FAQ

No — it's a layer on top of Excel. Your workbooks are still standard .xlsx files, your formulas still work, your macros still run. HISAB adds an AI chat panel, a Python engine, ERP connectors, and an audit log — all callable from inside the spreadsheet.

No. Your .xlsx file never leaves your machine. When you chat with the AI, HISAB sends only the specific context the AI needs to answer (sheet names, ranges, sample rows) — typically a few KB per turn, never the full workbook.

Anthropic's Claude (specifically Claude Code, the CLI build). Professional+ plans include AI usage in the subscription. Enterprise customers can BYOK (bring your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or Azure OpenAI key).

Not yet. Excel on Mac doesn't support VSTO add-ins the same way Windows does. We're working on a JavaScript-based companion that runs in Excel for Mac with reduced features. ETA Q3 2026 — sign up for the early-access list at the bottom of this page.

The native installer downloads a ~227 MB self-contained binary that bundles Node.js and all the runtime dependencies. On a decent connection it's about 30-60 seconds. The binary lives at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude-code\<version>\. Smaller version-only updates after the first install are typically < 10 MB.

Some EDR products (ReasonLabs especially) quarantine fresh binaries pre-emptively. Add %APPDATA%\Claude\ to your AV's allow-list and reinstall. Or use the in-app verify button — HISAB will find the binary at the surviving install location.

Yes. Solo includes 1 device, Professional includes 3, Team includes 5 per user. The license activates when you sign in inside the addin. Moving to a new laptop is free — sign out, sign in on the new machine.

That's by design. Amber means the local MCP server is up and listening, but no AI client has made an authenticated request in the last 5 minutes. Send a chat message — the pill flips to green within a few seconds of the AI actually connecting. See security model for why we check actual client traffic rather than just port-binding.

Yes. Every cell HISAB writes is in the write journal with before/after values. Open the Review Changes panel (just above the chat input), click any write to inspect, and use the "Revert" button to roll it back. Or use Excel's own undo (Ctrl+Z) — HISAB writes through the normal Excel object model so undo works as expected.

Switch the operating mode to Strict in Settings. The AI can still read, analyse, and propose actions, but every write requires explicit approval. For full read-only, set approval mode to "AskEach".

Built-in skills live inside the addin. User skills go to %APPDATA%\HISAB\skills\ — one YAML file per skill, plus optional Python files. Sync this folder across machines (OneDrive, Dropbox) and your skills follow you. Team plans store skills in a shared cloud location.

Sign up with email or Google / Microsoft. You get full Professional for 14 days, no credit card. On day 14 you convert to Solo automatically unless you've added a payment method. You keep all chat history, skills, and audit logs across the transition.

Your subscription stays active through the end of the current billing period. After that you drop to Solo (free) with reduced limits. We never delete your data — you can always re-subscribe and pick up where you left off.

Yes for Team and Enterprise plans. Email billing@hisab360.com with your billing details (legal entity, address, VAT/GST number, currency). We send NET-30 invoices and accept bank transfers in USD, AED, PKR, INR, EUR, GBP.

Encrypted with Windows DPAPI tied to your Windows user account, at %APPDATA%\HISAB\credentials.dat. They cannot be decrypted on a different machine or by a different Windows user. We never transmit them.

SOC 2 Type I audit underway, report expected Q3 2026. ISO 27001 follows after that. Enterprise customers get our internal control documentation and security questionnaire under NDA today.

Yes. Open Settings → Diagnostics → "Export AI transcript" for any chat turn. You get a JSON file with everything sent (system prompt, tool definitions, sheet context, user message) and everything received. Nothing is hidden.