The Demo Path

Show Somebody

A path you can walk cold, in front of one person, with nothing prepared. Each step says what to do, what to say, and what they will see. If a step fails while they are watching, the line in purple is what to say instead.

Built on 2026-09-17. Every count and date here was read off the files as the page was made, not typed in.

6
Steps
8
Minutes
0
To Prepare
Step 1 · 1 minute

Open It on a Real Address

DO

Go to app.procfinance.com. Type your email, wait for the code, paste it in.

SAY

This is not a file on my laptop. It is a real address with a real sign in, and only the people I put on the list can open it.

THEY SEE

A sign in page, then the front of The App.

IF IT FAILS

If the code is slow, or work mail holds it, say so plainly and open the file on the Mac instead. It is the same product, and the point has already landed.

rests on The Address, The App
Step 2 · 1 minute

Fill It With Data in Front of Them

DO

Download the sample file from the front page and drop it onto The App. Press Begin.

SAY

This file is made up, so I can show it to anyone. The real one is the same shape. Nothing is uploaded: the file never leaves this browser.

THEY SEE

Every screen fills, and the bar across the top lights up.

IF IT FAILS

If the drag does not take, use the file picker instead. If the sample will not download, any spend export with the same columns works.

rests on The Made Up Sample File, The App
Step 3 · 2 minutes

Show the Two Screens People Care About

DO

Analytics first, then Reporting, and open a reporting sheet.

SAY

Analytics is the picture. Reporting is what actually gets sent. All of it came out of the file I dropped in thirty seconds ago.

THEY SEE

Charts that respond to being clicked, then the sheets.

IF IT FAILS

If a screen looks empty it is almost always a filter left on from the previous click. Say that and clear it. Do not hunt for it in silence while they watch.

rests on The Five Screens
Step 4 · 2 minutes

Show the Part a Dashboard Does Not Do

DO

Open Close and Load, and point at a locked month.

SAY

This is the part a dashboard does not do. When a month is locked, a copy of every row is kept, so the number I reported last month is still the same number today even if the source has changed underneath it.

THEY SEE

The close screen, with its locked months.

IF IT FAILS

If nothing is locked on the sample, say so plainly: on the real data there are locked months here, this sample has none. Do not lock one live.

rests on The Close, The Forecast
Step 5 · 1 minute

Show How a Number Gets Believed

DO

Open one of the proof workbooks and click a cell.

SAY

Every figure in what I send is a formula you can click, not a pasted number. If you do not believe a total you can follow it back yourself.

THEY SEE

A formula in the formula bar, not a value.

IF IT FAILS

If you have no workbook to hand, say the rule out loud instead. The rule is the point, not the file.

rests on The Proof Workbooks, The Guard on Real Figures
Step 6 · 1 minute

Say Why It Does Not Break

DO

Nothing to open. Say it and stop.

SAY

There is a check that photographs every screen and refuses anything that moved without being approved, and a gate that will not let a broken version out at all. I do not test this by clicking around and hoping.

THEY SEE

Nothing. This step is one sentence.

IF IT FAILS

There is nothing here that can fail. If you are short of time, this is the step to drop.

rests on The Screenshot Harness, The Gate

Three things worth knowing before you stand in front of anybody. The sample file is made up, so you can show it to anyone without asking permission first. Nothing you load is uploaded anywhere, and saying that out loud answers the question they are already thinking. And if a screen looks empty it is nearly always a filter left on from the previous click, so say that rather than hunting for it in silence. This page is generated from the same inventory as What Is Here, so it cannot describe a thing that is no longer there. The buttons under each step are the same doors that step rests on, so you can rehearse the whole path from this page.