In the following article, Surinder Bahra explains why she believes the most underrated and easily accessible tool in deal analytics is right in front of you.
Before you look to invest heavily in some of the incredibly powerful data analytic applications that are now available, there’s a lot you can unlock from inside Excel with Power Query. Expect automated updates, scalable data transformation and clearer data paired with the ability to weave outputs into dashboards your board actually understands.
𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘆)
– 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮: combine data from ERPs, CRMs, and spreadsheets; reshaping complex datasets in minutes.
– 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂: slice MI by period, customer, site, or business unit – refresh, done.
– 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: converted into structured outputs, PowerQuery can help spot trends, variances and patterns that sharpen forecasts and the equity narrative.
-𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 = 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: profile, dedupe, and fix errors giving you the confidence in data-driven decision making.
– 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀: monthly recs, board packs, dashboard refreshes. One click and a brew.
𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 (𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗿𝘆):
1. Compiled disparate management information across 50+ entities in multiple formats to present a single P&L, balance sheet and cash flow – one source of truth for monthly board meetings pulled together in minutes, savings days per month.
2. Consolidated years of site-level P&Ls and KPIs across 700 locations to create a robust platform from which to build a credible 5-year plan.
3. Weaved together transactional level data with the customer database and proved post covid quality of earnings within an e-commerce platform. The analytics revealed product and customer insights from which the business re-aligned their marketing initiatives for further equity upside.
Many users look to Power BI but if you’re not profiling and cleansing your data first to generate a robust data model, you’re probably leaving insights AND THEREFORE VALUE on the table. And Power Query is the tool at your fingertips that can do it.
If you’d like a quick walkthrough of how this could work on your data, drop Surinder Bahra or James Groot a note take you through a 15-minute call to discuss how they could help you cleanse data and develop powerful reporting dashboards.