“Start with a joke.” My boss used to say when I am nervous about an upcoming presentation. Although, I am not nervous to post this article, I think a joke will always help.
So here it goes:
[originally posted on 5th May 2008]
Now to more serious matters.
VLOOKUP (and other lookup formulas) are very powerful and quite practical. They can fetch you the information you are looking for from a heap of data.
Now that we have seen the power of VLOOKUP thru several posts this week, I want to test your understanding of these formulas by presenting 3 challenges.
Download the excel workbook with these challenges
Click here to download excel workbook with all the data for these challenges.
Challenge # 1: Price After Discount
We come across this problem quite often. You have a list of discount codes and applicable quantity thresholds. For eg. you may sell an item at $50, but if I buy more than 1 item, you will give a 10% discount. The discount goes up as I purchase more quantity.
Now, given a list of item quantities, how do you calculate the amount payable using lookup formulas? That is our first challenge.
Challenge # 2: Price after accumulated quantity discount
This is essentially same as above formula, but the discounts apply on accumulated quantities bought so far. For eg. I will get first item for 0% discount, 2nd and 3rd items for 10% discount, 4th item for 15% discount … 26th item for 50% discount etc.
Now, given a list of customer names and quantities they bought (in the same order), how do you calculate the amount payable for each transaction?
Challenge # 3: Closest price based on the quantity purchased
This is an interesting challenge. The price after discount is determined based on the quantity bought. For eg. the discount thresholds are 1, 3, 5, 10, 25 etc. Now, given a quantity of items bought, we determine the price by finding the closest threshold to it. So, a quantity of 7 will get the price from threshold 5 as against 10.
Few guidelines on solving these challenges:
Although the above problem might appear simple, the solution is not so straightforward.
- Use a variety of formulas: Do not just rely VLOOKUP. Instead experiment with formulas like SUMIF, COUNTIF, INDEX, MATCH etc. to get results
- Use helper columns: Break down the problem in to several steps and use helper columns to get the results
- Use pen & paper: Write down the logic first, then simulate it in excel using formulas. It clears your mind fast.
- Many solutions exist: Each problem can be solved in several different ways. So once you find a solution, feel free to explore other options
- Share your solutions: Use comments box to share your solutions with us. I am always looking for new ways to solve problems. So teach me…
Solution to the Challenges:
Here is a workbook with one set of solutions for the problems. As I said, many other solutions do exist. So use this workbook as an indication of what is possible.
Click here to download excel workbook with all the data for these challenges.
One Link to More VLOOKUP Awesomeness:
Debra at Contextures has chipped in with some interesting videos on VLOOKUP formulas. Check them out here.
The 2nd Joke:
It is quite difficult to set an expectation and then meet it. More so with jokes. But do you know that Chandoo.org’s 404 pages show Excel error messages? For example go to http://chandoo.org/wp/missing_file/. Refresh the page to see a different message. 🙂
It is Diwali (the festival of lights) in India this weekend. So I am going to spend time with family, light some fireworks and relax. I wish you a happy Diwali if you celebrate one. Even otherwise, I wish a lot of light and warmth in to your life this year.
19 Responses to “Free Invoice Template using Excel – Download”
Nice post! Invoicing for the small biz or solo entrepreneur is something I see a lot of interest in. Also there are great templates from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates
This is awesome.
I would need a little more. e.g. say I generate a Inv. # 1 with all the details. Once done I can click a button all the relevant details gets stored in some table. Further, when i generate a new invoice those details gets stored in same table but just below the previous invoice.
Is their a way to do this?
I did create a solution you are looking for, however its wrapped in a larger 'Medical Scheduler' and it uses VBA, But you can Save, Update, Lookup, Email, Print & Apply Payments to the Invoice.
You are welcome to download it here:https://www.dropbox.com/s/2yvo0o2tgq9quhe/Medical_Massage_and_Salon_Application-Free.xlsm
The Invoice Items are created from the Appt. Types & Service Items table.
I would love all feedback from this
Thank you for sharing. I will definitely have a look at it.
Daily dose of Excel held a competition in 2005 for this same topic
It obtained 9 solutions which are shown:
http://dailydoseofexcel.com/archives/2005/10/27/invoice-app-the-results/
[…] http://chandoo.org/wp/2014/03/19/free-invoice-template/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&a… […]
How can i removed Dollar Sign, As want to use this in india.
Please reply.
Also if possible then can i use Indian Rupee Sign and how?
Hi Chandoo,
Thanks for sharing this invoice template, Let me tell you this template will definitely help me since I got a process to handle where this invoice piece comes. Just a small doubt, can we store all the invoice details in PRODUCT & SERVICES sheet. So that whenever I select an invoice number from invoice sheet I can take print out and I can share it as well. Can we do that?? Since I will be dealing with this on monthly basis.
It would be great if you can help me with this.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Regards,
Gaurang Mhatre
Hi Chandoo,
I was thinking learning excel is quite tuff task but your blog proved me wrong. You made it very interesting. Thank you. Also the template you have provided for Invoice is very helpful to us.
Thanks thanks thanks.. Very helpful. 🙂
Hi i love the speadsheet but would like to ask how do i get it to add the description into the invoice as well
Hi Randy, I tried to download one of your link "https://www.dropbox.com/s/2yvo0o2tgq9quhe/Medical_Massage_and_Salon_Application-Free.xlsm" However, i found the link unavailable. Can you please help me get the new link or can you please send this VBA file on my Email-ID.
Hello Anuj,
Thanks for alerting me to the broken link. This one should work:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gz89gshex1ad0ex/Medical_Massage_and_Salon_Application-Free.xlsm?dl=0
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Randy
Thank you so much Buddy. will check and revert you soon.
Hi, is there any chance that this can work with the "Products & Service" sheet outside of the Invoice sheet. I create multiple invoice files for the numerous clients. Updating the product sheet for each of them maybe a task. Hence, I want to create a MASTER FILE from which data can be picked up without having to insert new data in each of the invoice files.
Possible? Or am I asking for the moon 😉
Thank you so much for tutorial.
This example can be reviewed for the example of the advanced invoice that made with excel userform :https://youtu.be/Qr-4of-38DI
Good Day
i love this template may i ask if it could be modified to have the following
when you lookup a item code in the next column to the right it brings up the description then the quantity, unit cost, discount and then total otherwise i love the template
Item Code Description Quantity Unit Cost Discount Total
When creating an Invoice template in Excel are you able to utilize the auto row height and wrap feature when the cell is a merged cell? I need to have a number of cells merged together to allow for enough space to type in the description of work performed (lets say cells A-D are merged in each row) however it seems that I am unable to utilize the auto format feature. To work around this I have to manually increase the row height after each entry. Is there a better solution for this? Thank you!