Guides
How to build a 13-week cash flow forecast (step by step for small businesses)
What a 13-week cash flow forecast is, why lenders and turnaround advisors use it, and how to build one in a spreadsheet in an afternoon — with a worked example.
How to make a 50/30/20 budget spreadsheet (with a worked example)
What the 50/30/20 rule is, how to set up categories, track spending and check needs, wants and savings against your income in any spreadsheet.
How to make an accounts receivable aging report in Excel
Build an AR aging report by hand: due dates, days overdue, 30/60/90 buckets, a simple DSO and a chase list, with a worked example for any spreadsheet.
13-week cash flow forecast: build your own spreadsheet, use a template, or buy software?
An honest comparison of the three ways to run a 13-week cash flow forecast — cost, setup time, accuracy and who each option suits.
Debt snowball vs avalanche: how to compare them in a spreadsheet
How the debt snowball and debt avalanche methods work, how to simulate both month by month in any spreadsheet, and a worked example with three debts.
Double progression: track progressive overload in a spreadsheet
How double progression works, how to log sets so a spreadsheet tells you what to lift next time, and how to estimate a one-rep max with the Epley formula.
How to track freelance hours and invoices in a spreadsheet
A simple system for freelancers: log time by project, see unbilled work, build an invoice from the log and track what is overdue. With a worked example.
How to calculate food cost percentage and price a menu item
Cost a recipe with ingredient yield, work out food cost %, find the price that hits your target and sort dishes with menu engineering. Worked example.
How to calculate your real profit per order after marketplace fees
Work out profit and margin per order after fees, product cost, shipping and ads, then roll it into a monthly P&L and a tax set-aside, with a worked example.
Margin vs markup: how to price a job and quote it in a spreadsheet
The difference between margin and markup, how to price from a target margin, then add discount, tax and deposit and work out break-even jobs per month.
How to track food waste cost in a cafe or bakery
Log produced, sold, discounted, donated and binned items each day, put a cost on waste, find the main reason behind it and see which items to produce less of.
How to make a weekly meal plan and grocery list in a spreadsheet
Plan a week of meals, turn recipes into one shopping list, subtract what you have, round up to whole packs and check the cost against a budget.
How to plan modular 3D-printed drawer organiser trays on a grid
Measure your drawer, divide it into grid units, pick tray sizes and heights, and print one test tray first. A worked layout and basic print settings.
How to track rent and arrears in a spreadsheet (for landlords)
Work out rent due from lease dates, compare it with payments to find arrears, flag leases ending soon and calculate gross and net yield. Worked example.
6 sales KPIs you can calculate from any store's CSV export
Revenue, orders, average order value, top products, monthly trend and repeat-customer share — what they mean and how to calculate them from a sales export.
Seamless PBR textures explained: maps, real-world scale and OpenGL vs DirectX normals
What basecolor, normal, roughness, metallic, height and AO maps do, how to set real-world tile size, and how to handle OpenGL and DirectX normals in common engines.
Sinking funds: how much to save each month (spreadsheet method)
What sinking funds are, how to work out the monthly amount per goal, check you are on track, and track an emergency fund and net worth in a spreadsheet.
How to make a wedding budget spreadsheet with a payment schedule
Set up a wedding budget that tracks estimates against booked costs, a vendor payment schedule, an RSVP list and a dated checklist. Worked example included.
Weekly planning on paper: meal plan, grocery list by aisle and habit tracker
A simple paper routine: plan meals for the week, write a grocery list by aisle against a budget, and track habits for the month. Includes a worked example.
Windows 11 security health check: 14 checks you can run with PowerShell
A practical checklist for auditing a Windows 10 or 11 PC with built-in PowerShell commands: patches, antivirus, firewall, BitLocker, SMBv1, RDP, admins and more.