PDF Upload & Processing

Shortcut processes 50+ PDFs simultaneously, extracting financial data from CIMs, 10-Ks, and reports to automatically build Excel models in minutes instead of hours, eliminating manual data transcription entirely.

Financial professionals waste hours manually transcribing data from PDFs into Excel. Whether it's a 200-page Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM), quarterly earnings reports, or market research, the process is tedious and error-prone.

Shortcut eliminates this bottleneck entirely. Upload up to 50+ PDFs simultaneously—each 100+ pages—and watch as Shortcut intelligently parses the data into your preferred model format.

How PDF Processing Works

Our specialized in-house PDF breakdown tool doesn't just extract text—it understands financial document structure. When you upload a CIM or 10-K, Shortcut identifies:

Financial Data

  • • Historical financial statements and line items
  • • Management discussion and analysis (MD&A) sections
  • • Key assumptions and growth projections

Market Intelligence

  • • Market comparables and industry benchmarks
  • • Transaction details and capital structure
  • • Competitive positioning data

Example Prompts:

"Build a three-statement model from these historical financials"

"Update my DCF with the latest 10-K data"

"Extract all financial metrics from this CIM"

Step-by-Step Guide

1

Select Your PDFs

Click the upload button or drag and drop up to 50+ PDFs. Supported formats include:

  • • Financial statements (10-K, 10-Q, annual reports)
  • • CIMs and offering memoranda
  • • Management presentations
  • • Market research reports
  • • Audit reports
2

AI Processing

Shortcut automatically:

  • • Recognizes table structures across different formatting
  • • Handles multi-page tables that span sections
  • • Preserves formula relationships when transcribing
  • • Flags inconsistencies and missing data for review
3

Generate Your Model

Use natural language prompts to build models:

"Build an LBO model from this CIM using our standard template"

Shortcut creates a complete model with extracted data populated in the right cells.

Real-World Applications

Investment Banking

Analysts receive a 150-page CIM on Monday morning. Instead of spending two days building a model from scratch, they upload the CIM to Shortcut with their firm's LBO template. Within minutes, they have a working model ready for refinement.

Private Equity

During diligence, PE associates need to compare target financials against management projections. Upload both the historical audited financials and management's projection deck. Shortcut builds an integrated three-statement model with variance analysis already populated.

Corporate Development

When evaluating acquisition targets, corp dev teams receive financial information in inconsistent formats. Upload all PDFs—regardless of structure—and Shortcut normalizes the data into your company's standard reporting format.

Supported Document Types

  • CIMs and Offering Memoranda:Extract historical financials, build buyer models
  • 10-Ks, 10-Qs, and Annual Reports:Public company analysis and comps
  • Management Presentations:Projection models and scenario planning
  • Audit Reports:Quality of earnings analysis
  • Market Research:Industry assumptions for TAM/SAM calculations

Combine with Other Features

EDGAR Integration

For public companies, combine PDF uploads with our EDGAR integration. Just prompt "pull the last three 10-Ks from Adobe and build a revenue analysis."

Learn about data sources →

Templates

Use your firm's standard models via template imports. Upload PDFs alongside your template for instant population.

Learn about templates →

Ask Mode

Query your PDFs directly: "What was EBITDA margin in Q3 2023?" Get instant answers without manual searching.

Learn about Ask Mode →

Key Takeaways

  • 50+ PDFs Simultaneously - Process entire deal rooms at once
  • 100+ Page Documents - Handle CIMs, 10-Ks, research reports
  • Automatic Extraction - AI identifies financials, tables, and metrics
  • Model Generation - Build complete models from extracted data
  • 5 Minutes vs 2 Days - Eliminate manual transcription entirely

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is PDF extraction?

Our system achieves 95%+ accuracy on financial documents. We benchmark against ex-analysts from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and KKR to ensure output matches professional standards. The AI flags any uncertainties for manual review.

Can it handle scanned PDFs?

Yes, Shortcut includes OCR (Optical Character Recognition) capabilities to process scanned documents. Quality depends on scan resolution, but most professional scans work perfectly.

What about data security?

All PDFs are processed with enterprise-grade encryption. Data is never stored longer than necessary for processing, and we maintain SOC 2 Type II compliance. Your confidential documents remain confidential.

Ready to Try PDF Upload?

The era of manual PDF transcription is over. Let Shortcut handle the data extraction while you focus on analysis and decision-making.

Start Processing PDFs