Cash Allocation Tool for Painting & Decorating Company

OVERVIEW We developed a robust, macro enabled Excel workbook to replace an unreliable and error prone spreadsheet used by a painting and decorating company to manage project cash flow. The new solution provides a controlled, user friendly environment that protects formulas, prevents accidental corruption and delivers clear financial visibility across all active projects. THE CHALLENGE The existing spreadsheet frequently broke due to overwritten formulas or structural changes such as inserting or deleting rows. As a result, monitoring cash receipts, allocating funds to individual plots and ensuring project profitability became difficult, time consuming and risky. The company needed a stable, maintainable tool that could support day to day operations and improve financial control. DELIVERED SOLUTION The new Cash Allocation Tool was built using Excel formulas and VBA, designed to be both robust and intuitive. All formulas are fully protected, and an Admin mode—secured by password—allows controlled maintenance of the workbook. The tool manages detailed project information including client name, project number, quoted amount and all cost components such as scaffolding, materials, subcontracted decorator costs, contingency and markup. It provides a clear overview of each project’s financial position at any given time and provides a user-friendly tool for budget control. KEY FEATURES • Robust, protected architecture preventing accidental formula overwrites • Macro enabled workflow for efficient data entry and navigation • Centralised project data management including all cost components • Real time cash flow monitoring for each individual project • Automated allocation of cash receipts to plots and decorators • Visibility of funds to be set aside for subcontracted painters and decorators • Password protected Admin mode for secure workbook maintenance BUSINESS IMPACT • Eliminated spreadsheet errors caused by manual edits • Improved financial control across all painting and decorating projects • Clear visibility of profitability while projects are in progress • Better cash flow planning for subcontracted labour • Reliable, scalable tool that supports operational efficiency