# How to hire someone to create a spreadsheet?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 22, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424 "2014-01-22T02:20:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/1 "2014-01-22T02:20:21Z")
Since i have not found a financial spreadsheet to do what I want and I don’t have the excel skills to create one. I want to hire someone. I have a powerpoint of what what I want to accomplish but have no idea what sites to go to in looking for an excel “programmer”. Nor do I know how much to expect it to cost me.
---
### Author:  [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/2 "2014-01-22T02:26:33Z")
Is the powerpoint too confidential to post? The difficulty will depend on what you need it to do; it might be easy enough we could walk you through it (or impossible, for that matter).
---
### Author:  [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/3 "2014-01-22T02:32:52Z")
There’s plenty of websites that provide help on creating formulas and macros etc in Excel. Google is your friend.
---
### Author:  [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/4 "2014-01-22T02:56:16Z")
elance, [freelancer.com](http://freelancer.com), odesk, [guru.com](http://guru.com), or any of the other freelancing websites.
---
### Author:  [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/5 "2014-01-22T02:59:48Z")
> [@MannyL](#):
>
> Since i have not found a financial spreadsheet to do what I want and I don’t have the excel skills to create one. I want to hire someone. I have a powerpoint of what what I want to accomplish but have no idea what sites to go to in looking for an excel “programmer”. Nor do I know how much to expect it to cost me.
If it were important enough to pay for, I’d hire someone at my CPA firm to create it. I wouldn’t count on some bloke to knows how to use Excel to create a complicated financial spreadsheet. On the other hand, a firm of talented accountants will definitely have people who know to to use Excel.
---
### Author:  [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/6 "2014-01-22T03:17:03Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#):
>
> Is the powerpoint too confidential to post? The difficulty will depend on what you need it to do; it might be easy enough we could walk you through it (or impossible, for that matter).
Nope not confidential at all. I’m looking to find the powerpoint file.
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#):
>
> elance, [freelancer.com](http://freelancer.com), odesk, [guru.com](http://guru.com), or any of the other freelancing websites.
I am going to look at [odesk.com](http://odesk.com) I had tried to hire someone off Craigs List but after spending $100 I didn’t get the spreasheet that did what I needed and I don’t have the rights to distrubite it to others.
---
### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/7 "2014-01-22T03:30:17Z")
If you’d like to learn and have a few hours and $25 to spare, you can join [Lynda.com](http://www.lynda.com). The tutorials are not absolutely exhaustive, but they walk you through the software at a slow but steady pace, from the very basics up to some of the more advanced features. It won’t make you an expert, but you’ll have a lot more confidence working with the program.
---
### Author:  [@snowmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowmaster)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/8 "2014-01-22T03:33:46Z")
I’m pretty darn Excel handy, if you post the PowerPoint I’d be happy to take a crack at it.
---
### Author:  [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/9 "2014-01-22T03:48:51Z")
Ok I can’t find the powerpoint I made so I recreated it as a Word Doc. The excel document that doesn’t suit my needs plus the word doc is (hopefully) on my [Google Drive](https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1JoWGSfKVABcjJENHo4bWlIeVk&usp=sharing)
---
### Author:  [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/10 "2014-01-22T11:50:09Z")
I’ll have a go, too, depending on what snowmaster says. I think I can do a better job than the one you have in your Google Drive pretty easily.
You’ll create a new workbook each month?
What version of Excel do you own?
Will the goals page mainly be an end of month check of available funds to apply to an account?
---
### Author:  [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/11 "2014-01-22T16:11:14Z")
Although it’s an Access Database forum, there’s plenty of Excel wizards there also:
[http://www.utteraccess.com/forum/Job-Project-Postings-f26.html](http://www.utteraccess.com/forum/Job-Project-Postings-f26.html)
---
### Author:  [@compositejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/compositejoe)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/12 "2014-01-22T17:13:11Z")
> [@snowmaster](#):
>
> I’m pretty darn Excel handy, if you post the PowerPoint I’d be happy to take a crack at it.
Or I could…
---
### Author:  [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/13 "2014-01-22T18:07:11Z")
> [@MannyL](#):
>
> … I had tried to hire someone off Craigs List but after spending $100 I didn’t get the spreasheet that did what I needed and I don’t have the rights to distrubite it to others.
Ouch. In the future, a signed contract is your friend.
---
### Author:  [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/14 "2014-01-22T18:35:15Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#):
>
> Ouch. In the future, a signed contract is your friend.
Yes I know this now.
---
### Author:  [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/15 "2014-01-22T22:04:45Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#):
>
> Ouch. In the future, a signed contract is your friend.
For both the client _and_ the vendor.
---
### Author:  [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/16 "2014-01-22T22:45:21Z")
> [@MannyL](#):
>
> Since i have not found a financial spreadsheet to do what I want and I don’t have the excel skills to create one. I want to hire someone. I have a powerpoint of what what I want to accomplish but have no idea what sites to go to in looking for an excel “programmer”. Nor do I know how much to expect it to cost me.
nvm
---
### Author:  [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/17 "2014-01-22T22:49:36Z")
Is it strange that I find it wrong, in some kind of actual _moral_ sense even, for people to be doing this for the OP for free?
Like, if you enjoy it, I feel, you should do it–and take however much people are willing to pay you.
(Of course I have to acknowledge that if two people are willing to do it for free, then competition will drive the price down to free. But I just don’t get the whole “willing to do it for free” thing in the first place. _Someone offered to pay you!_)
---
### Author:  [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2014, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/18 "2014-01-23T00:20:02Z")
> [@snowmaster](#):
>
> I’m pretty darn Excel handy, if you post the PowerPoint I’d be happy to take a crack at it.
> [@](#):
>
> I’ll have a go, too, depending on what snowmaster says. I think I can do a better job than the one you have in your Google Drive pretty easily.
>
> You’ll create a new workbook each month?
> What version of Excel do you own?
> Will the goals page mainly be an end of month check of available funds to apply to an account?
> [@compositejoe](#):
>
> Or I could…
Dave, I was going to use the same workbook each moth updating the new account balances.
The goals page is what % of utilisation I am aiming for
I believe that FICO uses both the overall utilisation off all accounts plus the utilisation of each account to contribute to your score.
I am using Excel 2010
snowmaster, Dave Hartwick and compositejoe Please send me an email (in profile) telling me what you would charge for this.
---
### Author:  [@MannyL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MannyL)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-hire-someone-to-create-a-spreadsheet/679424/19 "2014-01-23T00:21:20Z")
> [@Frylock](#):
>
> Is it strange that I find it wrong, in some kind of actual _moral_ sense even, for people to be doing this for the OP for free?
>
> Like, if you enjoy it, I feel, you should do it–and take however much people are willing to pay you.
>
> (Of course I have to acknowledge that if two people are willing to do it for free, then competition will drive the price down to free. But I just don’t get the whole “willing to do it for free” thing in the first place. _Someone offered to pay you!_)
Frylock I do find it wrong to take the offer of free work when I originally asked for advise on how to hire someone to do this.