Jake HellerJan 8, 2026
Build vs. Buy Analysis in Excel with Shortcut AI
Build vs. Buy Analysis in Excel with Shortcut AI
Jake Heller·Jan 8, 2026
See 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
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
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.