What we need from each service provider

The information Catalyst Platform needs from Aurora Capital, and from each service provider or adviser after it, to show accountants which clients may be a fit and to send a client's information only when the client has agreed. Aurora is a financial adviser (an authorised financial services provider) as well as a source of finance, so this template covers both.

At a glance

One specification per service provider (a "service provider" below). The right-hand column shows what the dashboard uses for Aurora Capital until Aurora confirms its own.

What we need In short Draft criteria for Aurora
Kind Service provider. Today this changes only the wording Set as a service provider in the current draft; Aurora is an adviser, so this is set when its specification is written
Base criteria Which clients you would consider at all, as plain rules on checks, figures and signals Turnover under R50m; at least 3 months of figures; data reliability 70 or more; at least 1 month of cash cover; one of two checks found; not "Risk to the business continuing"
Opportunity rules Your own named triggers, each with its threshold and the product it leads to None yet. Aurora's 130 advice triggers have no thresholds
Product catalogue Your solutions, product lines and products, entered once To be loaded from Aurora's spreadsheet
Fields Which items of information you want, from the list below 17 fields, including the legal and trading name
File format How the file is laid out CSV, comma separated, with a header row
Delivery channel How the file reaches you To be agreed with Aurora, then built
Consent purposes and wording What the client agrees to, in words counsel has approved Draft purpose and draft wording, to be approved
Withdrawals contact Who we tell when a client withdraws consent To be named by Aurora
Offer format What an offer contains and how it comes back Captured by Catalyst staff by hand

How a service provider is set up

A service provider is configuration, not code. Catalyst staff set it up in the service provider library in the staff console, choosing only from what the platform already offers: the 59 fields below, the published versions of the standard checks, and the signals. A second staff member approves the draft, and it is then published as a new version of your specification. The person who drafted it can't approve it. Earlier versions are kept, and every step is recorded in the audit trail.

Criteria and opportunity rules

Your base criteria decide which clients you would consider at all. Your opportunity rules are your own triggers: each one names something you could offer, such as a policy review or finance. An opportunity is shown to the accountant only when the client meets your base criteria and that rule, together with every condition met and why. A service provider without opportunity rules has one: its base criteria. Write each rule in plain words. A rule can use:

A test can be "at least", "at most", "equals" or "one of", and rules combine as "all of", "any of" and "none of". Rules cannot use a name or an exact amount: they run on figures that don't identify the business. Opportunities are shown to the accountant only, sit apart from the findings, and never change a finding or a recommendation.

Base criteria

# Rule, in plain words Uses (check, figure or signal) Threshold, with units All of / any of / none of
e.g. 1 Turnover between R5m and R50m Turnover range R5–20m or R20–50m All of
e.g. 2 At least a year of figures Months of figures 12 or more All of
e.g. 3 Customers paying more slowly, or cash tied up Checks: Customers paying more slowly; Cash tied up in working capital Found this month Any of
e.g. 4 No going-concern warning Check: Risk to the business continuing Found this month None of

The examples above are illustrative. The draft criteria for Aurora are: turnover under R5m, R5–20m or R20–50m; at least 3 months of figures; data reliability of 70 or more; at least 1 month of cash cover; "Cash tied up in working capital" or "Customers paying more slowly" found; and "Risk to the business continuing" not found. None of these numbers is Aurora's.

Please also tell us how turnover should be measured for the turnover range. We propose the financial year's revenue to date, scaled up to a full year, in rand. That is how it is worked out today.

Opportunity rules

One row per trigger. You can have up to 200.

Your id Name Product (from your catalogue) Priority Why it is an opportunity Applies to Rule and threshold, with units Fields the lead carries Relies on health information?
e.g. TE-028 Insurance spend low against turnover Commercial: full policy review High, medium or low Shown to the accountant, in plain words Business, owner, shareholder or member, key person, staff, trust, or non-profit Insurance as a share of revenue at most 0.3% Legal name; insurance as a share of revenue; month the figures are to No (a "yes" can't be published)

The threshold in the example is made up; Aurora has not set any yet. The fields a lead carries must be among the fields you ask for below, because the client's consent covers exactly those. Your product catalogue lists solutions, product lines and products, each with what it is and a typical client, so a rule names a product once instead of retyping it.

The information you want

Choose the fields you need from this list. Ask only for what you need to make an offer: the client sees every field you ask for, by these names, when they decide whether to agree. Fields marked as identifying name the business or give exact amounts. Every other amount is given only as a range, and percentages are rounded to 1 decimal.

Field What it is Identifies the business Draft for Aurora
The business and the month
Legal name The registered name Yes Yes
Trading name The name the business trades under Yes Yes
Tax number The income tax reference Yes —
Month the figures are to The month-end date No Yes
Currency The currency of the amounts No Yes
Industry sector Two-digit industry division No Yes
Type of business Company, close corporation, sole trader, partnership, trust, non-profit, individual or other No —
Turnover range Under R5m, R5–20m, R20–50m, R50–100m, over R100m No Yes
Number of staff (range) 1–5, 6–20, 21–50, 51–200, over 200 No —
Province Where the business is based No Yes
Quarter the financial year ends Q1 to Q4 No —
Months of figures How many months of books Catalyst Platform holds No Yes
Data reliability score 0 to 100 No Yes
Findings from the analysis The checks that found something that month No Yes
Exact amounts
Revenue, financial year to date Exact amount, in rand Yes Yes
Cash balance Exact amount at month-end Yes —
Debtors Exact amount owed by customers at month-end Yes —
Creditors Exact amount owed to suppliers at month-end Yes —
Borrowings Exact amount at month-end Yes —
The standard figures
Gross margin % No Yes
EBITDA margin % No Yes
Net profit margin % No —
Overheads as a share of revenue % No —
Payroll as a share of revenue % No —
Current ratio Current assets ÷ current liabilities No Yes
Months of cash cover Months of running costs the cash covers No Yes
Debtor days Days No Yes
Creditor days Days No Yes
Stock days Days No —
Cash cycle in days Debtor days plus stock days, less creditor days No —
Revenue growth on last year % No —
Signals for service providers: percentages over the last 12 months
Insurance as a share of revenue %, to 1 decimal No —
Insurance spend growth on last year %, to 1 decimal No —
Growth in equipment, vehicles and property on last year %, to 1 decimal No —
Growth in borrowing from lenders on last year %, to 1 decimal No —
Net profit growth on last year %, to 1 decimal No —
Growth in net assets on last year %, to 1 decimal No —
Share of profit declared as dividends %, to 1 decimal No —
Rent growth on last year %, to 1 decimal No —
Freight and courier costs as a share of revenue %, to 1 decimal No —
Card and payment fees as a share of revenue %, to 1 decimal No —
COIDA assessments as a share of payroll %, to 1 decimal No —
Medical aid paid by the business as a share of payroll The business’s own expense; nothing about any person No —
Growth in medical aid paid by the business on last year The business’s own expense; nothing about any person No —
Payroll growth on last year %, to 1 decimal No —
Signals for service providers: amounts as a range only
Equipment, vehicles and property bought in the last year, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Dividends declared in the last year, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Interest earned in the last year, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Rent paid in the last year, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Bad debts written off in the last year, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Insurance claims received in the last year, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Donations received in the last year, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Equipment, vehicles and property owned, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Investments held, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Loans to shareholders or directors, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Loans from shareholders or directors, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Borrowings from lenders, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —
Retentions held by customers, as a range Nil, under R100k, R100k–500k, R500k–1m, R1–5m, R5–20m, over R20m No —

That is 58 fields. The 59th, an anonymous reference, is kept for anonymised files, which are planned but not built; a file sent with consent carries its own record reference instead. A signal is left empty when the books have no account of that kind (for example no dividends account), so it is never mistaken for zero.

Not on the list, and not available: customer names and their registration numbers, bank account names, individual transactions, contact names and phone numbers, and Xero's internal references. Whether customer names could ever be shared on the client's consent alone is a question for counsel. A new field can only be added to the list after review; it can't be added by a service provider's specification.

File format

Item What we provide Tell us
File type CSV, UTF-8, with or without a header row. CSV is the only layout built If you need a different layout, such as a set Excel template, send it to us. It needs building first
Separator Comma, semicolon, pipe or tab Which one
Column order Any order of the fields you chose The order you want
First column A record reference: unique to each row of each file, meaningless outside it Quote it in your offer
Rounding Percentages, days and months of cash cover to 1 decimal; ratios and the data reliability score to 2 decimals Whether that suits you
Names that start with = + − or @ Spreadsheet programs can treat these as formulas, so we always add a leading apostrophe to make them safe. Plain negative numbers are left as they are Only if this breaks how you read the file
Which columns are filled With opportunity rules, each row carries only the fields of the rules that client matched; the other cells are empty Nothing
How often Each time a file is released, weekly, or monthly Which suits you

Delivery

A file sent with the client's consent names the business and carries exact figures, so it is personal information. After the move to Cape Town it is prepared and held in South Africa and sent from there, and it never passes through storage outside the country. Until then prod keeps these files in the EU, so a file would be prepared and held there. No real client's information is used until Catalyst confirms that arrangement in writing. Two ways fit:

Neither channel is built yet: we build the one you choose, after a security review. Please tell us which you prefer, and give the technical contact who will set it up. Until then the platform refuses to release a file. Sending is never automatic: Catalyst staff check each file on the Service provider desk first (the fields, the number of clients, and the consent behind each one), and each consent is checked again at the moment of sending.

Withdrawals

A client withdraws consent by telling their practice, which records it. From that moment nothing more about the client is sent to you. If you already received a file with the client in it, Catalyst staff send you a written notice within one working day: the record reference, what the consent covered, when the withdrawal took effect, and a request to stop using the information and confirm in writing. If no confirmation arrives within 5 working days we follow up. Staff send the notice by hand and record it and your confirmation.

From you we need a named contact and email address for withdrawal notices, and your confirmation that you will acknowledge each one in writing.

Offers

Your offer comes back to Catalyst staff, who record it against the client. The accountant then presents it to the client, and the client decides. AI CFO never contacts the client directly. For each offer we record:

Item What to give
For The record reference from the file
Product Term loan, revolving facility, invoice finance, asset finance, insurance, or other
Amount Indicative amount, in rand (optional)
Rate Fixed or variable, % a year, and any fees as a % (optional)
Conditions One per line
Open until The date the offer lapses
Your reference Your own reference for the offer

Offers are sent by email for Catalyst staff to capture by hand, which is how Aurora's will be captured. A specification can also name a file by secure file transfer, or an electronic message, but neither is built yet. The product list is funding-shaped; advice outcomes such as a policy review will need their own. Afterwards, please tell us the outcome: funded, or not proceeded.

What the service provider sees, and when

Step Who acts What the service provider sees
1. Rules checked Catalyst Platform, after the practice issues a client's monthly report Nothing. Not even that a client is a fit.
2. Opportunity shown The accountant sees "may be a fit" and why, and may raise it with the client Nothing.
3. Client consents The client agrees; the accountant records it Nothing yet.
4. File sent Catalyst staff review it on the Service provider desk and send it, once a delivery channel is built Only the fields that client agreed to, for that client.
5. Offer The service provider replies; the accountant presents it; the client decides Nothing further unless a new file is sent under a consent still in force.
If withdrawn The client tells the practice Nothing more is sent. The service provider is told to stop using what it has.

In the pilot every file would be sent this way, client by client, with consent. Today the list of your rules a client matched stays with Catalyst Platform; whether to send it to you is not decided. Service providers never see a practice's findings, reports or books, and never sign in to the dashboard.