Skip to main content

Getting started

Pocketstats is a suite of simulation and analysis tools for small businesses. It helps you answer uncertain business questions with numbers — modelling workflows, spreadsheets, probability distributions, and decisions — without needing a statistics degree. If you can describe the problem, Pocketstats can help you quantify it.

Before you start​

  1. Create a free account at pocketstats.io.
  2. Sign in and go to your dashboard.
  3. Choose a tool from the table below, then follow its quick start.

Which tool should I use?​

You want to…Use this tool
Map my workflow and find what's slowing it downProcess Map
Test "what if I change X in my process?"Process Map
Add uncertainty to my Excel modelSpreadsheet Sim
Estimate a range for a business outcomeProbability Playground
Compare options when outcomes are uncertainDecision Tree
Figure out when to reorder stock and how much safety stock to keepInventory Reorder Simulator
Identify the distribution behind a column of dataDistribution Fitter

Quick start​

Process Map​

  1. Sign in to your Pocketstats account.
  2. Go to App → Process Map. The canvas opens with an empty diagram.
  3. Press S to place a Start node. A Start node appears on the canvas.
  4. Press T to place a Task node. A Task node appears where you click.
  5. Press E to place an End node. An End node appears on the canvas.
  6. Press C to activate the Connect tool, then draw edges between nodes. The nodes connect with an arrow.
  7. Click the simulation icon on any node to set service time distributions. A settings panel opens for that node.
  8. Press Run in the header to launch a simulation. Results appear in the sidebar once the simulation finishes.
Keyboard shortcuts

Use S (Start), T (Task), E (End), and C (Connect) to build your diagram without reaching for the toolbar.

See Process Map overview for the full documentation.

Spreadsheet Sim​

  1. Sign in with a Pro account and go to App → Spreadsheet Sim. The Spreadsheet Sim workspace opens.
  2. Click Upload .xlsx and choose your workbook. Your workbook loads and its sheets appear in the editor.
  3. In the sidebar, click + Add under Assumptions to mark uncertain cells. The cell is highlighted and you can choose a probability distribution.
  4. Click + Add under Outputs to select result cells. The selected cells appear in the Outputs list.
  5. Set the rep count and click Run. A progress indicator appears and results display when the simulation finishes.

See Spreadsheet Sim overview for the full documentation.

Probability Playground​

Always free

Probability Playground is always free with an account.

  1. Go to Probability Playground. The editor opens with a sample model.

  2. Type a model in the editor. For example:

    revenue ~ norm(50000, 10000); costs ~ norm(30000, 5000); profit = revenue - costs;

    The histogram updates instantly as you type.

See Probability Playground overview for the full documentation.

Decision Tree​

warning

Decision Tree requires a Pro plan. Free users see an upgrade prompt.

  1. Start a new project — open the Projects Rail and click New. An empty canvas opens with a blank Decision node at the center.
  2. Reveal the add button — hover over the Decision node. A + button appears on its right edge.
  3. Add a branch — click +. A panel opens where you choose the node type (Decision or Chance) and enter a label. Click Add — the new node appears on the canvas connected by an edge.
  4. Add Leaf nodes — continue adding children until each path ends with a Leaf node. Click each Leaf node and enter a Payoff (USD) in the Detail panel.
  5. Set probabilities — click a Chance node and assign a probability to each branch. They must sum to 100%.
  6. Read the EV — each node shows its expected value inline. The branch with the highest EV is highlighted in blue.

See Decision Tree overview for the full documentation.

Inventory Reorder Simulator​

warning

Inventory Reorder Simulator requires a Pro plan or an active trial. Trial-expired accounts can view past results and export but cannot create new projects or submit new runs.

  1. Start a new project — open the Projects Rail and click New, or clone one of the built-in examples to see the tool in action first.
  2. Describe your product to the AI — e.g. "I sell 12oz coffee bags, restock takes about a week, and I want to stock out less than 5% of the time."
  3. Answer any follow-up questions — the AI only asks for what's missing: which dataset/column has your sales history, how long lead time takes, and your target service level.
  4. Review the results — a recommended reorder point, safety stock, achieved service level, and a stockout-probability curve appear in the workspace.
  5. Export — download the curve data as a CSV.

See Inventory Reorder Simulator overview for the full documentation.

Distribution Fitter​

note

Distribution Fitter requires a Pro plan or an active trial to create new fits. Anyone in the org can read existing library entries even after a trial expires.

  1. Open the tool — navigate to Analyze → Distribution Fitter in the top nav.
  2. Create a project — click + New Project, give it a name, and pick a dataset from the Data Hub (or upload a fresh CSV/XLSX).
  3. Pick a column — in the Detail tab, choose the numeric column you want to fit.
  4. Run the fit — click Re-fit. After a moment you'll see a histogram with the best-fit curve overlaid, plus a ranked table of candidate distributions.
  5. Save it — pick the row you like and click Save to library. Give it a memorable name.
  6. Use it elsewhere — open Process Map, Spreadsheet Sim, or Probability Playground, click From library… in any distribution picker, and your saved fit appears.

See Distribution Fitter overview for the full documentation.

Key concepts in plain English​

Simulation — Running your process or model many times with slightly different random values each time, to see the full range of what could happen.

Scenario — A saved version of your process or model. Save multiple scenarios to compare different options.

Distribution — A way of saying "this value isn't fixed — it falls somewhere in a range." Instead of saying "deliveries take 5 days", you'd say "deliveries usually take 4–7 days, most often 5."

Percentile (P10, P50, P90) — A way of summarising simulation results:

  • P10 — 90% of simulated outcomes fell above this value
  • P50 (median) — half of outcomes were above this, half below
  • P90 — 90% of simulated outcomes fell below this value
note

P10 and P90 are directional. For metrics where higher is better (revenue, profit margin), P90 is the favourable tail. For metrics where lower is better (costs, cycle time), P10 is the favourable tail.

API access​

note

You can authenticate with a session cookie (browser) or an API key Bearer token (scripts and integrations).

All tools expose a REST API under /api/. See the live API reference for endpoint details — a Scalar console that reads the generated schema directly from the backend, with a working "try it out" console. It is the canonical reference and never drifts from the running API.