Request For Information (RFI) Flow Diagram

rfi-flow-diagram.md

Request For Information (RFI) Flow Diagram

flowchart TD
    %% Actors
    Firm[Investment Firm]
    PoC[Point of Contact at PortCo]
    PortCo[Portfolio Company]
    Analyst[PI-HQ Analyst - Carta Staff]

    %% Step 1: RFI Submission
    Firm -->|1. Submits RFI Request| PortCo

    %% Step 2: Email notification
    PortCo -->|2. Email notification| PoC

    %% Step 2a: Login Decision
    PoC -->|2a. Is Carta Company?| LoginDecision{Carta Company?}
    LoginDecision -->|Yes| LoggedIn[Logged-in Experience]
    LoginDecision -->|No| LoggedOut[Logged-out Experience]

    %% Step 3: Upload Portal
    LoggedIn --> UploadPortal[3. Upload Portal]
    LoggedOut --> UploadPortal

    %% Step 3a: Financial Integration Decision
    UploadPortal --> FinancialDecision{3a. Has Financial Integration?}
    FinancialDecision -->|Yes| FinancialIntegration[Use Financial Integration]
    FinancialDecision -->|No| ManualUpload[Manual Upload of Documents]

    %% Step 3b: Upload documents and KPIs
    FinancialIntegration --> UploadComplete[Documents & KPIs Uploaded]
    ManualUpload --> UploadComplete

    %% Step 4: RFI Response triggers PI-HQ Task
    UploadComplete -->|PoC Responds to RFI| RFIResponse[4. PI-HQ Task Created]

    %% Step 4a: Documents available
    RFIResponse --> DocsAvailable[4a. Documents Available]
    DocsAvailable --> RFIDashboard[Available in RFI Dashboard]
    DocsAvailable --> PortCoDocsPage[Available in PortCo Documents Page]

    %% Step 4b: Financials tab updated
    RFIResponse --> FinancialsUpdated[4b. Financials Tab Updated with KPIs]

    %% Step 5: Firm views data
    RFIDashboard --> FirmView1[5. Firm Views Documents & Financials]
    PortCoDocsPage --> FirmView1
    FinancialsUpdated --> FirmView1
    FirmView1 --> LimitedData[Limited data if no financial integration]

    %% Step 6: Analyst processes source files
    RFIResponse --> AnalystWork[6. PI-HQ Analyst Processes Source Files]
    AnalystWork --> Templates[6b. Uses Templates & Checkers]
    Templates --> NormalizedData[6a. Creates Normalized/Importable Format]

    %% Step 7: Data ingestion
    NormalizedData -->|7. Upload via Financials Upload| FinancialsService[Shared with Financials Service]
    FinancialsService --> CartaEcosystem[Part of Carta Ecosystem]

    %% Step 8: Firm sees complete data
    CartaEcosystem -->|8. Data Available| FirmView2[Firm Sees Complete PortCo Financials]

    %% Step 9: Investor Reports
    CartaEcosystem --> Reports[9. Carta Staff Generates Investor Reports]

    %% Styling
    classDef actor fill:#e1f5ff,stroke:#01579b,stroke-width:2px
    classDef process fill:#fff9c4,stroke:#f57f17,stroke-width:2px
    classDef decision fill:#f3e5f5,stroke:#4a148c,stroke-width:2px
    classDef data fill:#e8f5e9,stroke:#1b5e20,stroke-width:2px

    class Firm,PoC,PortCo,Analyst actor
    class UploadPortal,AnalystWork,Templates,NormalizedData,FinancialsService process
    class LoginDecision,FinancialDecision decision
    class DocsAvailable,FinancialsUpdated,CartaEcosystem,FirmView2 data

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Flow Summary

Phase 1: RFI Request & Notification (Steps 1-2)

• Firm submits RFI request to PortCo
• PoC receives email to access Upload Portal
• Access type depends on whether PortCo is a Carta company (logged-in vs logged-out)

Phase 2: Document Upload (Step 3)

• PoC uploads documents and KPIs via Upload Portal
• If Carta company with Financial Integration: automated data upload
• Otherwise: manual document upload

Phase 3: Initial Data Availability (Steps 4-5)

• RFI response creates PI-HQ Task
• Documents become available in:
  • RFI Dashboard
  • PortCo Documents page
• Financials tab updated with structured metrics (KPIs)
• Firm can view documents but data may be limited without financial integration

Phase 4: Data Normalization (Steps 6-7)

• PI-HQ Analyst (Carta Staff) processes "Source Files"
• Uses templates and checkers to validate and normalize data
• Normalized data uploaded to Financials service
• Data becomes part of Carta Ecosystem

Phase 5: Complete Data Access (Steps 8-9)

• Firm can now see complete PortCo Financials data
• Carta staff generates investor reports for the Firm

Key Components

Actors

1. Investment Firm (Firm) - Requests RFI data from portfolio companies
2. Point of Contact (PoC) - PortCo representative who responds to RFI
3. Portfolio Company (PortCo) - Company being requested for information
4. PI-HQ Analyst - Carta staff who normalizes uploaded data

Systems

1. Upload Portal - Interface for PoC to upload documents/KPIs
2. Financial Integration - Automated data upload for Carta companies
3. RFI Dashboard - Firm's view of RFI responses
4. PortCo Documents Page - Document repository
5. Financials Tab - Structured financial metrics view
6. PI-HQ Task System - Task tracking for data normalization
7. Financials Service - Carta's financial data service
8. Financials Upload - Tool for ingesting normalized data

Data Types

1. Source Files - Raw uploaded files from PoC
2. Normalized Data - Processed, validated data in importable format
3. Structured Metrics (KPIs) - Financial metrics uploaded by PoC
4. PortCo Financials - Complete financial data in Carta Ecosystem

rfi-flow-requirements.md

RFI Flow Requirements

Original requirements for the Request For Information flow diagram.

Full Flow Description

1. Investment Firm (Firm) submits a RFI request to Portfolio Company (PortCo)

2. Point of Contact (PoC) receives the email to access the Upload Portal:

   • a. If PortCo is Carta company, they can use the logged in experience.
   • b. If PortCo is not Carta company, they must use the logged out experience.

3. PoC uploads all necessary documents and KPIs in the Upload Portal.

   • a. If PortCo is carta company, they can use the Financial Integration.
   • b. Else, they must upload financial documents manually.

4. When the PoC responds to the RFI, a new PI-HQ (Portfolio Insights Head Quarter) Task is created.

   • a. Also, the uploaded files are available to the firm both in the PortCo Documents page and in the RFI Dashboard.
   • b. Financials tab is updated with the structured metrics (KPIs)

5. At this moment, Firm can see the documents and financials tab, but if no financial integration, there won't be much data.

6. PI-HQ Analyst (Carta Staff) will manually digest uploaded files and transform into "importable" format, which can be ingested by the Financials Upload. (in Portco Financials & KPIs page).

   • a. The "raw" uploaded files are known as "Source Files".
   • b. They use some templates and checkers to validate the data and make sure it's normalized.

7. The "normalized" data that is upload is shared with Financials service, and then is part of the Carta Ecosystem.

8. The Firm can now see the PortCo Financials data.

9. There are some reports that carta staff can generate that I will provide later.

   • Update: These reports are mostly investor reports.