Just a quick note. I hope it’s obvious. With examples in this book I’m not showing you the full columns of the spreadsheets, because that would be awkward. Numbers would have to be very small and difficult to read. I use my spreadsheets for sales forecasting and other normal monthly projections with a standard layout.
I base my tables on the standard spreadsheet layout as used in Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, AppleWorks, Quattro Pro, and even the true pioneer, VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet, from 30 years ago. The rows are labeled from 1 to whatever, and the columns are labeled from A to whatever. When you get past the 26 letters of the alphabet you start over again, with AA, AB, AC, etc.
| Labels in Column A | Special uses for Column B | 12 Months Monthly in Columns C-N | Annual Columns as Needed. |
| I run the labels along the lefthand side. These might be Sales, Expenses, Profits, etc. | I keep column B open for variables like growth rates and such. This is convenient for starting balances too. | My months go off toward the right, one by one, in 12 columns. | The first year’s totals of the numbers from the previous 12 months. Then come the additional years as needed. |
Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software and Bplans.com. Follow him on Twitter @Timberry.
