Forum Discussion
Converting excel data into a printable calendar template
Katrina Thompson Then it's perhaps better you go for an other solution. I while ago I tweaked a rather poorly designed calendar template to do just what you have in mind. Originally a student assignment planner, but now it's a "Berlin Marathon" planner. See attached.
- Riny_van_EekelenJul 25, 2023Platinum Contributor
Pete42320 This particular template doesn't work like that. It requires an entry for each day for it to be displayed in the calendar.
- Ambernf2109Aug 08, 2023Copper Contributor
Riny_van_Eekelen hi, sorry to also bombard you with questions, but I came across this thread to discover a few Excel geniuses.
With my job, I have to coordinate more of a tentative schedule for different accounts. The time between each check in varies by the account. The variance in time between check ins can be every month, 2 months, quarter, biannual, or annually. The specific dates can vary, but it would be nice to have a guideline in place. I have to coordinate several months in advance and it sometimes involves hundreds of accounts. I'd like to create a simpler way to look at this so my coworkers and I can come up with a plan/target and still have a life. There's limited work/life balance at my job and I think this could help.
I don't want to have to plug in specific dates. I would just like the calendar to populate the data using the timeframe listed above. I can think of ways to do it manually, but I would prefer not to do that.
Like say I want account A to follow an every 2 month schedule starting in October, but I want account B to follow a quarterly schedule beginning in January. I'd like to pre-populate an approximate schedule for account A in October, December, February, etc. And account B for January, April, July, etc. I don't need specific dates. This would be more like a list format. Like for October, you should focus on confirming business with these accounts based off their preferences on frequency of contact.
Not sure if this even makes sense to anyone else. I'm trying not to divulge specific info about my company, as they are very strict.
Bonus question: say I've created an exact schedule in our CRM and I export to Excel. I'd then like to schedule communication/meetings/check ins/evaluations, etc accordingly for each account. Like this account was scheduled for October 21st. I should plan to meet with them on September 21st, then schedule three check ins in the weeks leading up to the 21st, plus a follow up the day after. But then I'd like to export that data to a calendar, preferably outlook. Is there a way to get Excel to generate these touch points automatically? I basically have to plan two calendars because our CRM system does not schedule out these touch points.
I guess the better question is whether I can use Excel to create my own CRM because ours is terrible, and can I then export that data to Outlook or another calendar.
- MilletSoftwareAug 08, 2023Brass ContributorYou can use Excel Solver to generate the schedules and optimize to smooth out the workload (to avoid many follow ups on one workday and few on another. Depending on the size of the problem, you may need to install Excel Open Solver (free) because the solver that comes with Excel can only handle problems up to a certain size.