Excel

[Flycut]

Hi guys.

I'm not sure if this is an appropriate request.(Like asking for a post.)
Please forgive me if its not.

As my small business is starting to grow I'm finding I need a better way of tracking everything.
I want to start using excel but don't have the skills to build something from scratch.
Does anyone have a blank Excel template for machine shop management they can share?
I've tried finding something online but maybe I just don't know where or how to look.

TIA

[Here's Johnny!]

Not positive but I would think the free Ai applications could help you generate one. Assuming you know what you want the spreadsheet to do in terms of what data you are looking at or tracking.

[CNCAppsJames]

I'm typically negative on AI... there's some things it is VERY good at. I think your request may fall into that category.  

[Flycut]

Forgive my ignorance.
Is this Ai application part of Excel or are you suggesting some generic Ai?
I tried chat GPT, it's the only one I really know of.
That didn't help. 

[Here's Johnny!]

Some free ones.

ChatGPT
Google Gemini
Grok

Of these I like Gemini better at this point. To limit any personal information just set up a burner gmail account that you use strictly for Ai.

I think you need to know what you want the spreadsheet to encompass to get what you want.

[neurosis]

As my small business is starting to grow I'm finding I need a better way of tracking everything.

What level of tracking are you trying to do and how big of a Company?

[Flycut]

One man 2 machines.
I just want a place where I can create quotes, invoices and track costs for every job.

[CNCAppsJames]

You're going to need to give it something to start with. Prompts are everything.

[Zoffen]

Best thing to do is to just sit down and do it yourself.

This will force you to really define what/how you want to track stuff.

If you are doing nothing at all right now be prepared to be overwhelmed with options/opinions on how to do it.

My advice is to keep it as simple as possible for as long as possible. The best system is the one that does exactly what you need and nothing else. The scope of "what you need" just tends to expand as you realize that if everything is in "the system" life gets exponentially easier as you grow.

Or you could just have claude code write you an erp system....

[mowens]

You have to pay for chatgpt to actually generate a spreadsheet, unless it changed. It tells you it generated the spreadsheet but really only gives you a really long text file. As soon i payed my 20 bucks for a month it gave me the spreadsheet.

[Here's Johnny!]

Most shops use ERP type software for running their operations I believe?

[Brian]

Forgive me for asking the obvious, but what have you been using up to this point? How are you doing your invoicing/accounting?

While not an ERP, you can certainly create quotes, invoices, and track job costs in something like Quickbooks.