SELF-RATING™ A WEB-BASED BUSINESS RATING AND PRE-ALARM SYSTEM
USER GUIDE
January 2011 Version: 1.0
SELF-RATING™ User Guide
Disclaimer Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of ONTONIX S.r.l. ONTONIX provides this document “as is,” without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, its particular purpose. ONTONIX reserves the right to make improvements and/or changes to this manual, or to the products and/or the programs described in this manual, at any time. THE SELF-RATING REPORT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND ONTONIX S.R.L. MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY WITH RESPECT TO ITS ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR CURRENTNESS. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL ONTONIX S.R.L. BE LIABLE FOR THE RESULTS OF YOUR USE OR MISUSE OF THE REPORT, INCLUDING ANY USE CONTRARY TO NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL LAW; YOUR INABILITY OR FAILURE TO CONDUCT BUSINESS; OR FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. THE REPORT MAY NOT BE RE-SOLD IN ANY FORM OR MATTER WHATSOEVER.
Index
Chapter 1
Getting Started ......................................................... 1
Chapter 2
Data For Self-Rating ............................................... 3
Before Running Self-Rating .................................................................. 3 Using Analysis Templates ..................................................................... 4
Chapter 3
Running Self-Rating ................................................ 6
Self-Rating User Guide
1 Chapter 1
Getting Started
About SELF-RATING™ Self-rating is the World’s first internet-based service that allows companies to diagnose and expose the hidden fragilities of their business models. The service helps businesses protect themselves from the dangers of excessive complexity which is the primary source of exposure in a turbulent economy.
Self-Rating Highlights:
Fast and Easy to use The process is fast – it takes one minute. Using ready-to-use templates the process of self-rating takes a few minutes.
Objective One algorithm for everyone – you use data you trust. The service is objective since the User is the only human in the loop.
Dynamic A conventional rating process is typically carried out once a year. But in today’s turbulent and fast economy this is not enough. With Self-Rating quarterly, even monthly ratings can be performed almost in real-time.
Accessible to everyone The idea behind Self-Rating is to reach every corner of the global economy, including small and medium enterprises. This is why Self-Rating is affordable and is available on the Internet.
1
Self-Rating User Guide
Service Features Data Type and Size Self-Rating supports exclusively data in Microsoft Excel 2003 format. The analysis is limited to 50 parameters (columns) and 50 samples (rows). Spreadsheets of 10 rows (or less) and 10 columns (or less), are processed free of charge.
Products Standard two-page Rating Report in pdf format. Business Structure Map. This is a binary file which may be viewed interactively using MAPVIEW™. MAPVIEW™, an interactive tool for Business Structure Map navigation.
FREE Analysis Templates Convenient MS-Excel templates for fast data entry. Templates for SME, Generic Corporation and Retail Bank.
Service Pricing Rating Report – 1 credit Business Structure Map – 2 credits MAPVIEW™ - free of charge
Confidentiality and Data Handling Uploaded data is never stored. Uploaded data is destroyed immediately after processing. Parameter names are optional and data may be processed with or without text in the first row.
2
Self-Rating User Guide
2 Chapter 2
Data For Self-Rating
Before Running Self-Rating 1. Read the present User Guide. The White Paper, which may be downloaded from the Home Page of our website, provides an excellent introduction to Self-Rating. 2. Make sure you have at least two business parameters you wish to analyze and at least 12 (twelve) samples per parameter.
Preparing the Data In order to perform a self-rating analysis of a business you must prepare data in appropriate format. Self-rating processes data arranged in the form of rectangular arrays such as MS-Excel spreadsheet. The columns represent business parameters. An example of business parameters in the case of an SME can be the following:
Orders Backlog end of period Value of production Revenues Costs for purchases Costs for services Personnel costs Financial expenses Etc.
3
Self-Rating User Guide
It is of course up to the User to select a significant set of parameters that reflect correctly the functioning and performance of a business. For each of these parameters at least twelve samples are required. If you measure their values once every month then you data should span one year. In the case of quarterly measurements, three years of data will be needed. A small example is illustrated below.
Note that alphanumeric characters or text may be introduced only into the first row of the spreadsheet. The quarters, in the above example, are indicated exclusively for illustration purposes and must not be introduced alongside the data. Do not introduce images or graphs.
Important Note Data must be introduced into the left-most worksheet. Data must be in Microsoft Excel 2003 format.
Using Analysis Templates For User’s convenience three MS-Excel templates are provided and may be downloaded free of charge. The templates are based on typical parameters that are adopted in the following types of business:
4
Self-Rating User Guide
Small/Medium-sized Enterprise Generic corporation Retail bank
Templates may of course be modified to suit User’s needs and are to be regarded as mere indications. It is not necessary to provide variable names. In other words, you may upload a spreadsheet containing only numbers.
5
Self-Rating User Guide
3 Chapter 3
Running Self-Rating
The Process Self-rating is a very simple 4-step process: 1. Download an MS-Excel template and populate it with data. In alternative, prepare your own data. 2. Upload the data for a format check. 3. Submit the data for processing. 4. Upon completion, download the Rating Report or the Business Structure Map or both.
The above process is the same regardless of whether you are running a free-of-charge analysis, which limits the data size to 10 rows and 10 columns, or a full analysis. In order to run self-rating you must of course go to the following webpage: http://www.rate-a-business.com
Example The self-rating process is performed in the central part of our website
6
Self-Rating User Guide where you may find four sliding panels which move from right to left as you complete the various steps of the process. You may click on the white vertical bars on the panels to see the process before you proceed. The process is explained in the case of free-of-charge analysis.
Step 1: Download Template As mentioned, Users may either download a template or prepare their own. Once the data has been prepared, click on “Proceed” in the first panel illustrated below.
Step 2: Upload Data and Format Check You are now ready to upload your MS-Excel spreadsheet. When the file has been selected, click on “Format check” in order to verify if the data format and size are correct.
7
Self-Rating User Guide
If the format of the data is correct the following panel will appear, confirming that you may proceed to the next step by clicking on “Proceed”.
Step 3: Process Data Your data has passed the format check and may now be submitted to our server for processing. After having selected the items you wish to obtain you may start processing at any time by clicking on “Proceed” in the panel below.
Once the data has been processed – this typically requires one to two
8
Self-Rating User Guide minutes, depending on the data size and speed of your internet connection, the following panel appears.
At this point you may proceed to the last step and download the results of your self-rating.
Step 4: Download Results The last step of the process is completed by clicking on “Download� in order to obtain the results of the analysis.
In the case of analyses comprising more than 10 rows and/or 10 columns you must login with your username and password. Once your data has passed the format check, the following panel will allow you to select the items you wish to purchase:
9
Self-Rating User Guide
Running larger cases may take a few minutes. For this reason, you will be notified via e-mail that your analyses are available for download from you reserved area of the website, as indicated in the panel below.
An example of reserved area is indicated in the image below, where four tabs may be noticed.
10
Self-Rating User Guide Under “History� you will find all your analyses listed in chronological order. An icon next to a zipped file indicates that the file has been downloaded. The date of the download is also indicated. Note that the original data is not stored. In order to download your results just click on the icon next to the zipped file name.
11