Below is a brief walk through to make any cash flow model compatible with the upload feature of the Private Equity Waterfall web tool. Once these instructions have been completed. Any excel template will be ready for drag-and-drop integration with the waterfall application. If you would prefer to watch the video, you can do so here.
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Navigate to https://online.cremodels.com/Waterfall. Here we will be downloading the latest template for this integration.
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Click on the text to download the booklet used for integration (see screenshot below). The template has instructions built in which can be used, or you can follow the instructions here.
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Open the excel workbook that you are looking to integrate with the Waterfall.
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Open the file that you downloaded in step 2.
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Right click the tab at the bottom of this workbook called “Waterfall Import” and select “Move or Copy”
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The next dialog will ask you where you would like to copy the file. Under “To book:” use the dropdown to select the underwriting template you wish to use. This is the file you opened in step 3.
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With the correct workbook selected that you wish to copy this into, click OK.
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Now that the Waterfall Import tab has been moved into your template, we will need to source the cash flows from your template into the import tab. This is how we will be able to detect the correct cash flows to bring into the waterfall application. Select the cell on the Waterfall Import tab with month 0 (cell B17), and reference your starting equity requirement for the project. Here I will type in an “=” sign
and then navigate to the correct cell on my levered cash flows. In some models, you may need to reference this required equity first, and then repeat these steps with your first month of cash flow for the remainder of the calculation period (i.e. 120 months).
Below I have selected the correct cell, and will then press ENTER.
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Now you should have at least your first period of cash flow sourced into the Waterfall Import tab. Assuming your monthly levered cash flow is similar to the above screen shot, you can now copy the formula across the remaining cells on the Waterfall Import tab, so that this row will now match your actual monthly levered cash flows.
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Once this is complete, save the excel file as your new template. The integration process is complete. Simply navigate to https://online.cremodels.com/Waterfall, click on the Cash Flows tab, and select “Upload a Model”. Use the browser to select your template and the waterfall app will import the cash flows automatically!
