SShortcut

Shortcut is an AI agent for Excel that turns one written request into a finished workbook: a DCF model, a cleaned dataset or a formatted dashboard. It costs nothing for 3 tasks a day, $39 a month on yearly billing for unlimited tasks, and $199 a month for a 5-person team. It suits analysts in finance, real estate and operations who spend hours building models from scratch.

The main thing to plan for is data access. Shortcut works on the files you upload or the workbook you have open, and its pricing page lists no native connectors to databases or finance systems. We rate it 8.7/10 on our scale, with high marks for published pricing and the free tier and a neutral user score because no allowed review site lists it yet.

Shortcut by the Numbers

Shortcut is young, so most public figures come from its own pricing page, its marketplace listings and its parent company’s funding coverage.

Two figures matter for a buyer. The $2,000-a-month enterprise floor sets a clear budget line for larger firms, and the $39 yearly rate for an individual analyst is low next to the hours a model build usually takes. The 7K+ Sheets installs show early use outside Excel as well.

The funding tells you who stands behind the product. Fundamental Research Labs is a research company working on multi-agent systems, and Shortcut is one of two products it ships. A $33 million round gives it room to keep improving the Excel agent.

Inside a Shortcut Task From Prompt to Workbook

Shortcut treats each request as a job. You describe the outcome, it plans the steps, builds the workbook and hands back a file you can open in Excel. The flow below follows Shortcut’s pricing page and its marketplace listings.

Starting a Job in the Browser or in Excel

On the Free plan, work happens in the web app: you sign up with an email, upload a file or start blank, and type a request. Paid plans add the Excel plugin for Windows and Mac, so the same agent runs inside the workbook you already have open. A Google Sheets add-on is also listed on the Google Workspace Marketplace.

What Shortcut Does on Its Own

Once it has the request, Shortcut lays out tabs, writes formulas, fills assumptions, links schedules and applies formatting. The jobs it advertises include DCF, LBO and budget models, data processing and consolidation, formula generation and debugging, and report formatting with dashboards. The Microsoft listing adds extracting data from PDFs and fixing errors. The Google listing names real estate valuations, rent rolls, cap tables, runway analyses, sales and inventory reports and CRM cleanup.

Refining the Result Over Several Turns

Every plan includes multi-turn editing. If the analyst wants a different discount rate, a new scenario tab or a cleaner chart, they ask, and Shortcut edits the current workbook. The output downloads as .xlsx, so it can go into the firm’s usual review process.

A Worked Example for a Real Estate Analyst

Picture an analyst with a rent roll export and a request to value a 40-unit building. They upload the file and ask Shortcut to build a pro forma with rent growth, vacancy, operating expenses and a 10-year hold with an exit cap rate. Shortcut builds the assumptions tab, the cash flow schedule and the returns summary, and links them with formulas. The analyst checks the vacancy assumption, asks for a sensitivity table on the exit cap rate, and downloads the file. On the Free plan, that is 2 of the 3 daily tasks.

Setting Up Shortcut for a Team

A team rollout follows the plan structure. One person creates the Team workspace, which covers 5 users for $199 a month, and invites colleagues. The shared template library is where most of the value sits: a firm can store its standard LBO, budget or rent roll layout once, and every analyst starts from the same structure. Usage analytics show who runs tasks and how often, and comments and version history keep reviews inside the workspace. Shortcut includes a 1-hour onboarding session and a dedicated Slack channel on Team.

Enterprise buyers go through sales. That tier adds SSO through Okta, Azure AD or Google Workspace, role-based access, audit logs, compliance reporting and API access, and it can run in a VPC, on-premise or in an air-gapped setup. Shortcut also lists custom AI training and a dedicated success manager at that level.

What the Analyst Still Owns

People still choose the assumptions, check the formulas and sign off on anything that goes to a client or an investment committee. Shortcut produces the first full draft and the edits; judgment about the numbers stays with the analyst.

Shortcut Plan Prices and Limits

Shortcut publishes all four tiers on its pricing page.

What Shortcut Costs for Three Kinds of Teams

These scenarios use the published prices only.

• A solo analyst on yearly billing: $39 a month comes to $468 a year for unlimited tasks and the Excel plugin. Monthly billing at $49 comes to $588 a year.
• An 8-person deal team: Team covers 5 users for $199, and 3 more users add $105, for $304 a month or $3,648 a year.
• A 25-person finance department: Enterprise typically starts at $2,000 a month, or $24,000 a year, which works out to $80 per user per month at 25 users.

Non-profits pay half on Professional and Team, so the solo yearly plan would cost about $234 a year. The money-back guarantee runs 30 days, which is enough time for a pilot on live work.

Hidden costs are small but real. Free users wait 2 to 5 minutes per task and get 3 tasks a day, so a busy analyst will hit the cap before lunch. Teams that grow past 5 users pay $35 per head, which adds up faster than the base price suggests: 15 users on Team would cost $199 plus $350, or $549 a month. At around 25 users, the Enterprise floor of $2,000 a month becomes the next step, and the jump buys SSO, audit logs and private deployment.

Time is the other cost. Someone has to build the shared templates, write naming rules and check the first few dozen outputs. Budget a week of a senior analyst’s attention for that work before judging the tool.

Shortcut Compared With Claude for Excel, ChatGPT for Excel and Julius AI

Excel agents now come from model makers, from Microsoft itself and from specialists like Shortcut.

Shortcut’s difference is focus. It is built around spreadsheet jobs and offers a free daily allowance plus a team plan with shared templates. The model makers’ add-ins come bundled with a broader assistant subscription, which suits companies that already pay for one. Compare more options on our spreadsheet agents page and in data analysis.

Analysts Who Get the Most From Shortcut

• Investment banking, private equity and corporate finance analysts: DCF, LBO and three-statement models are the jobs Shortcut advertises first.
• Real estate analysts: rent rolls, pro formas and valuations appear in its Google Sheets listing.
• Operations and sales analysts: consolidation, cleanup and dashboard formatting cover a lot of weekly reporting.
• Non-profit finance teams: the 50% discount brings Professional under $25 a month on yearly billing.

Teams That May Choose a Different Excel Agent

• Companies standardized on Microsoft 365 Copilot: Agent Mode in Excel is already part of their licence.
• Teams that need live data pulled from a warehouse or CRM: a connected tool such as Coefficient fits that job.
• Firms that require macros or VBA: confirm with Shortcut how it handles macro-enabled files before committing.

Shortcut Data and Accuracy Considerations

Treat the 90% accuracy figure and the comparison with bank analysts on the pricing page as vendor claims. A fair pilot uses three or four of your own templates and checks formulas cell by cell. Files you upload are processed by Shortcut’s service; regulated firms can look at the Enterprise options for VPC, on-premise or air-gapped deployment and ask for the SOC 2 Type II report.

Plan limits matter too. The Free plan’s 3 tasks a day reset at midnight UTC, which falls mid-afternoon or evening for US users. Team pricing does not state a billing term on the pricing page, so confirm whether it is monthly or yearly.

Prompt injection is a general risk for any spreadsheet agent that reads outside files. A vendor workbook or a downloaded template can carry hidden text meant to steer the agent. Keep a clean copy of important models, review every change before it goes out, and give Shortcut the narrowest file it needs for the job. Firms with strict model-risk rules can ask Shortcut how its audit logs on Enterprise record each task and change.

Shortcut Funding and Product Milestones

In August 2025, Fundamental Research Labs announced a $33 million Series A led by Prosus Ventures, bringing total funding above $40 million. The company said it launched Shortcut, its Excel agent, in 2025, alongside Fairies, a general-purpose agent. The Shortcut pricing page now lists four tiers with a free plan and a team plan for 5 users.

How Shortcut Scores for Spreadsheet Work

Shortcut scores 8.7/10 on our scale. It earns high marks for autonomy, published pricing and a free plan that lets anyone test real tasks. Integrations score lower because it works on the files you bring and does not pull live data from other systems, and user sentiment sits at neutral until allowed review sites collect ratings.

For an analyst who builds models every week, $39 a month is a modest test. Start on the Free plan with a model you know well, then move to Professional if the drafts match your firm’s layout.

Analyst Questions About Shortcut

Is Shortcut Free to Use?

Yes. The Free plan costs $0 and allows 3 tasks a day in the browser, with .xlsx download. The Excel plugin and unlimited tasks start on Professional at $49 a month, or $39 a month billed yearly.

Does Shortcut Work Inside Excel and Google Sheets?

Yes. Paid plans include an Excel plugin for Windows and Mac, and a Shortcut AI add-on is listed on the Google Workspace Marketplace. All plans can use the web app.

What Financial Models Can Shortcut Build?

Shortcut lists DCF, LBO and budget templates on its pricing page, and its Sheets listing adds pro formas, real estate valuations, rent rolls, cap tables and runway analyses.

Is Shortcut Secure Enough for Client Data?

Shortcut states SOC 2 Type II compliance. Enterprise adds SSO, role-based access, audit logs and VPC, on-premise or air-gapped deployment for firms with stricter rules.

How Does Shortcut Differ From Claude for Excel?

Shortcut is a standalone spreadsheet agent with its own free tier and team plan. Claude for Excel comes with a paid Claude subscription and adds cell-level citations and finance data connectors.