Ask Stratavor
Ask in plain words. Get the answer and its working.
Ask Stratavor answers questions about your business from your own books. The figures come from the same engine as your reports, and every one of them says where it came from.
On every plan: 250 questions a month on Essentials, 500 on Growth and no limit on Enterprise.
Why did revenue fall in October?
Revenue fell €119,600 (6.1%) to €1.84m. Two customers explain more than all of it. Customer 07 has not been invoiced since 18 September, which took out €84,200. Customer 12 ordered less for the third month running, down €52,900. Everything else grew by €17,500.
Scripted exchanges on illustrative figures. The business and its customers are fictional.
Where an answer comes from
Stratavor works the figures out first and writes the words around them second. Here is one figure, from the ledger to the answer.
1
Your ledger
214 invoice lines
October's sales, read from your accounting system, read-only, with September's beside them.
2
The engine
€1,961,900 less €1,842,300
Worked out by the same engine that writes your reports, before a word is written.
3
The check
The words against the figures
For revenue, margin, operating profit, costs, cash and what changed, the wording is checked against the engine's figures. If it strays, you see the engine's own answer instead.
4
Your answer
Revenue fell €119,600 (6.1%)
With where each figure came from, the basis the books are kept on and when they last synced.
Three things it will not do
An answer you cannot trust is worse than none. So Ask Stratavor is built to be plain about the question, the books and itself.
It will not accept a wrong premise
If a question assumes something the books do not show, the answer says so first.
Why did our costs go up in October?
They went down. Costs were €1,703,300 in October, €98,600 lower than in September. Cost of sales fell €59,900 with revenue, and overheads fell €38,700.
It will not guess
Where the books cannot answer, it says what is missing and what they do show. A missing figure is never shown as nought.
How many months of runway do we have?
I can't give you runway from these books. Runway needs a cash forecast, and the ledger records what has happened, not what will. Cash at bank was €1.12m at 31 October, against €1.21m at the end of September, and €120,000 above your floor.
It will not pass off old figures
Every answer carries when the books last synced and the basis they are kept on. If they have not synced for a day, it says the figures may be out of date.
How much cash do we have?
€1.12m at 31 October, from your bank accounts as they stood when the books synced at 06:10 on 1 November. It is the balance at the month end, not a forecast.
Scripted exchanges on illustrative figures. The business and its customers are fictional.
Ask about anything your reports cover
It answers from the reports on your plan, and from your budget once it is loaded.
Revenue and margin
Every plan- Is revenue up or down on last month?
- Why did gross margin fall?
Costs
Every plan- Are our costs rising?
- Which overheads moved most?
Cash and money owed
Every plan- How much cash do we have?
- Who owes us the most?
Customers
Every plan- Who are our biggest customers?
- Which customers explain the fall?
Your budget
Growth and Enterprise- Why is operating profit behind plan?
- Which costs are over budget?
Risk
Growth and Enterprise- Which risks need attention this month?
- What should I raise at the board?
Questions
Where do the answers come from?
From your own books, through the same engine that writes your reports. Stratavor works the figures out first and writes the words around them. For revenue, gross margin, operating profit, costs, cash and what changed, the wording is checked against the engine's figures before you see it, and if it strays you see the engine's own answer instead. Every answer says where its figures came from.
What happens if I ask something the books can't answer?
It says so, says what is missing, and tells you what the books do show. It never fills a gap with an estimate or shows a missing figure as nought. Runway is the usual example: it needs a cash forecast, and Stratavor is not a forecasting tool.
Does it know our budget?
Yes, once your budget is loaded, with Growth and Enterprise. Upload the spreadsheet you already keep: Stratavor reads its layout, maps each line to your accounts and asks about any line it cannot place. From then on it answers against plan as well as against last month.
How many questions can we ask?
250 questions a month on Essentials, 500 on Growth and no limit on Enterprise.
Can we use an answer in the board pack?
Yes. Any answer can be copied or exported, and it will draft a paragraph for the pack when you ask it to, written from the same figures as your reports.
Does it remember earlier questions?
Yes. Each conversation is kept in your history, where you can pick it up again, rename it or delete it. It also suggests a follow-up question after each answer.
Ask your own books a question.
Connect your accounting system and ask about your own business in the first session. The 7-day free trial is of Essentials, with Ask Stratavor included and no card needed.