1. Introduction – Focal Squares to Spray Guns
Welcome. Today, I’m going to show you something that will completely reframe how you see Excel—not as a local spreadsheet tool, but as an enterprise-grade platform. We’ll walk through a common consolidation problem from a beginner’s mindset, and scale it progressively to a global enterprise process—without leaving Excel.
Let’s begin in the cubicle.
2. The Beginner’s Approach – Consolidation Wizard
We have four simple worksheets: North, South, East, and West. Each contains sales figures for three salespeople.
Using the built-in Data > Consolidate wizard in Excel, we can easily bring those numbers together. We select ranges, tick “Use labels,” and voilà—we have a consolidated sheet.
It’s even live. If source figures change, the consolidation updates. It works—perfectly—for a simple, local task.
But only just.
3. Linking Workbooks – Slightly More Advanced
Now let’s move those sheets into four separate workbooks—even different drives. The same consolidation tool can be made to work, albeit with more manual configuration.
Next, if the data ranges don’t match in structure, we resort to external links using formulas:
='[North.xlsx]Q1'!$B$4
This offers some flexibility when layouts vary between files.
However, two major problems arise:
- If file locations change or files are renamed, the model breaks.
- Scaling to 40 or 400 workbooks becomes nightmarish—manual linking fails, debugging is a mess.
This is where consolidation becomes unsustainable.
4. Enter Power Query – The “Modern” Upgrade
Now we step into Power Query.
We place those 4 workbooks in a single folder, and Power Query pulls and appends them automatically.
This scales better—40 or 400 files can be loaded in seconds. But caveats remain:
- All files must follow an identical structure.
- Files must reside in a single folder—often breaking the connection with the original source data.
- You’re working from copies, not live links.
There’s also performance degradation and manual effort to format results for reporting—especially if pivots are involved.
So, what next?
5. The Box Gets Small – Thinking Limitations
All these methods—Consolidation Wizard, external links, Power Query—live within the same conceptual box: one user, one machine, one set of files.
Collaboration means sending spreadsheets around.
Security is file-based.
Audit trails are breadcrumbs.
Scalability is fragile.
This is “painting inside the square.”
Now we leave that behind.
6. The Spray Gun Model – A Breakthrough in Architecture
Imagine: the same four spreadsheets. But this time, they don’t send data anywhere.
Each user simply hits “Save”, and their spreadsheet silently uploads the data to a centralized database table.
The consolidator hits “Get”, and the data appears. Instantly. Accurately. From anywhere in the world.
Why is this a game changer?
- No limit to scale — 4, 40, 400, 4000 workbooks: same performance.
- Global reach — Files can be anywhere.
- No spreadsheets sent — Just data flows.
- No broken links — Central source of truth.
- Custom UI — Dropdowns, formats, layout—all user-friendly.
- One template — One spreadsheet serves the entire enterprise.
7. Scaling Across Dimensions
Let’s scale:
- From 4 spreadsheets to 400.
- From 3 rows to 28 budget lines.
- From quarterly data to 12 months.
- From flat structure to 4-level hierarchies: Operating Unit → City → Country → Region → Group.
All this managed through dropdowns and lookup tables—within the same system, with no extra effort.
And guess what? All of it is still just Excel.
8. Built-In Security and Governance
Security doesn’t require IT intervention. Access control is built into the spreadsheet:
- Users log in with a username and key.
- Permissions filter the drop-downs and views.
- Admins control access through a single control workbook.
Whether it’s management views, legal ownership structure, or minority interest exclusions, all scenarios are easily handled through lookup tables and access rights.
9. Audit Trail and Traceability
Now let’s trace a number.
Click on any cell in the consolidation—instantly, you see:
- What it’s made of.
- Who submitted it.
- When it was submitted.
- Even previous versions—archived and color-coded.
Want to know who changed what, and when? Double-click the number.
This is auditability without the pain.
10. Commentary and Communication
With the old approach, comments were written into cells—easily overwritten or lost.
With the spray gun model:
- Cell-specific notes are retained and return upon refresh.
- Budget-wide notes are logged chronologically, with timestamps and authorship.
All communication stays attached to the process—no emails needed.
11. Visualizing Progress – Controller View
For budgeting cycles, controllers need visibility.
A status dashboard shows:
- Who has submitted.
- Who is late.
- Who hasn’t started.
All pulled from status flags users set when they click “Complete”. No chasing emails, no guessing progress.
12. From Desktop to Global Integration
This architecture isn’t limited to Excel.
Since the data resides in a centralized, queryable database, other technologies can join the party:
- Excel on Mac
- Excel Online
- Google Sheets
- Power BI
- Power Automate / Power Apps
Data flows freely between platforms—via query or API.
That’s true digital transformation—with nothing left to chance.
13. How It Works – The Simple Magic
Here’s the surprise: the whole spray gun model is powered by just a few lines of VBA.
For Upload (Put):
One line of code sends data from Excel to the database.
For Download (Get):
One line retrieves it—plus one more to paste into Excel.
The database? Just an Access file or a cloud-hosted SQL table.
Creating it takes no more time than a new workbook.
14. Cloud-Enabled and Enterprise Ready
Want to go global? Point the connection string to a cloud database (Azure, Amazon, Google).
Now Excel runs an enterprise-wide consolidation process—globally—in real time.
With nothing more than:
- A button
- A database
- A tiny bit of code
15. Final Words – First Principles and Discovery
This is not about tools. It’s about thinking.
- Power Query, DAX, M code—these are gymnastics.
- The spray gun model is whiteboard thinking—first principles, lateral design, simplicity.
You saw:
- More capability
- Less complexity
- Greater speed
- No cost
And the cherry on top?
Almost nobody knows this exists.
16. Call to Action – The Gold Rush
If you learn this… and show this… and implement this…
You don’t just solve a consolidation problem.
You change how your company sees Excel.
You wow your boss.
You save hundreds of hours.
You triple your value.
And you leave behind the purple square…
…because now, you have the spray gun.
Let me know if you’d like me to format this as a slide deck, video script, handout, or voiceover.
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