Build vs. Buy Analysis in Excel with Shortcut AI
Jake Heller
Jan 8, 2026See how Shortcut AI, an Excel plugin, can create a comprehensive build versus buy financial analysis model for commercial real estate in under 10 minutes. This video demonstrates the AI's ability to generate detailed scenarios, assumptions, and comparisons with just a few prompts.
Transcript
00:00
We're using Shortcut AI for a build versus buy analysis.
00:08
All right, so at the top right corner here we have our shortcut plugin.
00:12
And for those of you that don't know, Shortcut is an Excel AI agent.
00:17
It lives natively in Excel.
00:18
You communicate with it the same way you would with Chat gbt.
00:23
And, I already prepared the prompt here with my AI girlfriend, Claude.
00:28
For those of you that don't know, I think Claude is the best.
00:31
It's the most underrated out there at the moment.
00:35
so we are going to take that prompt, we're going to throw it into shortcut here.
00:39
I wish you could make this chat box a little bit bigger.
00:42
But, anyways, won't dwell on that.
00:45
Create a build versus buy financial analysis model for commercial real estate with the following components.
00:49
Build scenario, boom, boom, Buy scenario, boom, boom.
00:52
It's a pretty straightforward ask here.
00:55
We're not getting too complicated by any means.
00:58
What I don't know is.
01:00
Okay, so power, that's fine.
01:01
We're not going to change anything there.
01:03
what's great about shortcut is we could have a prompt gallery.
01:05
So that's brilliant, right?
01:07
We could save a prompt like this for the future if we wanted to.
01:12
AI rules.
01:13
I'm not sure what this is.
01:15
Oh, this is just instructions.
01:16
That's okay.
01:17
We're not going to do anything with that.
01:18
Anyways, I'm going to hit set.
01:19
Okay, watch Shortcut.
01:22
Go to work.
01:23
It does this so easily.
01:26
So easily.
01:27
and you'll see here that you get 250 daily credits, which is actually quite a few credits.
01:35
We only use 50 for this, analysis here.
01:38
And what's nice is that it always is going to ask us to help clarify.
01:42
Well, not always.
01:43
I lied a lot of the time.
01:45
What building size, square footage should I use as the default assumption?
01:49
Whatever, really.
01:52
do 50,000.
01:52
Doesn't matter.
01:53
What property type should the model be configured for?
01:55
Let's go with multifamily.
01:56
What analysis period should I use?
01:58
Let's do five years.
01:59
And should the model include monthly or annual cash flow?
02:02
Can we do both?
02:03
Or she could do both.
02:05
For now, let's just do annual.
02:06
What discount rate should I use for NPV?
02:09
I guess 8%.
02:10
And then let's just hit continue.
02:11
We're not going to add anything else.
02:14
And now let's watch it go to work.
02:17
So it's going to create a to do list for us here and then you'll watch it.
02:20
Just start cranking.
02:21
I love shortcut Looks like it came up with eight different tasks here.
02:25
Now it's going to set up the workbook structure.
02:28
As you can see.
02:29
Bang.
02:30
Look at all those tabs that just got populated here.
02:34
So it's going to show us.
02:36
It's going to have all of our inputs and assumptions.
02:38
It's going to show a build scenario, buy scenario.
02:40
It's going to compare the two and then it'll show us sensitivity analysis.
02:43
So let's watch it go to work.
02:46
and let's see.
02:46
It's going to start.
02:47
So it's going to start with the COVID sheet.
02:49
Great.
02:49
So it's already just adding information there.
02:51
27 cells.
02:52
It's modified in about 10 seconds.
02:55
And we could extend our task list here.
02:58
So look how clean that is.
02:59
Bang.
03:00
Very easy.
03:01
Look at this to do list.
03:03
Can't click it.
03:04
That's okay.
03:05
now it's going to build the inputs and assumptions tab.
03:07
So just watch.
03:08
In one moment it's going to launch that.
03:11
There it goes.
03:13
Firing, 25 cells in a matter of seconds.
03:17
Beautiful.
03:18
It's going to keep working at that and then it'll format it nicely the same way that it did with our cover sheet.
03:24
So this is nice.
03:25
It's going to show us exactly how to use this model.
03:27
Wonderful.
03:28
We don't need this sheet one, but I'm assuming that it'll come back and delete that for us.
03:33
So it doesn't matter at the moment.
03:35
So it's still just working on our inputs and assumptions here.
03:37
I just want you guys to see, like, how nicely it gets formatted so quickly.
03:42
Unless I'm wondering they do the formatting at the end.
03:44
Nope, it's formatting.
03:46
Beautiful.
03:47
Check that out.
03:48
So here's all of our assumptions.
03:50
Okay.
03:51
These are all hard coded from what it seems.
03:56
Yep.
03:57
And now what it's going to do.
03:59
And now what it's going to do is start building our build scenario.
04:05
See shortcuts.
04:06
So great because you could build custom models for like any type of analysis.
04:11
Same with index, but we're talking about shortcut here.
04:14
So build versus buy.
04:16
You know, should I build this adu?
04:18
Right.
04:19
Like these are all barriers to entry for a lot of people.
04:22
Let's assume you own an apartment building, right.
04:24
And you want to build an adu, which.
04:27
That's a great idea.
04:28
I'm going to write that down on my notion board actually.
04:31
for, we're going to do a model build model using shortcut to see if ADU makes sense.
04:46
Great idea.
04:47
Why not?
04:49
you can model like Any scenario, which is so cool and easily, right?
04:53
So just back to that quick example.
04:54
Assume you own an apartment building and you're thinking about building an adu.
04:57
You don't know where to start.
04:59
Okay.
04:59
So you could build a model which helps you analyze that.
05:02
Now it's only as good as the inputs you put into it, right?
05:04
You could put you know, $50 square foot construction costs and that's just not going to do a whole lot of good for you.
05:09
But at least it gives you infrastructure in a way to actually analyze it.
05:15
That's the power.
05:16
So if you, if you know how to use these tools, these AI tools, if you know how to prompt them, how to work, them, when to work them, etc.
05:22
I think there's a lot of arbitrage at the moment.
05:24
So that's, that's exciting.
05:25
My favorite part in all this too is when the formatting happens because it just turns from like mugh to you know, beautiful.
05:32
So you'll see that in just a moment.
05:39
So we got our formatting looks pretty clean.
05:41
It's going to continue working at that.
05:43
We'll come back when it is ready.
06:11
All right, checking back in.
06:13
So now we have modeled our buy scenario as well.
06:17
And it, what it looks like it's gonna do, we're gonna shorten that.
06:22
now it's running our comparison analysis here.
06:25
So we're moving pretty quick through this.
06:28
it's been about, I don't know, 6ish minutes.
06:31
And in 6 minutes we have our cover page, our inputs and assumptions, our build scenario analysis here with all of these hardcore beautiful formulas.
06:44
I don't know why I just said hardcore.
06:45
They're not that hardcore.
06:49
that's a good calculation there.
06:52
okay.
06:53
And then we have our buy scenario here and now we're working on our comparison analysis.
06:58
So this is interesting.
06:59
Overall recommendation buy.
07:01
So this is.
07:01
Yeah, look how cool that is.
07:02
Look at that calculation as well.
07:04
So it's basically saying in this case every scenario makes more sense to buy.
07:09
Now these are dummy numbers, right?
07:11
We'll use actual numbers when we're modeling this.
07:15
But I think this is pretty amazing here.
07:19
And we got six of eight tasks completed here.
07:23
Tasks, that's such a hard word to say.
07:26
tasks with an S.
07:28
Task is easy, tasks is not.
07:31
Wow, look at that.
07:31
Sensitivity analysis.
07:33
Holy crap.
07:33
Oh, excuse me.
07:34
Holy.
07:37
Seven of eight tasks done.
07:38
So we're almost done with this.
07:39
It hasn't even been 10 minutes.
07:41
And look at this modeling, this professional modeling that's been done here.
07:45
Again, I think why these tools are so great at the moment is because, sure, you have a model, right?
07:52
It's robust, it's comprehensive, it could do a lot.
07:55
Okay.
07:56
But there's so many different data points to analyze, so many different scenarios to analyze.
08:03
And being able to do that by just prompting is amazing.
08:06
It's a cheat code, right?
08:08
Like, for me, some things that come to mind just being in the land development space are, you know, different deal structures with these home builders.
08:16
And they are as complicated as.
08:19
As it gets.
08:20
And, you know, the structure of these deals when you're dealing with publicly traded home builders are just so nuanced.
08:29
And so it's.
08:30
It's hard to model that out.
08:32
In fact, it's like, as hard as it gets.
08:34
You oftentimes need to hire, like, I mean, if you don't have an analyst who's like, very comfortable and familiar with this stuff, you gotta hire an analyst who's.
08:42
Who's done it a thousand times.
08:43
So, like, it's just brought us back to our cover here, and we have quick results.
08:47
so buy scenario net present values that build scenario net present value is that quick and easy modeling.
08:52
All done.
08:52
I mean, in less than 10 minutes.
08:54
So, great template for us.
08:56
Really great template for us.
08:59
And excited to just be building a lot more of these cool guys.
09:03
Thanks for tuning in.
09:03
Actually, before we go, what is this Add to focus?
09:06
I don't know what that means, but I wonder if we can just quickly add that prompt.
09:10
Let's see.
09:11
we'll skip it for now.