The document describes 10 Excel applications developed by ESoftware Associates to improve business efficiency. The applications include a client proposal generator for an insurance provider, a pricing tool for event management, automated data validation for tax forms, automated reports for manufacturers' reps, billing reports for healthcare providers, meter readings for a hydro plant, a sales data validator, a media proposal generator, an investment analysis tool, and a nursing home staffing tool. Each application automates manual processes to save time and reduce errors.

1. 10 EXCEL APPLICATIONS
THAT IMPROVE BUSINESS
EFFICIENCY
BY: ESOFTWARE ASSOCIATES

2. In our consultancy, life is never dull. We are constantly finding new
ways to use the incredibly powerful Excel platform to provide value
to our clients. In this post, we will showcase the following
applications that our expert Microsoft developers have built:
• Client Proposal Generator for High-End Insurance Provider
• Pricing Tool for Event Management
• Automated Data Validation for Tax Form Processing
• Automated Reports for Manufacturers Reps
• Billing and Payment Reports to Supplement EMR for Health Care Providers
• Meter Readings for Hydro Electric Plant
• Sales Data Validator
• Media Client Proposal Generator
• Investment Advisor Analysis Tool
• Nursing Home Staffing Tool

3. CLIENT PROPOSAL GENERATOR FOR HIGH-END
INSURANCE PROVIDER
• Our client’s insurance agents were spending an inordinate
amount of time generating client proposals. For each proposal,
they were copying and pasting information downloaded from
multiple insurance carriers for each insured into Excel
spreadsheets. This information was then manually consolidated
on a summary sheet for comparison, selection and presentation
to clients. Along the way, client names and birthdates had to be
re-entered in multiple places. The client came to us looking
for help creating a streamlined, efficient process of generating
proposals.

4. CLIENT PROPOSAL GENERATOR FOR HIGH-END
INSURANCE PROVIDER
• Our Microsoft experts developed
an Excel VBA application to
automate the process
generating client proposals. The
home page provides an interface
for entering client information,
which then is used to auto-
populate cells throughout the
application. It also provides
functionality for browsing to and
selecting import files for the
various insurance carriers.
• Insurance Agents can now
develop client proposals in a
fraction of the time that they
previously spent on them. This
gives them more time to
customize and optimize the
proposals for their clients.
The Solution: Key Client Benefits:

5. PRICING TOOL FOR EVENT MANAGEMENT
• An improved and automated Excel pricing tool was needed for
the sourcing, estimating, contracting and invoicing phases of
each program and its associated events. Since each program
involves third party vendors for the various program
components, the application needed a streamlined workflow
with interfaces for entering data, automated calculations, and
automated generation of invoices and other documents.

6. PRICING TOOL FOR EVENT MANAGEMENT
• Our Microsoft developers create an
Excel application that allows program
planners to easily manage client
information and view alternate cost
and pricing scenarios. The Client Info
tab contains an interface for
accepting client information, which
automatically flows through to other
areas of the application, eliminating
the need for duplicate data
entry. Furthermore, the Invoice
Output and Detail Output Tabs are
automatically populated and used to
generate PDF documents for the
• Program planners can focus their
attention on obtaining information
from their clients and vendors and
quickly develop estimates, contracts
and invoices. Since information is
automatically calculated and
populated, errors and time expended
are reduced.
The Solution: Key Client Benefits:

7. AUTOMATED DATA VALIDATION FOR TAX FORM
PROCESSING
• Tax filing software has certain data type and formatting
requirements for each field pertaining to each tax form. A tax
preparer needed a process for their clients to use in validating
their data before attempting to upload it into the tax preparer’s
online software.

8. AUTOMATED DATA VALIDATION FOR TAX FORM
PROCESSING
• Our Microsoft developers
created an Excel application with
VBA code. The application runs
a data validation macro and
notifies the user of any invalid
data. Once the user corrects the
data, the validation can be run
again to make sure all errors
have been rectified.
• Users can now easily see the
errors in their data and address
the issues before spending time
uploading data into the tax
filing software. This saves time
and frustration, reducing delays
in submitting information
needed for tax filing
compliance.
The Solution: Key Client Benefits:

9. AUTOMATED REPORTS FOR MANUFACTURERS
REPS
• Each month, management sends sales reports to
manufacturer’s representatives. These reports are a
compilation of information from several different systems and
include calculations based on logic pertaining to costs, pricing
tiers, rebates, and fulfillment percentages.

10. AUTOMATED REPORTS FOR
MANUFACTURERS REPS
• Our Excel developers created a
branded, polished Excel application
with VBA. The application
automatically imports unit costs,
rebates, fulfillment percentages and
other information and places it in
reference tables within the
application. The VBA code contains
formulas with logic rules that are
specified by the client. Once the
data is imported, the results report
can be automatically generated.
• Reports can now be generated in a
fraction of the time that was
formerly spent generating these
reports on a monthly basis.
The Solution: Key Client Benefits:

11. BILLING AND PAYMENT REPORTS TO
SUPPLEMENT EMR FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS
• The accounting department of a medical group needed to send
monthly statements to each provider, documenting billing and
payment information for services rendered to their
patients. Although they have an electronic health records
(EHR) system in place, which includes billing data, it doesn’t
generate the provider statements. They want an application
that automatically extracts information from reports generated
by the EHR system, creates separate reports for each provider,
and then emails those reports.

12. BILLING AND PAYMENT REPORTS TO
SUPPLEMENT EMR FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS
• An Excel application was
developed with functionality for
selecting the time period,
providers and CPT codes to
include in the reports. After the
selections are made, pressing
the “process” button generates
the reports and sends emails to
each provider with their report
attached.
• The client was previously
spending a few days each month
generating provider reports,
which can now be completed by
the application in
minutes. This results in the
providers receiving their reports
in a timely manner and frees up
the time of the accounting staff
to work on other matters.
The Solution: Key Client Benefits:

13. METER READINGS FOR HYDRO ELECTRIC
PLANT
Our client needed a way to
analyze and visualize historical
as well as current meter
reading data from equipment
in a Hydro Electric Plant.

14. METER READINGS FOR HYDRO ELECTRIC
PLANT
• Our data experts extracted approximately
2.5 million electrical meter and peak
readings from 1925 to the present; 1.9
million hydrology readings from 1926 to the
present; and several hundred additional
miscellaneous data points. Using Excel, this
data was cleansed, prepared and then
imported into data tables in an Access
database.
• Our Excel developers then created a
frontend application with a data connection
to the Access backend. This frontend
application contains an interface for entering
new meter readings and functionality for
generating reports for visualizing the data in
various ways.
• With the historical data in a
database, the client can now
use it for a variety of analytical
purposes.
The Solution: Key Client Benefits:

15. SALES DATA VALIDATOR
• The client wanted to improve the process of validating and
correcting sales data prior to uploading it into a corporate
reporting system.

16. SALES DATA VALIDATOR
• An Excel application was created
to import, validate and export
sales data. A user interface
allows the user to select the
company name from a
dropdown list and the file and
folder locations for the import
files. From a popup menu, the
user can then load the data into
the Excel file from the source
files, validate it and generate an
export file.
• The salesforce can quickly and
easily correct errors in their data
prior to attempting to import it
into the corporate reporting
system. Because this new
process is much faster than
their previous process, the sales
team can provide information to
the corporate reporting system
on a timelier basis.
The Solution: Key Client Benefits:

17. MEDIA CLIENT PROPOSAL GENERATOR
• Our media client needed a more automated means for their
salesforce to generate proposals. Their products are included
in publications that span a variety of brands and media
platforms, including both electronic and print media. As a
result, the application needed flexibility to accurately handle
product specifications and bulk pricing tiers for each brand and
platform specified. Furthermore, they wanted the ability to
easily select publication dates for the selected quantity. When
the quantity specified is 24, they wanted to easily select 24
dates to include in the proposal.
Media Client Proposal Generator

18. MEDIA CLIENT PROPOSAL GENERATOR
• An Excel application guides the
salesperson through a sequence of
selections, where the available
choices are filtered based on prior
selections. The backend tables were
designed to allow easy update by
the administrator, which is
extremely important for
accommodating ever changing
product offerings.
• Salespeople can now focus on
helping their clients select the most
suitable publications, products and
platforms rather than scrambling to
find the most current offerings of
each.
The Solution: Key Client Benefits:

19. INVESTMENT ADVISOR ANALYSIS TOOL
• A group of Investment Advisors
needed an efficient method of
importing ticker data and
associated financial, firm and
industry information into an
application for further analysis.
Due to the large amount of data,
the current system was slow and
cumbersome to use.
• A hybrid system consisting of an
Access backend and an Excel
front end application was
developed. The Access backend
stores the data, while the Excel
frontend performs the
calculations.
The Solution:Problem

20. NURSING HOME STAFFING TOOL
• An Excel application was
developed with an automated
process for importing and
visualizing data.
• A nursing home needed an
application that imports staffing
and patient census data from a
larger database and compares
the current and projected
staffing levels to the required
staffing levels during each shift.
The Solution:Problem: