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Giving an Analyst Their Time Back: How I Re-engineered a Portfolio Update Process in Excel

Kinga Maleszewska — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 11:15:00 +0000

Imagine a stock market analyst and their most valuable tool—a proprietary method for analyzing companies, refined over years. Now, imagine that this method is trapped in dozens of separate Excel files. Every update to the market data is hours of tedious, manual work: open a file, download data, paste, check, close. And repeat dozens of times.

This was my client’s reality. His brilliant analytical system was drowning in a sea of inefficiency. The time he should have been spending on analysis and making decisions was wasted battling spreadsheets. It was work prone to costly mistakes and a source of immense frustration. My task wasn’t just to write another macro. My task was to re-engineer the entire process from the ground up.

The Architecture: From Chaos to an Integrated Ecosystem

The problem was systemic. Dozens of file-islands couldn’t communicate with each other. The solution was to create an integrated ecosystem with a “master-slave” architecture.

The “Mother” File (Master): I designed a central “command center.” This is one main file that manages the entire portfolio, allows for bulk operations, and gathers key data in one place.
The “Daughter” Files (Slaves): Each company still has its dedicated analytical file, but it has been rebuilt and connected to the “mother file.”

Now, instead of opening dozens of files, the client manages everything from a single dashboard.

The Smart Update: Don't Download Everything, Download Smart

Simply connecting the files wasn’t enough. The key to speed was optimizing data retrieval. Instead of downloading the full, multi-year history of stock prices every time, I implemented an intelligent function in each “daughter file.”

The macro first checks the last date of the quotes in the sheet. Then, it connects to the data source (Stooq.pl) and downloads only the data that is missing—from the next day until today. It’s a simple but brilliant solution that reduced the update time for a single file from minutes to seconds.

The following VBA code snippet is the heart of this intelligent function, which decides whether it needs the full history or just a few days’ worth of updates.


Sub UpdateData_Stooq()
    ' Macro for intelligent data updates from Stooq.pl
    Dim symbol As String, wsData As Worksheet, lastRow As Long
    Dim dateFrom As String, dateTo As String
    
    Set wsData = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Data")
    symbol = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Panel").Range("Company_Symbol").Value
    
    ' Check if it's the first download or an update
    lastRow = wsData.Cells(wsData.Rows.Count, "A").End(xlUp).Row
    
    If lastRow < 2 Then ' If the sheet is empty, download 10 years of data
        dateFrom = Format(DateAdd("yyyy", -10, Date), "yyyymmdd")
    Else ' If there is data, download only from the last day
        dateFrom = Format(wsData.Cells(lastRow, "A").Value + 1, "yyyymmdd")
    End If
    dateTo = Format(Date, "yyyymmdd")
    
    ' Call a function that will download and append only the new data
    DownloadAndAppendNewData symbol, dateFrom, dateTo, wsData
End Sub

The Result: Hours Turned into Minutes

The result of this transformation was immediate and measurable. A process that previously could take up to several hours of tedious work is now down to just a few minutes and two clicks. The risk of errors from copying data has been eliminated.

But the most important effect is human. The client got back his most valuable asset—time. He can now devote it entirely to what is the essence of his work: in-depth analysis and making informed investment decisions. He stopped being a slave to his tool; now, the tool works for him.

This project proves that my approach isn’t just about writing scripts, but designing entire systems that genuinely transform my clients’ work. I look at scattered chaos and arrange it into a logical, automated, and reliable structure. Because even a common tool like Excel holds the power to create advanced, custom business applications.

Are you struggling with multiple Excel files and wasting time on manual updates? Would you like to combine them into one coherent and automated system?

Contact me, and together we will transform your analytical chaos into an orderly and effective work tool.

Artykuł Giving an Analyst Their Time Back: How I Re-engineered a Portfolio Update Process in Excel pochodzi z serwisu MultiTask Creations | Usługi programistyczne i tworzenie stron internetowych.

Digital Neurosurgery in Excel: How I Expanded a Legacy VBA System Without Touching Its Soul

Kinga Maleszewska — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 11:49:49 +0000

Everyone in the IT world knows systems like these. They’ve been running for years, they are absolutely critical to the company, and their internal structure resembles the intricate mechanism of a Swiss watch. Every cell, formula, and macro is interconnected by a network of thousands of dependencies. Everyone knows they work, but no one dares to touch them for fear that one false move could bring it all crashing down.

Now, imagine a client comes to you with a seemingly simple task: “Please expand this system. We want to add 1,100 new fields to the existing 400.”

This was my exact assignment. I was faced with a massive, complex vehicle registration system based on Excel and VBA—a digital organism composed of over 60 files, each with 50 sheets and hundreds of unique references. My goal was to perform open-heart surgery on this system without disrupting its rhythm.

The Surgical Plan: First, Do No Harm

In projects like this, revolution is a straight path to disaster. My strategy had to be different: evolution. I knew the key was a methodical, almost surgical approach, where every step is thought out and tested.

Instead of modifying existing code, I wrote new macros that supported the expansion. Instead of manually changing thousands of formulas, I created a mechanism that dynamically generated new references only for the added fields, leaving the old system untouched.

Some of the work was incredibly repetitive, like creating dozens of new data files. This is where automation came to the rescue. I created small but clever automations in VBA that handled the tedious work for me, minimizing the risk of human error.


' A simple automation that generated 35 new files for me,
' creating a perfect copy with a new serial number.
Sub Create26_60()
    For number = 26 To 60
        'Open the previous file
        Set oldFile = Workbooks.Open(folderPath & "Data_File-" & (number - 1) & ".xlsm")
        'Save it as a new file
        oldFile.SaveCopyAs folderPath & "Data_File-" & number & ".xlsm"
        'Open the new file and update its unique ID
        Set newFile = Workbooks.Open(folderPath & "Data_File-" & number & ".xlsm")
        newFile.Sheets("Card No").Range("A5").Value = "Data_File-" & number
        '... (further operations)
    Next number
End Sub

Every change was implemented iteratively, tested, and secured with a backup. It was slow, precise work, but it was the only way to guarantee the safety of the entire system.

The Patient Survived and is Thriving: Project Results

The operation was a complete success. We not only achieved the goal but did so while maintaining the highest safety standards. The final numbers speak for themselves:

The system’s capacity increased by 73%, growing from 400 to 1,500 fields.
98% of the auxiliary processes related to the expansion were automated.
Most importantly: 100% compatibility and functionality were preserved. The old system worked exactly as before, unaware of its new, expanded capabilities.

This project is proof that even the most complex and “untouchable” systems can be effectively developed. The key isn’t bravado, but respect for the existing architecture, methodical planning, and a cautious approach that allows for adding new features while preserving the soul and stability of the original solution.

Do you have a similar, mission-critical system in your company that everyone is afraid to touch? Or has your Excel spreadsheet grown to a size that’s difficult to manage?

I invite you for a free consultation. Let’s talk about how we can safely expand your tools to serve you even better.

Artykuł Digital Neurosurgery in Excel: How I Expanded a Legacy VBA System Without Touching Its Soul pochodzi z serwisu MultiTask Creations | Usługi programistyczne i tworzenie stron internetowych.

How I Streamlined Cattle Farm Management: A Google Sheets Case Study

Kinga Maleszewska — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 15:44:11 +0000

Anyone running a business knows the value of well-organized data. I recently had the opportunity to work on a fascinating project that wasn’t about building from scratch, but about streamlining and automating an existing Google Sheets file for a large cattle farm.

The Challenge: To Organize and Accelerate the Process

The challenge was a classic one. The client already had a spreadsheet with their cattle data, but information about status changes (e.g., pregnant, dry, calved) was flowing in from multiple sources, including WhatsApp messages and photos. This required manual data entry, which was time-consuming and prone to human error.

My goal was to breathe new life into this file through automation.

The Action Plan:

1. Streamline the existing command center to make the data even more transparent and easier to manage.

2. Teach the Sheet to “think” for the user by implementing scripts that perform repetitive tasks automatically.

The Solution: Logic and Automation in Google Apps Script

To achieve this, I leveraged Google Apps Script—a tool that extends the functionality of standard Google Sheets. I wrote custom scripts that run in the background of the file.

In practice, this means a simple edit in one cell triggers a whole sequence of events. When the client changes a cow’s status to “CALVED,” my script instantly updates its group in another cell to “1gr,” requiring no extra work.


// Code snippet responsible for automatic data changes
if (editedValue == "WYCIELONA") { // "WYCIELONA" means "CALVED"
  targetCell.setValue("1gr");
} else if (editedValue == "ZASUSZONA") { // "ZASUSZONA" means "DRY"
  targetCell.setValue("3gr");
}

The next step was to automate the reporting. Once a week, a script automatically analyzes the data, selects cows that meet specific criteria (like an upcoming calving date), and sends a clean, concise report to the client’s email address.


// Code snippet that prepares the list for the weekly report
if (status === "CIELNA" && plannedCalvingDate >= mondayThisWeek) { // "CIELNA" means "PREGNANT"
  emailBody += "- PAS: " + data[i][1] + " Nazwa: " + data[i][2] + 
  " Nr kolczyka: " +     data[i][3] + "\n";
}

Tangible Project Outcomes

- Significant time savings by eliminating manual data entry and report generation.
- Increased data accuracy and clarity, minimizing the risk of human error.
- Enhanced usability of the existing tool, making it more intuitive and “intelligent.”

Facing a similar challenge in your business?

If you feel that you or your employees are losing time on tasks that could be automated, please get in touch. I would be happy to analyze your workflow and propose specific improvements using Google Sheets or other tools.

Contact me for a free consultation to discuss how technology can make your work easier.

Artykuł How I Streamlined Cattle Farm Management: A Google Sheets Case Study pochodzi z serwisu MultiTask Creations | Usługi programistyczne i tworzenie stron internetowych.