User Guide

1. What is FilingDiff?

FilingDiff tells you what changed in any SEC filing compared to the previous one — in about 90 seconds instead of the 2–4 hours it takes to read and compare filings manually.

We analyze 10-K (annual), 10-Q (quarterly), and 8-K (event) filings filed with the SEC EDGAR system. Our AI reads both the current filing and the prior comparable filing, then produces a structured summary of what actually changed.

Every report is generated fresh from the official SEC filing — not from earnings call transcripts, news articles, or third-party summaries.

2. Getting Started

Creating an Account

1. Click Sign up free in the top navigation bar.
2. Enter your email address and choose a password (minimum 8 characters).
3. Click Create account. You're immediately signed in.

Free accounts can read 3 full reports per calendar month. No credit card is required. The counter resets on the 1st of each month. Re-reading a report you've already opened doesn't count against the quota — only the first read of each report counts.

Anyone (no signup) can read the headline, red flags, and top 3 bullets on any report. The 3-reads/month limit applies to the full bullet list and narrative summary, which require a free account.

Signing In

Click Sign in in the top navigation and enter the email and password you used to register. You can stay signed in on up to 3 devices simultaneously (laptop, phone, tablet). If you sign in on a 4th device, the oldest session is automatically signed out.

3. Searching for Tickers

Use the search bar at the top of any page (or the large search on the home page) to find a company. You can search by:

• Ticker symbol — e.g. AAPL, MSFT, TWLO
• Company name — e.g. "Apple", "Microsoft", "Twilio"

As you type, an autocomplete dropdown shows matching companies. Click a result to go directly to that ticker's page. If you don't see your company in the dropdown, press Go (or Enter) — we'll search the full SEC EDGAR database.

On-Demand Fetching

FilingDiff covers any publicly traded US company. If we haven't seen a ticker before, we fetch its filings directly from SEC EDGAR the first time you search for it. This takes a few seconds. Once fetched, filings are cached permanently — SEC filings never change after publication.

4. Reading a Report

The Ticker Page

Each company has a ticker page (e.g. /ticker/AAPL/) that lists all filings we've processed. For each filing you'll see:

• Filing type (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K) and date filed
• The AI-generated headline (always visible, even for visitors)
• A View report button if the report is ready
• A Generate report button if the AI summary hasn't been created yet

Generating a Report

Click Generate report on any filing without a summary. You'll be taken straight to the report page where a "Generating your report" placeholder appears with rotating status messages (fetching filing, parsing sections, comparing, etc.). Generation typically takes 30–120 seconds.

Safe to switch tabs or come back later. The page polls in the background and refreshes itself automatically when the report is ready. You don't need to keep the tab focused.

The Report Page

Every report contains:

• Headline — a news-style one-sentence summary (90 characters max).
• Key Changes — up to 5 bullets highlighting the most important differences, each with a materiality score and section citation.
• Summary — a 2–3 paragraph narrative explaining the changes in context.
• Source link — a direct link to the original filing on SEC.gov.
• Section-by-Section Diff — Pro only (see Section 7).

5. Materiality Scores

Each bullet in a report is tagged with a materiality score that rates its potential impact on investors:

Bullets are sorted by materiality (high first) so the most important changes are always at the top.

6. Red Flag Alerts

When the AI detects certain high-risk trigger phrases in a filing, a red flag banner appears at the top of the report. Triggers include:

• "Going concern" language (new or worsened)
• Material weakness in internal controls
• Restatement of prior financials
• Related-party transactions
• Goodwill or asset impairment
• SEC investigation or securities litigation
• Covenant violation or debt default
• Delisting notices
• Auditor change or resignation
• CEO or CFO departure (8-K filings)

Each red flag shows the trigger phrase, its status (new, removed, worsened, improved), and a plain-English explanation. Filings with red flags are also marked on the ticker page with a Red flag badge.

7. Section-by-Section Diffs (Pro)

Pro members get a detailed breakdown of changes within each major section of the filing:

• Risk Factors — new risks, removed risks, changed language
• MD&A (Management's Discussion and Analysis) — revenue commentary, margin changes, outlook shifts
• Legal Proceedings — new lawsuits, settlements, dismissals
• Controls & Procedures — material weaknesses, remediation updates
• Notes to Financial Statements — accounting policy changes, new disclosures

Each change shows:

• Change type badge (added, removed, wording change, number change, tone shift)
• Investor relevance rating (high / medium / low)
• Verbatim quotes from both the previous and current filing, color-coded: red highlight for removed text, green highlight for added text
• A plain-English explanation of what changed and why it matters

8. Free vs. Pro

Upgrading to Pro

1. Go to the Pricing page or click any Upgrade to Pro button in the app.
2. You'll be redirected to a secure Stripe checkout page.
3. Enter your payment details. Your 7-day free trial starts immediately.
4. You won't be charged until the trial ends. Cancel anytime from your Account page.

9. Managing Your Account

Your Account page has three tabs:

Profile

• Update your first name, last name, and email address.
• Toggle Weekly filing digest (a summary of the week's most notable changes).
• Toggle Watchlist filing alerts to get emailed within 30 minutes of a new filing for your watched tickers.

Password

Change your password while signed in — enter your current password for verification, then your new one.

Forgot your password? Click the "Forgot?" link next to the password field on the sign-in page. Enter your email, and we'll send you a reset link. The link expires in 3 days and can only be used once. If you don't receive the email within a few minutes, check your spam folder before requesting another.

Plan & Billing

• See your current plan (Free or Pro), trial status, and next billing date.
• Free users see a progress bar showing reports used this month.
• Pro users can click Manage billing to open the Stripe Customer Portal where you can update payment methods, download invoices, or cancel your subscription.

10. Discovering Filings

Today

The Today page shows the most recent filing changes across all tracked companies, curated for the day. This is a public page — no login required to browse headlines. It updates automatically as new filings are processed.

Recent

The Recent page is a broader filing browser — filter by date range (1, 2, 3, 5, or 7 days back) and form type (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, or all). Useful for spotting what's been filed across SEC EDGAR even if a FilingDiff report hasn't been generated yet. Clicking through to a filing without a report triggers on-demand generation.

Use either page to discover interesting filings you might not have searched for, or to get a pulse on what's happening across the market.

11. Important Disclaimers

12. Frequently Asked Questions