Download the Apartment Comparison Android App

To the fans of my wildly popular Apartment Search Spreadsheet, I just wanted to quickly let you know I’ve just released a brand new Android application called Apartment Comparison. It’s very similar to the spreadsheet but now in an easy to use format for mobile phones and tablets.The application is easy to use and comes with instructions.

The intended use of the app is to compare apartments by giving an apartment score to each. The score is computed when the user sets the importance of several key categories, such as location, community, utilities, etc. A bubble chart is then displayed for you to compare apartment score to monthly cost. The apartment with the highest cost might also cost twice as much as any other apartment, so maybe it is better to choose the second highest score because the cost is much less.

This apartment app can also be used as a simple apartments search checklist. There are 65 input fields divided up into seven different categories. To compare apartments you must first enter information for each apartment using the input screen. Data is entered in one of three forms: numerical keypad (for monthly expenses, move-in fees, etc.), Yes/No buttons (for things like if a microwave if present or not), or a rating from 1 to 10 (for things like your evaluation of the local school district).  I strongly believe we have literally thought of anything and everything you could wish to know about an apartment! 

Download Apartment Comparison from the Google Play store for FREE right now!

I aim to make Apartment Comparison the best apartment hunting app available so if you do download it I would appreciate it if you rated the application and gave me any feedback or suggestions for improvements.

How to Embed Excel in a Website

One thing I wanted to learn when I created this blog was how to embed Excel spreadsheets into a website. Thanks to free file sharing services like www.box.com embeding files into websites has become a very simple process (and see why I highly recommend you create a website). The very first thing you need to do is to go and register an account at a file sharing website. I use Box.com because it’s free and has many unique features, like keeping stats of how many times your spreadsheets are viewed or downloaded. Once you have an account, follow these five easy steps once you have your Excel spreadsheet ready to upload:

 

Step 1: Create a folder

This folder is where you will upload your spreadsheet. OK, you actually don’t have to do this step but it helps to keep your files organized which is why I recommend you do it.

Step 2: Upload your spreadsheet to your folder
Go to your folder then upload your spreadsheet to by clicking Upload.

Step 3: Copy the markup

When the file is done uploading click the down arrow, scroll down to Share, then click Embed File in Your Site. Now you may adjust the width, height, and color as well as setting other options like allowing printing or downloading. When ready, click Copy to Clickboard to grab the embed code (or markup).

Step 4: Go to your blog

The markup you copied is supported in many web authoring environments and blog services. Go to your blog editor, begin writing your post, then switch to HTML editing.

Step 5: Paste and post

Make sure the markup you copied is the most recent item in your Clipboard and press CTRL + V. You’ve just embedded an Excel spreadsheet into your website! See the example below:



Concluding Thoughts

There are other file sharing services you can use to embed a spreadsheet, like Microsoft’s SkyDrive and CometDocs, but I have had a great experience with Box.

-Nick
Spreadsheet Embedder

Printable Super Bowl Squares 2013

The NFL playoffs are over and the final two teams are set to go at it in the championship game, meaning it’s time to download the printable Super Bowl Squares 2013 edition! The San Francisco 49ers will play the Baltimore Ravens in Superbowl XLVII (47) on Sunday, February 3rd. Do you want to make the big game even more fun? Start an office pool using our printable Superbowl square spreadsheet. Fill in the squares then watch the game (and laugh at the commercials) and see who wins. It makes watching the game more fun, especially if you don't care for the teams actually playing (Browns fans know what I'm talking about).

How to Play Superbowl Squares

Here are the instructions on how to play Superbowl Squares (which are also included within the spreadsheet along with an example):

1. Participants “purchase” individuals squares by writing their name in their desired squares, until all one hundred are filled.
2. After all squares are taken, the numbers 0 through 9 are written in the empty horizontal and vertical rows in random order (draw the numbers out of a hat).
3. After the end of each quarter of the game, match the last digit of each team's score to the corresponding square to find the winner. Tip: 0, 3, and 7 are the best numbers to get. 8, not so much.

Download the Super Bowl Squares Spreadsheet

To download click the link below, then click download.

 2013 Printable NFL Super Bowl Squares.xls 

Or if you want you can make your own and use my Superbowl sheet as a template to make your own Superbowl grid. Remember, football squares is mostly played during the Superbowl but you can use it for any other game too. Check out our download page for more sports spreadsheet templates. Who you got in the big game? The Browns suck and the 49ers knocked out my Packers so I'm going to have to go with them.

UPDATE: Download a printable 2014 SuperBowl Squares spreadsheet here.

2016 Super Bowl Squares now available

Printable 2013 NFL Playoff Bracket

The 2012-2013 NFL Playoffs are set to begin this Saturday, January 5 and I’ve created a printable bracket with Excel. After a crazy regular season that saw some of the best rookie play in league history (and to think my Browns could have easily gotten Russell Wilson!), the rushing record nearly fall to Adrian Peterson, Drew Brees incredible touchdown streak, and more. What was your favorite part?

I have created a printable playoff bracket complete with team logos. As a bonus, I've also included the complete 2012-2013 NFL Postseason Schedule within the bracket spreadsheet, including kickoff times and broadcast stations.Download the file below (hosted on box.com). I have to admit, I'm not even going to try to figure out which roman numeral it is.

Printable 2013 NFL Playoff bracket.xls download

If you enjoy this spreadsheet, please use the share buttons to send to your family, friends, and coworkers. Also, be sure to check back around January 20th, or the day after when the playoffs are over and I’ll be posting my Superbowl squares spreadsheet.

Get the 2014 Super Bowl Squares.

Best Excel Posts from 2012

As the year is about to end it's time to look back and reflect on our most popular posts from 2012, listed below, in order:

1. Printable 2012 NFL Playoff Bracket
2. Printable 2012 Superbowl Squares Spreadsheet
3. 2011-2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Printable Bracket
4. Downloadable 2012 NCAA Tournament Bracket
5. Career Advice: Make a Website

After trying a couple of different options, including ShareCash and Google Docs, I've finally settled on using www.box.com to host my Excel spreadsheets and templates to allow you to easily download them with no extra hassles.  Listed below are the top downloaded spreadsheets from the past year:

1. 2012 NFL Helmet Schedule 8.20.12.xls
2. 2012 NCAA Helmet Schedule.xls
3. Expense Report Template.xls
4. Golf Scorescard Templete.xls
5. Give Yourself a Raise.pdf

As you can see, the sports templates are proving to be very popular and we've got some good ones on deck for 2013! Also, my project management template (that includes a free gantt chart) proved to be very popular but you'll have to signup for our email newsletter to recieve it.

Looking ahead, we plan to bring you even more and better Excel spreadsheets templates in 2013. Do you have any suggestions for the site? What do you like or don’t like? Any features you want to see more or less of?

Thanks for reading Excel spreadsheets help this past year, I really appreciate it. This blog wouldn't exsist without you! Have a happy new year and I'll see you in 2013.

-Nick

NCAA Football Bowl Schedule and Pool 2012

The NCAA college football bowl season is finally here which means it’s time to make your picks and predictions about who you think will win each game. One of the best times of the holiday season (other than giving and receiving gifts) is gathering around the TV and rooting for your favorite football team in a BCS bowl game. Make the occasion even more fun and competitive by trying to predict the NCAA football bowl games.

Use my spreadsheet template to create a college bowl pool with your friends or coworkers. Simply download the Excel file linked to below and follow the instructions included within the spreadsheet. The NCAA bowl pool also doubles as a printable college football bowl schedule. The spreadsheet is all set up and ready to go - simply make your picks and then watch the game to see who the winner is. It automatically keeps track of several different stats like how many games each person gets correct, what percentage of games you’ve picker correctly, and more!

How it Works

Altogether you do not have to enter or change any formulas or complicated functions to use the spreadsheet, I will briefly explain how it works in case you want to create your own from scratch or modify mine:

The college bowl spreadsheet uses drop down lists to allow the user to select a winning team. The number of games picked correctly is added using Excel’s SUMProduct function. Conditional formatting is used to color code correct picks from incorrect picks.

Download the NCAA College Football Bowl Schedule and Pool

To download the spreadsheet simply click the link below which will take you to the box.com, where the file is hosted. Next, click on the “Download” link in the upper right hand corner. That’s it!

Download: NCAA Football Bowl Schedule 2012.xls (hosted on www.box.com)

Update 12/12/12: I uploaded a new version of the spreadsheet with a macro that automatically adds the correct number of columns and stats for the total number of players. To run the macro go to the Master Pool sheet and run the "AddPlayers" macro (by going to View>Macros>View Macros>AddPlayers>Run). After hitting run, enter total number of players into pop-up input box. Click OK then complete the rest of the template as usual.

Also, I’ve created a Google doc to start an Excel Spreadsheets Help NCAA bowl pool. To join, download the spreadsheet, make your predictions, then copy and paste your picks into my Google doc here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Av7RTFdlK3AmdFBwcHBINi1jUi1jdm1ZWTFtbWNuQkE

Final Thoughts

I’m sad to see my Buckeyes sitting on the sidelines this year (should have taken a bowl ban last year) although I’m hoping my Toledo Rockets can cap off the year with a good win. I’m a Big Ten and MAC guy so I’ll be pulling for each conference team but I have to admit I have almost no hope or confidence for any of them winning a single match up. What are your NCAA bowl predictions? What are your bowl picks? Leave a comment below and let me know! Like our Facebook page to receive notification when we post our NFL playoffs bracket and other sport templates.

-Nick

Go Rockets!

Travel Expense Report Template

If you’ve ever traveled for your corporate day job then you’ve probably completed a travel expense report or travel reimbursement form at some point. Of course, before you were even granted permission to go on a trip you probably had to complete a travel authorization request. If you’re only traveling locally and don’t have to spend the night at a hotel you may only have to turn in a mileage reimbursement voucher. (Why are there so many forms?) But if you get stuck staying overnight or have the privilege of traveling to a foreign country chances are your company is going to want you to keep track of every single expense. This is where my travel expense sheet comes in handy!

The form is a great tool to log personal or employee travel expenses. I’ve literally tried to think of every possible expense that may need to be tracked and report, including lodging (room), transportation (rental car, taxi, airline, gasoline), meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, or per diem), other (entertainment, parking, tolls, etc.). There is even a sheet for currency conversion figures. Sometimes your company may give advance pay to cover your traveling expenses before you even leave. This is included in the spreadsheet in the section which shows how much the company owes the employee (or vice versa if given an advance pay and you don’t use it all). Seriously, I’ve really tried to think of everything!

There is a section at the bottom of the template for your manager or accountant to sign off on or if you’re a solo gig you can simply ignore it. I’ve provided ample room for explanations too, in case your boss wants to know why you are declaring that beer you bought at the hotel as a company entertainment expense. Download the form below (hosted on Box) and please do let me know if you think of anything missing from this spreadsheet.

Travel Expense Report Template.xls download

Nick
Travel Paid For