Although this is what I will initially be using it for the formula/technique is really what I am looking for to use in other situations.
It isn't for a business - it is for my own personal food supplies. Yes, I am taking things to extremes and I want to be able to see how much I have of each item at a given time. With the way prices are rocketing I am thinking of bulk buying food about 6 months in advance. So I did a stock take at 31st December(missing out stuff in the freezer) and just included those items that were unopened.
My columns are really simple
DATE | QUANTITY | TYPE | DESCRIPTION | LAST PURCHASED | PRICE | TOTAL
I could do this using SUMIF but I'd have to keep adjusting things any time a new type of food was bought. Any time I used up an item I would have this as a minus amount in the quantity column. As it's just the stock level I am interested in I would ignore the price.
What I would like is to have another worksheet and it would look at this first sheet (even if I named the whole range) and then list each unique item in the description column and it would give me the total stock. I know as this is for personal information only I will likely give up on this idea after a month. But it is really the principal I am interested in and any formulas needed.
So all I am after is - is this possible and which formulas should I be reading up on. I don't want anyone to give me any more than that. I have the "Excel 2010 Bible" by John Balkenbach so it would be better in the long term for me to look up this book (I'm a third of the way through the book) and figure things out for myself. I just need a hint in which direction I should be looking.
The last purchased is for taking a list to the supermarket to see how ther prices have changed.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
Not sure if I'm reading your requirement correctly but sounds as though you just need to set up a VLOOKUP.
Set up worksheet 1 as a table array then set up lookups in worksheet 2 to give you current stock levels.
On the second spreadsheet you might also have an adjacent column with minimum stock levels and where the lookup result is lower than the minimum it generates a shopping list column.
I know that to many this may sound like a trivial spreadsheet but sounds to me an excellent way of coming to grips with lookups and table handling Peasie.
As with all things Excel there are going to be a lot of ways of doing the same thing but I think that for simplicity I would at least start off with lookups.
All the best,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
You're right about it being trivial and you're right about my reasons for doing it. I am getting too much like Sheldon - when I start barcoding my socks you have my permission to have me put in the loony bin.
And sadly when I looked at the table I had started doing using SUMIF I thought I'll need to insert a "re-order" column when it gets below a certain figure it will flash up a statement telling me to re-order.
I have been using Excel for 10 years and never really bothered to learn how to use it properly. I will copy things off the net that suits my purposes and adapt it. I've been using data validation to save me re-typing things. I now have no idea how I set them up originally as the formula includes OFFSET. Only recently did I actually discover Tables and now I use them all the time.
I looked up VLOOKUP in the index in my book. It starts on page 311. I'm currently on page 303 so I think I have my reading for tonight sorted. No tv - satellite dish disturbed by "Hurricane Bawbag" and the storms the following week just finished the job off. Finally gave up the ghost on Friday night meaning it will likely be Wednesday at the earliest before I get it fixed.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
THis has got to be the most infuriating program I've encountered. I've had to take my Iphone off my desk as there's a good chance I'll just grab the first available object and launch it at the furthest away wall.
What chance have I got with VLOOKUP functions if I can't even handle nested IF functions.
Rant over.
EDIT : The problem with Excel is it will tell you there's a problem and will ask if you want it to repair the fault. But their repair of the fault isn't always what you want. The problem I had, at the end up, (over the piece there have been several problems) is when using the function box you don't need quotation marks for text but editing directly in the cell (which ended up the easiest way) you do need quotation marks.
-- Edited by Peasie on Tuesday 3rd of January 2012 02:12:19 AM
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
I think I'll give Excel a miss today and take a walk about town and see the damage the overnight storm caused. It may only have been deemed "Amber" but the wind certainly sounded worse than the "Red" of a few weeks ago. I've also got the task of picking up the contents of my recycling bin from the wet grass. Scattered everywhere.
The storm is believed to have caused thousands of pounds worth of improvements to Largs town centre. Wheelie bins and park benches everywhere.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
