For the past couple of years the Aussie men’s curling team has been using a spreadsheet to keep track of all transactions that we incur. To keep it simple we never split bills… .we just have somebody pay and then others owe. This includes flights, hotel rooms (sometimes), meals, uniforms, gifts, snacks and maybe the occasional bar tab.
Being really great guys, we want to share our Excel Spreadsheet with the curling world. This should stop many classic arguments for teams who are not disciplined in this finance area.
Download the Microsoft Office 2007 Excel template from this location to make your curling road trips waaaaaayyyyy easier: http://cid-e7db9bf957528709.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/CurlingExpenses/Curling%20Expenses^_Template.xlsx
NOTE: This spreadsheet is available “AS IS” and I accept no responsibility if the formulas are incorrect. You should check the logic and outcomes if it involves finances for a team.
In the spreadsheet there is two tabs. One called “Instructions” and another called “WorkingSheet” which is where all the action happens. I personally keep a copy on my Windows Mobile Phone and update the transactions as they happen.
If you have any questions or suggestions for improvement – please let me know at ianpal@microsoft.com (please even let me know if you are using it – I love email!)
INSTRUCTIONS
This spreadsheet was originally designed to help the Australian Men's Curling team keep track of their expenses while travelling.
Without a banker on the team, we needed to keep track of who paid for what, and who owes who money.
Switch to the "WorkingSheet" tab of the workbook to see the table to enter information as per below. You should be comfortable using Excel!
So… get your nerdiest, high tech/youngest, trustworthy person to look after this spreadsheet. For Australia that's me, Ian!
Step 1: Enter a unique 2 letter abbreviation for each player in the Red cells. Up to 5 players plus a coach. If there is only 4 of you, that's cool just leave them blank
Step 2: Fill in the details for Columns A to G for each transaction. This will keep track of who paid for what and who owes. I've included a couple of example entries. The columns are:
- Date: Enter the date of the transaction
- Where: Enter a meaningful description of the transaction
- Amount: Enter the transaction amount, in the local currency. There is a FOREX conversion for international transactions
- Who Paid: Enter the 2 character initials of the player that paid on behalf of others
- Who Owes: Enter the 2 character initials of ALL the people that participated, with each set of initials separated by a COMMA -> ','
- Currency: Enter a meaningful description of the currency of the transaction. Go with country etc (AUD, USD, CDN, YEN etc)
- FOREX: Enter the foreign exchange rate for the transaction. How many of the foreign currency equal 1 of your local currency
Step 3: Many formulas are calculated, and a summary at the top of the spreadsheet showing who owes money and who is owed money
Step 4: There is a total row at the bottom of the orange table showing the totals of transactions etc if you want more details
Step 5: There is a check sum value that should equal 0 (zero) if everything is entered correctly. If wrong initials are entered then it will not equal zero.
Step 6: At the end of the tournament pay up/collect your dues!