by David Ringstrom,CPA Earlier this year I wrote about my mixed feelings on Excel for iPad’s debut. My closing sentence for that article read “The early iterations of Microsoft products tend to have rough edges that get smoothed out with time.” I’m no Nostradamus, but my instincts were correct, as in the intervening months Microsoft …
Sep 04
When Excel Dates Mysteriously Shift by 4 Years
by David Ringstrom,CPA If you’ve attended any of my free High Impact Excel webinars then you’ve probably heard me say that Excel is fraught with nuances. Sometimes the most mundane tasks, such as copying and pasting a series of dates from one workbook to another, can send you down a mysterious rabbit hole where things turn …
Aug 28
Hasten Your Departure with Pre-written Resignation Letter
by David Ringstrom,CPA Are you ready to pull the plug on your current gig, but feel intimidated by that blinking cursor at the top left-hand corner of a Word document? Microsoft Word has you covered with an array of prewritten letters of resignation. Yes, we here at Going Concern are always here to serve …
Aug 07
Exploring the Nuances of Excel’s SUM Function
by David Ringstrom,CPA My unscientific observation is that the SUM function is likely the most used—and abused—of all worksheet functions in Excel. Although the SUM function is far better than manually adding cells together (such as =B2+B3+B4+B5+B6+B7+B8), in this article I’ll explore a couple nuances related to this venerable function. Continue reading on www.accountingweb.com. About the …
Aug 04
Maximizing Excel’s Alt-Down Arrow Keyboard Shortcut
by David Ringstrom,CPA Alt-Down Arrow is one of my favorite keyboard shortcuts in Excel. First off, it gives me an easy means to speed through repetitive data entry within a column. Second, it allows me to access Excel’s Filter arrows as well as Data Validation lists without using my mouse. I’ll run through all …
Jul 22
Automating an Excel-Based Financial Statement
by David Ringstrom,CPA QuickBooks allows you a fair amount of control over financial statements – just about any user can easily customize the built-in reports. Users of Enterprise Solutions and Accountant versions can go farther and use the Financial Statement Designer to integrate QuickBooks and Excel. Yet, sometimes neither of these options is sufficient, …
Jun 25
Use Excel Pivot Tables to Analyze QuickBooks Data
by David Ringstrom When it’s time to crunch numbers in QuickBooks, most users rely on reports within the software, while others turn to analytics programs. In either case, you may still sometimes need to analyze your accounting data in new ways. Pivot tables can make quick work of figuring out patterns or issues with your data that …
Jun 19
Embed Frequently Used Lists into Excel
by David Ringstrom,CPA As you’re most likely aware, it’s easy to instantly create a list of days of the week or months of the year. Just type either the first three letters or the full name of a day or month in a worksheet cell, and then drag the Fill Handle across a row or …
Jun 12
Why Solid State Drives are Worth the Extra Cost
by David Ringstrom,CPA I’ve been following solid state drives (SSD) for years now, always thinking they were too expensive. I finally chose to make the leap recently, thanks in part to a brief mention of SSDs by Carlton Collins, and now there’s no going back. If my article sounds like technical mumbo-jumbo so far, let me clarify: …
Jun 05
Creating an Equivalent to the MAXIF Function
by David Ringstrom,CPA Sometimes in Excel you may want to perform an analysis based on specific criteria. For instance, if I wanted to sum only the data in Figure 1 based on the month being equal to January, SUMIF would work. I could use COUNTIF to count the number of transactions in January, or …
May 01
Hackers have Discovered a Way into the Internet Explorer
by David Ringstrom,CPA You’re facing a clear and present danger if, you’re using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser. This isn’t just another the-sky-is-falling alert; the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) issued an advisory this week. The particulars of the vulnerability are a bit nerdy, but the point is that by using IE, you may be …
Apr 29
Make QuickBooks Data Analysis More Simple in Excel
by David Ringstrom If you’re unfamiliar with certain naunces within the two programs, analyzing QuickBooks data in Excel can be an exercise in frustration. In this article, I’ll show you techniques for both programs that can transform how you crunch numbers. Among other things, I’ll share my favorite report for QuickBooks data analysis in Excel, a technique …
Apr 18
My First Impressions of Excel for iPad
by David Ringstrom, CPA Four years after the first iPad spreadsheet, users finally have a Microsoft-sanctioned solution. When I first installed Excel on my iPad, I immediately focused on its limitations, but upon reflection I see that Excel for iPad has certain strengths as well. To be sure, tablet computers have far to go …
Apr 17
Step by Step
Steve and Joan Lambert have written a series of books titled Step by Step for Access 2013, Access 2010, and Access 2007.
Apr 11
Spreadsheet Check and Control
Patrick R O’Beirve created Spreadsheet Check and Control which helps users build better spreadsheets.