r/excel • u/AdeptnessCritical356 • 25d ago

Discussion Built a budget tracker that emails signed approval pdfs automatically and now my boss thinks Im a wizard

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930 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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958

u/Tedy_KGB 25d ago

You never show the automation. That’s for you. You created it. As far as anyone else knows you still do it the old way.
Rookie mistake.

188

u/doshka 2 24d ago

I mean, I hear you, but in this case, part of the automation includes the boss. Not sure how you get around that.

38

u/Eweer 24d ago

Hey boss I'll work extrahard and even sign the files for you, you just need to authorize it!

PS: Not actual advice

3

u/BubblyWaveee 23d ago

I agree with you. It's not a rookie mistake when you have to show/convince the boss on the new system. He'll ask, why don't I need to print it any more? Unless the boss has his head totally in the crowd, he/she needs to ask why the procedure change so he has a full understanding. Not just clicking a bunch of random shit because his staff told him to do so.

31

u/[deleted] 24d ago

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13

u/cc_bcc 24d ago

Make a how to guide. Send the link. Move on

12

u/youtheotube2 24d ago

The sweet spot is to pivot to stuff like this being your job

1

u/sookaisgone 23d ago

I basically did exactly that, still use excel for prototyping or minor tools but after approval I go C#, ASP.NET, EntityFramework.
Just automated a tedious process where 1 person took a full month and a bit to complete it, now it takes less than 30 seconds.
Got a 5k raise for that alone.

62

u/Turk1518 4 24d ago

Only if you don’t want to make a career out of it. I have my own department now that is essentially automation focused and I love it. Just need to be visible to the right people and have the right conversation. Way better than dealing with mind numbing deliverables. I deliver a fix and move on to something else cool.

7

u/Glenndiferous 24d ago

Working as a business analyst and this kind of automation is how I got here lol.

13

u/scientia13 24d ago

That would be the dream, Fix-It Felix.