Changelog

Track our progress and see what's new in IQExit

Current Version: v1.4.2
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v1.4.2 2025-12-05

Added

  • **Terms of Service page** (`/terms`) - Full legal terms including acceptable use policy
  • **Privacy Policy page** (`/privacy`) - Data handling, GDPR/CCPA compliance information
  • Footer links to Terms and Privacy on homepage and changelog pages

Documentation

  • Created comprehensive Terms of Service document
  • Created Privacy Policy document with service provider disclosures
  • Updated ROADMAP.md with Launch Prerequisites section
v1.4.1 2025-12-05

Added

  • **AI-Enhanced M&A Trends**: M&A Activity Trends section now includes Claude-generated industry-specific commentary
  • Industry Context: What's driving M&A activity in the specific industry
  • Market Outlook: Interpretation based on actual transaction volume and multiple trends
  • Timing Insight: Practical considerations for sellers in this industry

Changed

  • M&A Trends section displays AI-enhanced content in a prominent callout box
  • Falls back gracefully to templated descriptions when AI analysis unavailable

Technical

  • New `analyze_ma_trends()` method in SimpleFormProcessor
  • Updated `_generate_ma_trends()` in BasicReportGenerator to incorporate AI analysis
  • Template updates for HTML and PDF reports
v1.4.0 2025-12-05

Added

  • **Intent-Aware Next Steps**: Next Steps section now provides specific recommendations based on user's selected intent (Exit, Succession, Growth)
  • **Deal-Size-Aware Financing**: Financing Intelligence adjusts lender recommendations based on deal size tier (<$1M, $1-5M, $5M+)
  • **Context-Aware Asset Intelligence**: Asset preparation checklist now varies by intent category
  • **Real Estate Considerations Section**: New conditional section for businesses including property in sale
  • AI-generated location analysis via Claude
  • Property-specific considerations and checklists
  • Professional recommendations for RE valuation
  • Only appears when user selects "Owned and will be sold with business"

Changed

  • Financing Intelligence now shows tier-specific notes (SBA for mid-market, PE for larger deals)
  • Lender list includes context notes for each financing source
  • Asset checklist expands based on intent (Exit vs Succession vs Growth)

Technical

  • New `analyze_real_estate()` method in SimpleFormProcessor for Claude-based property analysis
  • New `_generate_real_estate_section()` method in BasicReportGenerator
  • Real estate analysis integrated into form processing flow
  • Template updates for all three enhanced sections
v1.3.0 2025-12-04 (In Progress on develop branch)

Added

  • **AWS SES Email Service**: Foundation for transactional email functionality
  • Email service module (`web/services/email_service.py`) with:
  • `send_email()` - Generic email sending via AWS SES
  • `send_report_share_notification()` - Pre-built template for report sharing
  • `send_welcome_email()` - Pre-built template for new user onboarding
  • `verify_ses_connection()` - SES status check utility
  • `is_email_configured()` - Configuration validation
  • Admin endpoints for email testing:
  • `GET /admin/email-status` - Check SES configuration and connection
  • `POST /admin/email-test` - Send test emails

Technical

  • Domain `iqexit.com` verified in AWS SES with DKIM
  • Environment variables for configuration:
  • `AWS_SES_REGION`, `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID`, `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`
  • `EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS`, `EMAIL_FROM_NAME`
  • Lazy boto3 initialization to prevent import errors
  • HTML email templates with IQExit branding
  • Automatic plain-text fallback generation

Status

  • Awaiting AWS SES production access approval (sandbox mode active)
v1.2.0 2025-12-04 (Completed on develop branch)

Added

  • **Multi-Intent Selection**: Users can now select multiple business intents (checkboxes replace radio buttons)
  • Reports display all selected objectives as a bullet list when multiple intents chosen
  • My Reports table shows all category badges for multi-intent reports

Changed

  • Intent form prompt updated: "Select all that apply" instead of "Select the option that best describes"
  • Backend processes array of intents with combined metadata (categories, timelines, urgency)
  • Primary intent (first selected) used for sorting/filtering and backward compatibility

Fixed

  • Edit mode now correctly preserves all selected intents (was only showing first)

Technical

  • New `_process_multiple_intents()` method in SimpleFormProcessor
  • Intent data structure includes: `intents[]`, `categories[]`, `timelines[]`, `intent_count`
  • Backward compatible: single-intent fields preserved for older reports
  • Report generator outputs both `stated_intents[]` and legacy `stated_intent`
  • Metadata now stores `raw_intents[]` for edit mode restoration
  • `load_report_for_editing()` checks multiple data sources for multi-intent recovery
v1.1.1 2025-12-04 (Completed on develop branch)

Added

  • Background API analysis - form flow is now instant, no waiting between steps
  • "Edit Business Info" button on report page (below Key Business Strengths)
  • "Edit NAICS" button on report page (next to Confidence Score)
  • Timed loading messages on final report generation spinner

Changed

  • "Analyze Website" button renamed to "Continue →" for clearer UX
  • Report header redesigned: compact horizontal layout (~33% of original height)
  • Logo moved to right side, company name centered
  • Deal Range now visible immediately on page load
  • My Reports table now sorts by most recent date by default
  • Confidence score explanations now use ranges ("10+ comps") instead of precise numbers

Removed

  • Dashboard stat cards from My Reports page (table provides all info)

Fixed

  • KeyError when viewing older reports stored in database (missing generated_date field)
  • Form flow skips Step 2 (preview) for successful website analyses
v1.1.0 2025-11-26 (Completed on develop branch)

Added

  • PostgreSQL database for permanent report storage (Render hosted)
  • Database models: User, Report, Company, Feedback, AuditLog
  • Alembic migration system for schema management
  • "My Reports" dashboard with search and filtering
  • Report archive (soft delete) feature for users
  • Database-backed feedback system
  • Hidden system info collection on feedback form
  • cache_report_id field for file-based report compatibility

Changed

  • Migrated report storage from file cache to PostgreSQL
  • Migrated feedback storage to database
  • "Last Activity" metric changed to "Last Report" (shows most recent report date)
  • Confidence scores now capped at 95% maximum (valuations inherently have uncertainty)
  • Industry column now properly displays NAICS title

Technical

  • SQLAlchemy 2.0 session management patterns
  • Service layer architecture (user_service, report_service, feedback_service)
  • Graceful fallback to file cache if database unavailable
v1.0.6 2024-11-17 (Completed on develop branch) Latest

Added

  • Public changelog page at /changelog with beautiful formatting
  • Feedback system at /feedback for bug reports and feature requests
  • Version display footer on all user-facing pages
  • Link to "What's New" changelog from all pages

Changed

  • Reordered margin benchmarks to show numbers first, explanation after
  • Improved report readability per user feedback

Documentation

  • Comprehensive product roadmap through v2.5.0
  • GitHub issue templates (feature request, bug report, epic)
  • Pull request template with quality checklist
  • Professional development workflow guidelines
v1.0.5 2024-11-17 (PRODUCTION on main branch)

Added

  • Claude AI inference system as intelligent fallback when website scanning fails
  • Adaptive AI prompts that adjust based on business name characteristics (descriptive/partial/generic)
  • Industry term extraction rules for partially descriptive business names (e.g., "Analytics" → BI, modeling, reporting)
  • Explicit examples in AI prompts to ensure detailed, specific business analysis
  • Enhanced business model and revenue stream analysis requirements
  • Test suite for AI inference quality validation (test_claude_inference.py, test_stratford_full.py)

Changed

  • Replaced fragile search engine scraping (Google/DuckDuckGo) with AI inference using Claude's training data
  • Improved confidence messaging to use positive, professional framing ("best-fit comps" vs "quality comps")
  • Enhanced NAICS classification inference with better industry pattern recognition
  • Confidence score explanations now focus on strengths rather than limitations
  • Website scan error messages now indicate AI inference usage instead of search fallbacks
  • Performance improved 3x (1-2s vs 3-5s for fallback analysis)

Removed

  • Google search fallback scraping functionality (~150 lines)
  • DuckDuckGo search fallback scraping functionality (~150 lines)
  • Complex HTML parsing logic for search engine results
  • Bot detection workaround code

Fixed

  • Poor quality analysis from search engine fallbacks (vehicle listings, generic results)
  • Town & Country Ford misclassification (now correctly identified as Ford dealership with 95% confidence)
  • Stratford Analytics vague results (now provides 6+ specific services with 75% confidence)
  • Undermining confidence language that reduced user trust in valuations
  • Generic business summaries lacking specificity and detail

Performance

  • Reduced fallback analysis time from 3-5s to 1-2s
  • Eliminated 80% of bot detection errors
  • Increased confidence scores: descriptive names 70% → 95%, partial names 25% → 75%
v1.0.4

Added

  • Manual business information entry option with "Skip Website Scan" checkbox
  • Edit mode for reviewing and modifying existing valuations
  • Automatic version tracking for edited reports with AI-generated change notes
  • Settings page placeholder (coming soon functionality)
  • Conditional Step 2 UI that adapts to manual vs automatic entry mode
  • Enhanced NAICS 6-digit inference with improved AI prompting
  • Official Census NAICS sector list with proper range handling (31-33, 44-45, 48-49)
  • Auto-tag prioritization system (industry changes prioritized over timeline tags)
  • Combined Valuation dashboard with proper calculation logic

Changed

  • Step 2 form heading now dynamically reflects entry mode context
  • Strengthened AI prompts for more specific 6-digit NAICS code selection
  • Improved confidence scoring tier explanations
  • Enhanced website scan failure handling with better user guidance
  • Navigation consistency improved across all pages
  • Business Intent section formatting standardized

Fixed

  • Combined Valuation dashboard calculation errors
  • Auto-tag comp count false positives
  • Business Intent display formatting issues
  • NAICS range handling in AI inference (now properly recognizes 31-33, 44-45, 48-49)
  • Form submission flow when skipping website analysis

User Experience

  • Users can now choose between automatic website scanning or manual data entry
  • Edit mode preserves full analysis history with version notes
  • Clear indicators when website scanning is skipped
  • More intuitive Step 2 navigation based on user's chosen entry method
v1.0.3

Added

  • Three-step progressive disclosure form (Business → Details → Intent)
  • Smart form state management with session persistence
  • Enhanced NAICS classification system with 6→5→4→2 digit progressive fallback
  • Confidence scoring system with AI-generated explanations
  • Visual step indicators and progress tracking
  • "Get Started" landing page with clear value proposition
  • Account History dashboard with filterable report list
  • AI-powered confidence score explanations based on NAICS precision and comp count

Changed

  • Split monolithic form into logical, digestible steps
  • Reorganized information architecture for better user flow
  • Enhanced visual hierarchy with consistent styling
  • Improved mobile responsiveness across all form steps
  • Consolidated similar fields to reduce cognitive load
  • Streamlined navigation between form steps

Fixed

  • Form abandonment issues due to overwhelming single-page design
  • User confusion about required vs optional fields
  • Mobile usability problems with long form
  • State management issues when users navigated between pages
  • NAICS code selection ambiguity

User Experience

  • Reduced perceived form complexity
  • Clear progress indication throughout valuation process
  • Improved completion rates with step-by-step approach
  • Better error handling and validation feedback
  • Enhanced accessibility with proper form labels and ARIA attributes
v1.0.2

Added

  • Auth0 authentication and user management
  • User session handling with secure cookies
  • Protected routes requiring authentication
  • Basic report generation functionality

Changed

  • Migrated from local authentication to Auth0
  • Updated UI with modern Bootstrap styling
  • Improved security with OAuth 2.0

Fixed

  • Session persistence issues
  • Authentication redirect loops
v1.0.1

Added

  • Claude AI integration for business analysis
  • Basic NAICS code classification
  • Simple valuation calculations

Fixed

  • Initial deployment bugs
  • Configuration issues
v1.0.0

Added

  • Initial release of IQExit business valuation platform
  • Basic Flask web application structure
  • Company information input form
  • Simple report generation
  • Core valuation engine with deal range calculations
  • [Unreleased]: https://github.com/eriktaylorphd/IQExit_simplified/compare/v1.1.0...HEAD
  • [1.1.0]: https://github.com/eriktaylorphd/IQExit_simplified/compare/v1.0.6...v1.1.0
  • [1.0.6]: https://github.com/eriktaylorphd/IQExit_simplified/compare/v1.0.5...v1.0.6
  • [1.0.5]: https://github.com/eriktaylorphd/IQExit_simplified/compare/v1.0.4...v1.0.5
  • [1.0.4]: https://github.com/eriktaylorphd/IQExit_simplified/compare/v1.0.3...v1.0.4
  • [1.0.3]: https://github.com/eriktaylorphd/IQExit_simplified/compare/v1.0.2...v1.0.3
  • [1.0.2]: https://github.com/eriktaylorphd/IQExit_simplified/compare/v1.0.1...v1.0.2
  • [1.0.1]: https://github.com/eriktaylorphd/IQExit_simplified/compare/v1.0.0...v1.0.1
  • [1.0.0]: https://github.com/eriktaylorphd/IQExit_simplified/releases/tag/v1.0.0

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