Today
I am going to share with you an Excel spreadsheet template I use every
time I need to travel for my day job - my travel authorization request
form. Many companies today use travel request forms to help log and keep
track of employee’s travel. Yes, even I still have to get permission from
the bean counters before I have approval to make travel arrangements!My
request for travel authorization form is very simple and easy to use.
It’s extremely light - there are no formulas involved. If you’re setting
this up for your own business you can also choose different per diem
pay rates if the traveler will be paid for food on a daily basis.Below
is a link to a free download of my Travel Form spreadsheet. Please feel
free to let me know if you have any questions. Check out our Downloads
page for more free Excel spreadsheets or the project management page for
other templates.
Travel Authorization Request form.xls My
travel authorization form is also included in my new project management
template which you can download for free when you sign up for the Excel Spreadsheets Help email newsletter.What
about you? Do you have your own travel reimbursement form? Does your
company require a travel authorization sheet to be filled out?NickTravel Authorized
The NBA 2012 schedule has been released and I’ve created a
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of it available for free download. The NBA
preseason has already begun (not included in the Excel file) and the regular
season begins October 30th. File is hosted on box.com. If you're an NBA fan you can also check out our mock draft creator. The NBA 2013 schedule is sorted by teams and by date. Remember, when the playoffs roll around (seems like a long, long ways off for now) we'll have a playoff bracket for you to download. Until then, enjoy the regular season!
Check out the updated Excel Downloads page for more
spreadsheet templates or join our newsletter to receive the latest updates
automatically in your inbox.
What pro basketball teams are you rooting for? Does anybody in the NBA use the Flex offense?
-Nick
Probably not watching much pro basketball until May
The
Major League Baseball season is over and now the 2012 MLB playoff
schedule has been set beginning with the inaugural pair of Wild Card
Games on Friday, October 5th. The postseason MLB has been expanded this
year by adding additional wild card teams, bringing the total number of
participants from 8 to 10. Other changes to the 2012 MLB playoff format
include the following:
- Clubs
from the same division will be allowed to play one another in either
the Wild Card Game or the Division Series of the major league baseball
playoffs.
- Tiebreaker
games will be played to determine Division Championships, even if the
two tied teams are assured of participating in the Postseason. If a
Division Championship tiebreaker game is necessary, the head-to-head
record between the tied teams will then determine home field advantage.
If the head-to-head record is tied, the division record will be the next
tiebreaker.
- If
two teams are tied for both Wild Card berths, home field will be
determined by the head-to-head record between the tied Clubs. If the
head-to-head record is tied, then division record will be the next
tiebreaker.
In
its 17th season as the official network broadcaster of Major League
Baseball, FOX Sports will present exclusive live telecast coverage of
the World Series. Game One of the 108th World Series is scheduled for
Wednesday, October 24th in the ballpark of the National League
Champions. I can’t say I’m a big fan of the single Wild Card games. The
sample size is too small to me. I’d like to see a best out of three at
the least.
I’ve created a printable 2012 MLB Playoff Bracket spreadsheet available for
free download. The bracket includes the schedule and playoff dates of
each series. The download is hosted on box.com.
Printable 2012 MLB Playoff Bracket.xls download
Visit our downloads page for more sports spreadsheet templates or check out the organized baseball coach spreadsheets. I’ll be cheering for the Reds to win the World Series. Who are you rooting for?
-Nick
Watching October Baseball (and a fan of Moneyball)
As
an engineer and daily Excel user, there are a few key things I’ve
learned along the way that have significantly helped advance my career. My top
three pieces of career advice for Excel users are:
- Learn how to use Excel and its functions
- Learn how to program VBA macros for Excel
- Build a website to promote your skills and abilities
I’m
going to be posting about all of these topics but today I decided to
start with building your own personal blog or website. Creating your own
professional looking blog or website is a great way to market yourself
and your skills when applying for a new job and a great topic of
discussion during an interview. You could create an authority site about
a subject you are passionate about, like an Excel website, or make a
simple biographical site with your resume.
My Top Ten Reasons for Building a Website or Blog
- Networking – Get your name out there, new career opportunities may arise.
- Professional image – Provide additional information not on resume.
- Education – Learning experience of how to do it.
- Help Others - Teaching is a great way of giving back.
- It’s easy to do and you don’t need to know HTML coding.
- Marketing – allows you to showcase your work.
- Credibility – shows you’ve spent time developing your goals and objectives.
- Communication – Opens more avenues of communication.
- Competition – other job seekers may be doing it so you should too just to keep pace.
- Residual income – Websites can potentially be a source of additional income for you.
How to Create Your Own Website
While
creating and maintaining your own website may sound like a daunting
task, and it’s hard to take that initial plunge, I’m here to show you
how and let you know, with a little help, it can actually be a very
simple process. Unless you’re planning on creating something completely
custom, starting a website really isn’t that hard. I register my domain
names with NameCheap because it’s, well, cheap! I use WordPress for my content management system (CMS) automatically installed through Host Gator, my hosting service. I bought the Socrates theme
to make my websites look nice and so there’s no html coding. The most
confusing part for me was pointing the domain name to my hosting
service. Luckily, there are plenty of YouTube videos to walk you through
all that.
One
of the first things I recommend you do is purchase a domain name.
Websites are like online real estate- there isn’t much use in building a
house you own on rented land. Blogging platforms like WordPress and
Blogger are free to use but you don’t own them, meaning they could
decide to turn off the lights at any point, plus you have to add terms
like .blogspot to your URL. Namecheap is easy to navigate, and very affordable solution to owning your own domain name.
Next, you need a place to host your website. I use, and highly recommend, HostGator,
as do many other bloggers out there. It is as cheap as $4 per month if
you pay in advance or $8 per month paying month to month. Because I have
many domains I always go for a setup that I can host an unlimited
number of domains on rather than just one. HostGator has such a setup
called the ‘Baby Plan’. I recommend using the plan which allows you to
host multiple websites. If you create only one site this is expensive
but the more sites you create the cheaper it gets on a per site basis.
HostGator is known for their exceptional customer service. Their online
chat representatives are standing by at all hours to assist you with any
problems you may have setting up and maintaining your website. Enter
“EXCEL_HELP″ in the coupon code field to receive a discount.
The
other thing I recommend to use is WordPress CMS. This is not the free
blogging version of course, but the free downloadable one that you
install on your new web host. There are many videos and articles on how
to do this. Just Google ‘How to Install WordPress’. Another reason I
picked Hostgator was because it has an automatic “one-click” WordPress
installer called Fantastico. WordPress CMS allows you to easily edit the
layout of your blog without having to know how to code anything.
If
you have already thought of a domain name which you know is available,
you can literally go through all of the above steps and setup your
website in a matter of minutes. If this is your first time dabbling in
website creation it may take a little longer but after you create one
then I promise you your subsequent websites will be created faster and
faster.
Concluding Thoughts
Creating
a website is a great way to get your name out there and showcase some
of your Excel skills. When you will have a visible web presence you can
allure visitors and show confidence on your expertise and work. It may
even be a deciding factor in receiving a job offer over another
candidate.
~Nick
P.S. Remember, enter “EXCEL_HELP″ in the HostGator coupon field for a discount on website hosting.
