Please don't use a spreadsheet. I've just spent all morning trying to make sense of a clients' spreadsheets that were riddled with errors, inconsistencies and down-right strange postings.
And this was from the typical "I'm an IT contractor, I know all about spreadsheets, I won't make any mistakes, I don't want to be constrained by a package" type of client.
I could have done the job in less than an hour had he just used VT to record his ins and outs and balance the bank. In fact, I could have done the job in a couple of hours if he'd not bothered at all and just given me his paperwork in a carrier bag!
Seems to me that the more they think they know, the worse will be the spreadsheet.
Just some classic foul ups:-
a. adding new rows or columns without changing the formulae to include the new items.
b. entering numbers as "labels" either intentionally or accidentally due to poor formatting, so that the "numbers" aren't included in the totals/sums.
c. hiding a row or column instead of deleting it, so that the figures are still included in the totals but can't actually be seen.
d. Using colours to identify but not including the key to explain what the colours mean.
e. not formatting the dates so that they don't "sort" properly or even worse, show 10 Dec and 12 Oct, but of course, not consistently, some dates being formatted correctly, others not!
f. putting a £ sign in the cell along with the number, turning it into a label instead of a number, thus not included in the totals.
I had just about all of that this morning. Now the client's going to get a higher bill.
So, my advice is just get a proper package. VT is brilliant for the simplest of book-keeping. You don't need to look at anything else unless you have complications or want more from your accounting.
