Integrated Spreadsheets Part 2: A Simple Formula to Sum Comps

Last week we showed you the very basics of how to link fields in WinTOTAL’s integrated worksheet view, a feature exclusive to WinTOTAL. Today we’ll use linked fields again, but we’ll expand on the formula aspect of the worksheet and use a simple addition equation. Next week I'll cover how to automate some percentages using the integrated worksheet.

For this example, let’s say that I want the total number of comps on page 2 of the 1004 to equal the total number of comps at the top of the MC form. I’ll set up a worksheet to automate this.

I’ll start by linking down each of the fields from the MC form. In a fourth field, I’ll build my formula that sums them up. In this case, I type “=”, then click into the first cell, hit the plus sign, click the second field, hit the plus sign, and click the third field. Then I press ENTER.

Now I simply link the field with the equation back into the 1004.

You may notice that when you link a worksheet cell back up to the form, the form field turns green, which indicates a locked field. WinTOTAL automatically locks out any other transfers or calculations into that form field to allow only the data from the spreadsheet to populate that field.

Notice how the spreadsheet and the final value are now dynamic. For instance, if I change the number of comps in the MC form, it changes the total number of comps in the worksheet and also at the top of page 2 in the 1004. This not only saves me time in the report, but it makes sure my reports are more consistent from one form to the next.

I’ll save this worksheet here for later use. If you start your reports by cloning templates, you can put worksheets into your template reports and they’ll be copied into new reports when you clone.

Take some time over the next week to try out a similar function with your own workflow and examples. Again, we’ll use these techniques in future video tips to do everything from percentage adjustments to combining data from multiple fields into one.