150 of Excel's financial modeling functions. But if your model contains an unsupported function, we can likely add it quickly. Some other points are noteworthy here:
- We don't support features like pivot tables, but our patented features like CFSQL do, and they support essentially unlimited amounts of data via the Cloud Data Warehouses they connect to.
- We also don't support VBA and macros. However, our API makes it extremely easy to work operate with the model programmatically.
- We have a file size limitation of 4MB. That's a very big spreadsheet if it's not filled with raw data.
- We'll do a cell-by-cell reconciliation of your ClearFactr model versus the original spreadsheet. Any differences found and their possible causes will be shown in a report following the import. This report will also be emailed to you.
Once the import is finished, we delete your original file as it's no longer required by ClearFactr.
Can I export my model back to Excel?
Yes you can, and you'll get a fully-working model with all the identical formulas, not just data. If your model uses any of ClearFactr's proprietary functions, they will export in values-only form.
Where is my data stored?
ClearFactr runs via Amazon Web Services, using their state-of-the-art, highly secure, distributed datacenters. The models themselves are:
- Encoded in a way that requires the ClearFactr software to make them work
- Encrypted within their respective database tables.
How do I organize my models?
There are many ways to achieve this, starting with ClearFactr's Dashboard auto-categorizing models based on how they're used. Groups are automatically formed based on:
- If, and how, they're shared
- Who they're shared with
Then within each of those groups, models can be sorted by most recent interaction date, or alphabetically by name.
Across all of these categories, a powerful search feature will limit what the dashboard shows based on your search term, looking at both names and the descriptions of the models.
Lastly, models can be assigned any number of Tags. Tags then drive their own separate filtering mechanism. The owner of the model creates one or more "official" Tags within the description of the model, but anyone with access to the model can also create Tags that are private to themselves. This allows everyone to organize, recall and find models according to their own way of thinking about things.
Do I need a data engineer to use ClearFactr?
It's definitely not required, but if your organization has one (or a whole department of them), you'll want to get them involved.
ClearFactr's data connectivity features allow you to properly separate your compute from your data and help assure that you maintain Single Sources of Truth for both of these things. A data engineer can also likely expose services that ClearFactr can make use of so that additional heavy lifting can be done in a distributed way, away from ClearFactr's servers and yet still controlled by ClearFactr's spreadsheet interface.
How long does it take to deploy ClearFactr?
Because it's a SaaS offering, you can be up and running with ClearFactr in minutes. There's nothing to install, and nothing to maintain. And because it's highly familiar (so we've been told), you'll be productive in just a few additional minutes.
Contact us for a trial account for yourself and your team.
Is there training available?
We're currently using a "white glove approach" to onboarding and support where we can spend direct 1:1 time ensuring that you get properly positioned for success. More formal training docs will be forthcoming, especially via this website.
