Searching for ways to make money from home? Learning your way around Microsoft Excel could be your ticket to earning supplemental income. The average person needs the functionality of Excel, but doesn’t have the time or interest to learn the ropes. Instead, they find people online to create any spreadsheets they need.
If you don’t know Excel, you’re leaving money on the table. Head over to ExcelTraining.com to start learning basic functions, formulas, and shortcuts for free. Additional paid courses focus on advanced, niche applications in engineering, personal finance, and banking.
Although you can take your Excel training to any level, you only need the basics to get started making money. Once you’ve mastered the basics of using formulas and functions, you can continue learning while using your Excel skills to generate cash in the following ways.
1. Create custom financial tracking spreadsheets
Financial management is one of the most common ways people use Excel. However, efficiently tracking finances in Excel requires a basic level of Excel programming knowledge.
When someone doesn’t know how to use formulas, their spreadsheets will be limited. Financial data won’t automatically calculate which defeats the purpose of using Excel. If you’re not taking advantage of Excel’s formulas and functions, you may as well use scratch paper!
Start creating custom spreadsheets that calculate expected income and expenses for every day of the month. You can program the spreadsheet to display a person’s expected bank balance for every day of the month.
You can even color-code your formulas to turn cells red when that day’s expenses will cause their bank balance to drop below a certain dollar amount.
2. Troubleshoot and fix errors
Research shows that 90% of businesses use spreadsheets with errors. Unfortunately, many organizations aren’t aware of spreadsheet errors, some of which have dire consequences. For example, a simple formulaic error can cause a company to be undervalued, and personal data in hidden cells can become an expensive data breach.
Since errors are so common, fixing spreadsheet errors is a fantastic way to earn income.
Often, employers create spreadsheets for employees, but the formulas haven’t been verified thoroughly. Some employees rely on these spreadsheets to complete their daily work and don’t know why they’re having problems. Many companies will pay good money to have their spreadsheet errors fixed.
While most employees can’t just hand over a company spreadsheet, they can ask their boss to hire you for a quick fix. If it’s not a quick fix, you could always create a new spreadsheet from scratch.
3. “Prettify” existing Excel spreadsheets
Good design goes a long way. Beautifully designed Excel spreadsheets are easier to use even though the functionality might be identical to other sheets. Design influences a user’s intuitive ability to use a spreadsheet. The best spreadsheets have solid lines separating each section and don’t overuse bold colors as backgrounds.
You may not make a killing per spreadsheet, but you’ll earn some good side cash by prettifying other people’s boring, plain, or poorly designed spreadsheets.
4. Create and sell templates
If you can create a spreadsheet once, you can sell it an infinite number of times, and your income will be truly passive.
Pinpoint what types of spreadsheets businesses are using. Create your own versions and spend time playing with them to see if you can improve the function. Then, release your version to the public for a small fee.
5. Brand and customize existing spreadsheets
Sometimes companies have existing spreadsheets they want to use, but want someone to make the design match the company’s brand. You can earn money branding spreadsheets for organizations that struggle with design principles.
All you need to do is add the brand’s colors, create some borders, and add the company’s logo. You could charge a reasonable flat fee and earn more per hour than your regular salary.
6. Use Excel spreadsheets as a lead magnet
If you’re running a business in an industry that utilizes spreadsheets, create a useful tool for your audience and give it away for free as a lead magnet. For example, give away your financial tracker or your custom spreadsheet for tracking tax payments.
Lead magnets don’t put money in your pocket right away, but the leads you generate from Excel spreadsheets can be nurtured and converted over time.
Money is made where people lack knowledge
You can always make money with useful knowledge others don’t possess. Thankfully, you can turn working with Excel spreadsheets into a source of income without leaving your house.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
