# Shortcut

> Shortcut is an AI spreadsheet agent for building, editing, and analyzing Excel workbooks.

Shortcut is available as a browser-based spreadsheet workspace, an Excel add-in, a local CLI and desktop app, and an asynchronous Platform API. The web app and Platform API can produce standard .xlsx files without Excel installed; the Windows CLI can also automate native desktop Excel. Enterprise controls include SSO, customer-managed encryption keys, organization-managed LLM credentials and gateways, and customer-owned storage.

## Product

- [Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/): AI-powered spreadsheet work in the browser, Excel, desktop tools, and APIs.
- [Pricing](https://shortcut.ai/pricing): Shortcut plans and pricing for individuals, teams, and enterprises.
- [Teams Plan](https://shortcut.ai/teams-plan): Shared Shortcut workspaces, controls, and collaboration for teams.
- [ShortcutXL CLI](https://shortcut.ai/cli): The terminal and desktop entry point for local Shortcut workflows.

## Documentation

- [Shortcut Documentation](https://shortcut.ai/docs): Compare Shortcut products and choose the right execution environment.
- [Getting Started with Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/docs/getting-started): A step-by-step tour of the Shortcut panel in Excel.
- [CLI and Desktop App Documentation](https://shortcut.ai/docs/cli): A step-by-step tour of the Shortcut panel in Excel.
- [Excel Add-in Documentation](https://shortcut.ai/docs/excel): Use Shortcut inside an open Microsoft Excel workbook.
- [Web App Documentation](https://shortcut.ai/docs/web): Build, edit, and analyze spreadsheets in a browser without Excel installed.
- [Platform API Documentation](https://shortcut.ai/docs/platform-api): Run asynchronous spreadsheet jobs from applications and services.
- [Agent Integration](https://shortcut.ai/docs/agent-integration): Hand spreadsheet work to Shortcut from another agent or assistant.
- [SSO Setup Guides](https://shortcut.ai/docs/sso-setup): Configure Shortcut single sign-on with supported identity providers.
- [BYOK Setup Guides](https://shortcut.ai/docs/byok-setup): Configure customer-managed encryption keys for Shortcut.
- [Private LLM Gateway](https://shortcut.ai/docs/private-llm-gateway): Route AI requests through an organization-controlled LLM gateway.
- [Bring Your Own LLM Key](https://shortcut.ai/docs/llm-byok): Use organization-managed model-provider credentials with Shortcut.
- [Bring Your Own Storage](https://shortcut.ai/docs/org-storage): Store organization files in a customer-owned GCS or S3 bucket.

## Enterprise

- [Shortcut Enterprise](https://shortcut.ai/enterprise): Security, deployment, and workflow controls for enterprise teams.
- [Enterprise SSO](https://shortcut.ai/enterprise/sso): Enterprise authentication and identity-provider integration.
- [Enterprise BYOK](https://shortcut.ai/enterprise/byok): Customer-managed encryption keys for enterprise deployments.
- [Enterprise LLM API Keys](https://shortcut.ai/enterprise/llm-byok): Enterprise controls for organization-managed model-provider credentials.

## Resources

- [Shortcut Blog](https://shortcut.ai/blog): Product updates, technical research, how-tos, and spreadsheet workflows.
- [Case Studies](https://shortcut.ai/cases): Examples of teams using Shortcut for real spreadsheet workflows.
- [Spreadsheet Templates](https://shortcut.ai/templates): Ready-made spreadsheet templates organized by business workflow.
- [Tutorials](https://shortcut.ai/tutorials): Shortcut examples, guides, case studies, and videos for spreadsheet workflows.
- [Changelog](https://shortcut.ai/changelog): Recent Shortcut product releases and improvements.
- [What’s new this week](https://shortcut.ai/changelog/whats-new): This week’s Shortcut features, with short step-by-step guides.

## Case Studies

- [Shortcut Ranked Top Excel AI Agent Ahead of Claude for Excel by Ankura Office of the CFO](https://shortcut.ai/cases/shortcut-vs-claude-for-excel-ankura-office-of-the-cfo-benchmark): Ankura Office of the CFO tested five Excel AI tools across long-range planning, 13-week cash flow, and customer profitability models. Shortcut Pro ranked #1 overall ahead of Claude for Excel.
- [Shortcut Partners with TresVista](https://shortcut.ai/cases/tresvista-partnership): TresVista partners with Shortcut to embed Excel-native AI agents into institutional financial modeling workflows, delivering 25-35% efficiency gains across execution and review.
- [How Investment Bankers Use Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/cases/how-investment-banks-use-shortcut): Four real tasks: accretion/dilution analysis, comparable analysis from filings, LBO modeling with structure optionality, and coverage model updates. With workflow benchmarks.
- [How Top Accounting Teams Use Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/cases/how-accounting-teams-use-shortcut): Four real tasks: multi-entity GL consolidation, Yardi labor imports, audit-ready detail worksheets, and budget variance commentary. With workflow benchmarks.
- [How Top CRE Teams Use Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/cases/how-cre-teams-use-shortcut): Four real tasks: tenant revenue projections, utility bill parsing, lease data extraction, and OpEx sensitivity analysis. With workflow benchmarks.
- [How Top Hedge Funds Use Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/cases/how-hedge-funds-use-shortcut): Three real tasks: building valuation models from templates, updating master models from vendor data, extracting earnings from PDFs. With time benchmarks.
- [10 Reasons Why Teams Choose Shortcut Over Claude for Excel](https://shortcut.ai/cases/shortcut-vs-claude): See how a Fortune 500 firm achieved 85% faster model builds and 94% accuracy by switching from Claude to Shortcut for enterprise Excel automation.

## Blog Posts

- [Introducing Pivot 0.5: A fast and powerful finance and spreadsheet model](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/introducing-pivot): Pivot 0.5, our first in-house model: post-trained from Qwen 3.5 (27B) to 64.4% on ShortcutBench v1, approaching frontier open models at a fraction of the size and cost.
- [Opus 4.8 vs Opus 4.7 and GPT-5.5 for Excel AI](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/opus-48-vs-gpt-55): Opus 4.8 beats Opus 4.7 on everyday and hard spreadsheet tasks; GPT-5.5 remains the top v25 frontier point.
- [Introducing ShortcutXL: Our Generalist Desktop Agent](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/introducing-shortcutxl): ShortcutXL moves Shortcut beyond the side panel, connecting finance context from files, databases, providers, APIs, and live Excel.
- [Opus 4.7 vs GPT-5.5 for Excel AI](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/claude-vs-gpt-for-excel): Opus 4.7 and GPT-5.5 are live. GPT-5.5 is the top benchmark and fastest Max. Opus 4.7 Medium is the new efficiency pick. Opus 4.6 is still our taste pick.
- [Introducing Shortcut v0.8](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/v0-8-release): Secure API vault, live shareable dashboards, a CLI for Windows power users, an automation studio, and a new mascot.
- [The Shortcut Safe](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/shortcut-safe): Store API keys in an encrypted vault and pull live data from any API directly into your models.
- [Live, Shareable Web Dashboards](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/live-dashboards): One-click publish from any spreadsheet to a live dashboard. Share with anyone — no login required.
- [ShortcutXL CLI for Windows](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/shortcutxl-cli): A terminal-first interface for maximum speed. Capabilities impossible for Excel add-ins or web-based AI.
- [/skillstudio — Build and Test Automations](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/skillstudio): Live execution feedback, self-grading, and iterative refinement. Fully automate after 1-2 iterations.
- [Meet Shorty](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/meet-shorty): Shorty is here. Our new mascot keeps you company as you work.
- [Bringing AGI to 1 Billion Spreadsheet Workers](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/agi-1b-spreadsheet-workers): Live now: Free and Pro users (not Teams) fall back to MiniMax when credits run out. Faster iteration, enterprise-grade security, no hard paywall stop.
- [#1 Excel AI Agent — Wall Street Prep Independent Ranking](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/wsp-ranked-1): Wall Street Prep independently ranked Shortcut #1 among all AI tools for financial modeling. Shortcut scored 5.9/10, beating Claude (5.5), Copilot (4.4), and ChatGPT (2.5). Here are the numbers.
- [The Excel AI Revolution Has Started](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/excel-ai-revolution): How to use Shortcut, the best way for professionals to do their spreadsheet work. Setup guide, key features, best practices, and the future of Excel AI.
- [Shortcut v0.6: The Most Powerful Excel AI Yet](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/v0-6-release): 10 major capabilities including enterprise customization, 250MB file support, PDF/PowerPoint creation, Plan Mode, and API access.
- [Introducing SpreadsheetBench Verified](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/spreadsheetbench-verified): We release SpreadsheetBench Verified—696 human-validated tasks for reliable AI evaluation. Developed with the original benchmark authors.
- [Bank Reconciliation Made Easy With Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/accounting-ai-bank-reconciliation): Learn how to use Shortcut AI for fast, accurate bank reconciliations. Compare ledgers and bank statements, flag mismatches, and generate reports in minutes.
- [Shortcut SOTA on SpreadsheetBench](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/spreadsheetbench): Shortcut achieves 59.25% on SpreadsheetBench through verified API evaluation—the first reproducible Excel AI benchmark. Setting the record straight with transparent performance.
- [What is a Benchmark?](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/benchmarks-explained): Learn what benchmarks are, why they matter for AI development, and how they help measure real-world performance in specialized domains like Excel automation.
- [Transforming Financial Data Processing with AI](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/financial-data-automation): Transform bank statements into investor-ready financial reports automatically. Save 10+ hours weekly with AI-powered Excel automation.
- [Claude vs Shortcut: A Detailed Comparison](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/claude-vs-shortcut): Detailed comparison of Claude vs Shortcut for Excel tasks. Learn when to use each AI tool, key differences, and which delivers better results.
- [Excel Plug-in and Updates](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/excel-plugin-updates): Shortcut Excel plugin now available! Plus 90%+ formula accuracy, built-in help system, and major performance improvements. Try free today.
- [Analyst in Your Pocket](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/analyst-in-pocket): VPs and Senior Partners use Shortcut like having an analyst on-demand. Start complex Excel models before meetings, review in 10-30 minutes.
- [Building a Working Transformer Model in Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/transformer-in-excel): Complete transformer neural network built entirely in Excel. Learn how advanced AI architectures work using spreadsheet formulas. Tutorial included.
- [Using Templates](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/templates-power): Save custom Excel templates, share across teams, and deploy instantly. From P&L formats to branded reports, scale your workflows with enterprise controls.
- [Anything a Human Can Do](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/anything-human-can-do): Shortcut Excel AI handles any spreadsheet task - from financial models to creative templates. See examples beyond finance work.
- [Excel Understanding Breakthrough](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/excel-understanding): Shortcut solves the XLSX problem that stumps other AI. Native Excel understanding enables perfect file cloning and manipulation.
- [20% Better](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/20-percent-better): Shortcut Excel AI improved 20% since launch: 90%+ formula accuracy, multi-agent verification, 99% uptime. See the latest improvements.
- [Shortcut Beats McKinsey & Goldman Analysts 89.1%](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/analyst-benchmark): Groundbreaking study: Shortcut outperforms first-year McKinsey & Goldman analysts 89.1% (220:27) in blind testing. Humans given 10x more time.
- [Introducing Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/intro): Shortcut Excel AI outperforms Goldman & McKinsey analysts 89.1% in blind testing. Automate complex spreadsheets in minutes. Try free today.
- [Shortcut AI](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/shortcut-ai): Shortcut AI automates complex Excel work in minutes, outperforming McKinsey & Goldman analysts 89.1%. DCF models, data processing, 90%+ accuracy.
- [Shortcut Excel](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/shortcut-excel): Shortcut Excel brings AI directly into spreadsheets. Build DCF models, automate formulas, process data—all in minutes with 90%+ accuracy.
- [TryShortcut AI](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/tryshortcut-ai): Try Shortcut free: 3 tasks/day, no credit card. Build DCF models, automate spreadsheets, test AI Excel automation on real work.
- [Shortcut AI Pricing](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/shortcut-ai-pricing): Shortcut AI pricing: Free (3 tasks/day), Pro ($49/month), Team ($199/month), Enterprise (custom). Compare features, ROI, and choose the right plan.
- [Excel AI](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/excel-ai): Excel AI automates spreadsheet work: financial models in minutes, 90%+ formula accuracy, natural language commands. Complete guide to AI-powered Excel.
- [AI for Excel](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/ai-for-excel): AI for Excel eliminates 10-20 hours of weekly spreadsheet work. Build models in minutes, automate formulas, process data with 90%+ accuracy.
- [Financial Modeling AI](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/financial-modeling-ai): Financial modeling AI builds DCF, LBO, and valuation models in minutes with 90%+ accuracy. Automate what takes analysts 4-8 hours.
- [LBO Model](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/lbo-model): Build complete LBO models in 8-15 minutes with AI. Automate debt schedules, cash sweeps, and returns analysis with 90%+ accuracy.
- [Spreadsheet AI](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/spreadsheet-ai): Spreadsheet AI automates Excel and Google Sheets work. Build models in minutes, process data automatically, 90%+ accuracy.
- [Three Statement Model](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/three-statement-model): Build fully integrated three-statement models in 7-10 minutes with AI. P&L, balance sheet, cash flow—all balanced automatically.
- [Excel AI Assistant](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/excel-ai-assistant): Excel AI assistant available 24/7. Build financial models, generate formulas, process data through natural language commands.
- [DCF Model](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/dcf-model): Build DCF valuations in 5-10 minutes. AI automates revenue projections, WACC, terminal value, sensitivity tables with 90%+ accuracy.
- [Processing 50+ PDFs Simultaneously with Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/pdf-upload): Upload 50+ PDFs at once—CIMs, 10-Ks, market research. Shortcut parses 100+ page documents and populates your financial models automatically.
- [Build Faster with Custom Templates in Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/import-templates): Import your firm's Excel templates and save them for reuse. Maintain consistency and speed up recurring financial analyses by 80%.
- [Targeted Edits: Precision Model Updates in Seconds](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/targeted-edits): Select specific cells or tabs and edit only those sections. Update models with new data in seconds without touching the rest of your work.
- [Shortcut's Excel Plugin: AI Native in Microsoft Excel](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/excel-plugin): Native Excel plugin via Microsoft partnership. Edit .xlsx files directly, run macros, use all Excel features with AI built-in.
- [EDGAR Integration: Pull SEC Filings Directly into Your Models](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/edgar-sec-filings): Pull SEC filings automatically—10-Ks, 10-Qs, and more. Shortcut fetches from EDGAR, parses financials, and populates your models.
- [Web Data Integration: Real-Time Market Intelligence in Your Models](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/web-data): AI searches the web for market data, analyst estimates, and industry benchmarks. Get real-time intelligence in your financial models automatically.
- [Privacy and Data Security at Shortcut](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/privacy): Individual Pro and Teams users control whether their conversations help train Shortcut. We never share your models with third parties. SOC 2 Type II compliant.
- [Prompt Library: One-Click Workflows for Recurring Analysis](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/prompt-library): Save your best prompts and reuse them instantly. Turn complex workflows into one-click actions for recurring analyses.
- [AI Preferences: Your Firm's Formatting Standards, Automatically Applied](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/ai-preferences): Set your formatting preferences once—colors, highlights, number formats. Every model Shortcut builds automatically follows your firm's standards.
- [Ask Mode: Query Your Models Like a Database](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/ask-mode): Ask questions about your models in plain English. Get instant answers with cell references—no more hunting through tabs and formulas.
- [Ask Mode for Learning: Your Personal Financial Modeling Tutor](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/ask-mode-learning): Learn financial modeling by asking questions about completed models. Upload an LBO, ask how WACC works, get step-by-step explanations.
- [Shortcut Plugin vs Web App: Choosing the Right Platform](https://shortcut.ai/blog/posts/shortcut-plugin-webapp): Excel plugin vs web app—detailed comparison. Plugin for native Excel integration and macros, web app for cross-platform collaboration.

## Template Categories

- [Finance & Calculators](https://shortcut.ai/templates/category/finance-calculators): Mortgage calculators, loan amortization schedules, compound interest projectors, and retirement planners with built-in formulas and interactive charts.
- [Accounting & Financial Statements](https://shortcut.ai/templates/category/accounting-financial-statements): Income statements, balance sheets, cash flow reports, and expense trackers with linked formulas, variance analysis, and presentation-ready layouts.
- [Business Operations](https://shortcut.ai/templates/category/business-operations): Inventory trackers, purchase orders, checklists, SWOT analyses, and risk matrices to streamline daily operations and strategic planning.
- [Budgeting](https://shortcut.ai/templates/category/budgeting): Personal, household, business, and project budgets with automatic calculations, variance tracking, and visual spending summaries.
- [Invoicing & Billing](https://shortcut.ai/templates/category/invoicing-billing): Professional invoice templates with auto-calculated totals, tax handling, payment tracking, and print-ready layouts for freelancers and businesses.
- [Project Management](https://shortcut.ai/templates/category/project-management): Gantt charts, task trackers, WBS templates, and critical path analyses with dependency tracking and milestone management.
- [Scheduling & Time Tracking](https://shortcut.ai/templates/category/scheduling-time-tracking): Work schedules, timesheets, shift planners, and calendar layouts with automatic hour calculations and attendance tracking.
- [Data Visualization & Analytics](https://shortcut.ai/templates/category/data-visualization-analytics): Dashboards, chart templates, Monte Carlo simulations, and analytical tools for turning raw data into actionable visual insights.

## Policies and Support

- [Support](https://shortcut.ai/support): Help with Shortcut accounts, billing, workspaces, and product questions.
- [Privacy Center](https://shortcut.ai/privacy): Shortcut privacy, security, compliance, and data-handling information.
- [Privacy Policy](https://shortcut.ai/privacy/policy): The Shortcut privacy policy.
- [Terms and Conditions](https://shortcut.ai/terms): The terms governing use of Shortcut.
- [Email Shortcut Support](mailto:support@shortcut.ai): Contact the Shortcut support team.