Dirigo Software Solutions

It has been a long past few weeks and the weather really hasn’t been that great here in Maine.  Being cooped up had taken its toll, so even though it was a bit chilly I finally decided to get some air.  I wasn’t alone as a neighbor was outside as well.  At the appropriate social distance, we made some small talk. 

She starts mentioning how she just had to get away from her computer.  “I have been staring at my computer screen for hours and my eyes are killing me!”  If you could see her face you knew she was not exaggerating, she looked exhausted.  Of course, I asked what she is working on.  “I am working on this spreadsheet trying to find customers who have purchased more than $2000.  The problem is that I need to sort by the customer accounts and then sum all their purchases.  It is taking me forever.” 

Just a little about my neighbor, she is the office manager at an industrial supply company.  So, she is familiar with Microsoft Office.  Now, my nerd brain kicks into gear and a bunch of options came to mind.  I love troubleshooting and finding solutions to problems, so I just couldn’t resist solving it.   

I said, “Can’t you just use a pivot table to group by the customer and sum the purchase price?”  Her face changed immediately.  “I didn’t even consider that, thanks  I have got to go!”  If this had been a cartoon I am sure I would have been left staring at her dust outline.  Well, I don’t need to tell you that the conversation ended there. She did call me later to thank me for the help.  “Thank you so much, that saved me several hours of work.  It took me about 15 minutes to get it all set up and then I had that pivot table working like magic.  Thanks again!!!” 

Now, I am very happy to have saved her a few hours. I am sure she will be able to use this knowledge again, saving her even more time in the future.  Hence the title of this article, It All Adds Up.  Of course, there are much larger companies dealing with a whole lot more spreadsheets.  How much time are they losing to scenarios just like this one?  If they automated this system, they would save much more than a few hours as my neighbor did.  What else could a company do with employees who were more effective and efficient?  How much time could it save in wasted labor?  What could their employees do to grow the business, versus wasting their efforts on boring and repetitive tasks?  Like I said it all adds up!

If you find yourself, with a pounding headache, hours into a project, wondering if there is a better way to get this done, contact me.  Big or small I am here to help because it all adds up and right now we need to be efficient during these tough times.  Email me at wwade@dirigosoftwaresolutions.com or call me at 207-740-5709.  Let me show you how I use technology to free you from boring and repetitive tasks!