Hire an Excel Expert: Consultants, Programmers for Excel

Excel Consulting Explained

Definition: Excel consulting will provide your company with expert training and support to increase your proficiency in Excel. A successful consultation will also help your company automate repetitive tasks and streamline your workflows within Microsoft Excel.

When hiring an Excel consultant, ensure the firm has a strong proficiency in Excel formulas and VBA. Creating custom macros using VBA will provide additional benefits to improve workflows in Excel. Ideally, a firm should also have experience with other data tools like SQL, SharePoint, and enterprise platforms like SAP.

Excel Consulting Services

A consulting engagement can include a few different things. Here are some of the most common services offered by an Excel Consultant.

On-Demand Support

Excel support can include troubleshooting formulas, helping create conditional formatting, or creating pivot tables. During a support call, a consultant can recommend how to streamline processes or simplify them.

Training

One of the most valuable functions of an Excel consultant is to help train staff. This training can include running a new Macro process, creating more advanced formulas, and even writing up documentation for any current process. Training can be done in person or over a virtual call. However, we've found training that involves example workbooks gets the best results.

Creating Custom Formulas

Sometimes a standard sum or average function is not enough. A consulting engagement will provide fresh perspectives on creating new formulas to get the data you need. For example, a SUMPRODUCT formula perfectly sums numbers with both column and row criteria. This SUMPRODUCT function goes beyond what a stands SUMIFS can accomplish.

VBA Macro Creation

Some processes require more than just new formulas or Pivot tables. For example, sending emails, saving copies of a workbook, and importing data can be done automatically by using Macros written in VBA. VBA is Visual Basic for Applications; it's Microsoft's programming language for Excel and other Microsoft Office Tools.

Excel Consulting Projects

Here are some examples of consulting projects we have completed for different clients. Some of these projects include VBA and other data management tools. This list can serve as a base on what you should demand from an Excel consultant.

Monthly Financial Statements

This project included a trial balance tab that drove the other tabs in the book. Most tabs used a SUMPRODUCT function to calculate the monthly amounts for the income statement and balance sheet. These financials also include budget comparisons, using conditional formatting to highlight problem areas. VBA was used to help streamline the book's budget process and automate uploads and downloads of information.

Commission Statements

This client wanted to send out commission statements for 100+ sales representatives. These commission statements had to be uploaded to SharePoint, then approved by management before sending out to each representative. This project was heavily reliant on VBA to make copies of workbooks, upload them to SharePoint, create hidden audit logs, check figures, and automatically email managers and sales reps.

Company Scorecard

Measuring key performance indicators was important for this client. Therefore, the workbook included an "import" tab when data was pasted in from another sheet each month. The key performance indications were then pulled in using a SUMPRUDCT and short month name (e.g., Jan). The workbook also included code to upload the business units to SharePoint and hide unused columns.

General Programming Tools

Because an Excel consultant will come across a wide variety of business problems, the consultant must have data management skills outside of Microsoft Excel. Here are a few common data management tools an Excel consultant should be familiar with:

SQL

Relational databases are the meat and potatoes of data management. SQL is how you access that data.

An Excel consultant fluent in SQL will be able to write queries for source data, streamlining current Excel workbooks.

SharePoint

SharePoint is a common data management site that many companies use to upload and share files.

A firm familiar with SharePoint can help create a custom site that can be used for uploads and even downloads to or from Excel.

Excel Consulting Rates

With most firms, simple support calls might have different rates than training or custom development.

Our Rates

Our rates are $50 an hour. No minimum project size and no hidden fees. For jobs that require a retainer or on-demand support, the rate would still be $50 but is usually billed in one simple monthly amount.

Average Consulting Rates

Other firms have a wide variety of price ranges for Excel consultations, but generally, $75 - $125 is the average hourly rate. Many firms will also have a minimum billable amount of $500 or more.

Our Process to Excel Consulting

Here are the general steps we take for an Excel consultation. These steps will help ensure high-quality work.

1) Understanding

The first step in a consulting engagement is to understand your business requirements and identify the pain points in your current process. If VBA is involved in the current process, we will review the code to look for efficiencies. We will also understand your current flow of information and review how source data is compiled.

2) Suggested Alternatives

A single problem in Excel can have many solutions. The best solution might not be time or cost-efficient. We'll walk you through the pros and cons of each suggested solution.

3) Create a Draft

This is where our consultants will start crafting your new workbooks. This step involves writing custom formulas, creating custom VBA code, and adding specific branding to personalize the workbook.

4) Review and Finalize

Once finalized, the project may include written documentation or a conversation to ensure you and the staff know how to use and maintain your new workbook.

5) Continued Support

Once a project is complete, new business logic may require updating the workbook. For established clients, workbook updates are handled under a retainer agreement. However, some smaller clients prefer to book a simple $50 support call to have the workbook quickly updated.