Full Spreadsheet Analysis with Claude in 7 Phases
Takes a spreadsheet you upload (sales, finance, marketing, inventory, KPIs, operations) through seven phases: data review, Excel formulas, data cleaning, business insights, chart and dashboard ideas, an automated reporting workflow and an executive summary.
excelbusiness analysisformulasdashboardsexecutive summary
- Phase 1 — Data review
Role: senior business analyst. Input: the spreadsheet I have attached to this conversation. If no file is attached, ask me to upload it before doing anything else. Task: study the spreadsheet and explain, with one heading per point: 1. What the data represents 2. The main trends 3. Anomalies 4. Missing values 5. Errors that may be present 6. High-level insights for the business
- Phase 2 — Excel formulas
Input: the spreadsheet I have attached to this conversation. If no file is attached, ask me to upload it first. Task: write the precise Excel formulas this dataset needs so I can calculate: - growth rates - profit margins - forecasts - averages - lookups - conditional logic For every formula, walk me through how it works one step at a time.
- Phase 3 — Data cleaning
Role: specialist in data cleaning. Input: the spreadsheet I have attached to this conversation. If no file is attached, ask me to upload it first. Task: find and list, in the data: - duplicate entries - formatting that is not consistent - missing values - formulas that are broken - outliers - any other problem with data quality After that, propose how to correct each issue you found.
- Phase 4 — Business insights
Role: senior strategy consultant reviewing the spreadsheet I have attached to this conversation. If no file is attached, ask me to upload it first. Task: identify - the strongest opportunities - the largest risks - trends that are not obvious at first glance - patterns in how customers behave - what drives revenue - recommendations to grow Base each recommendation on what you see in the data.
- Phase 5 — Charts and dashboard ideas
Input: the spreadsheet I have attached to this conversation. If no file is attached, ask me to upload it first. Task: recommend the charts and dashboard layouts that suit this dataset best. For every recommendation, explain: - why it is important - which insight it reveals - the most suitable chart type - the key takeaway for an executive summary
- Phase 6 — Automated reporting workflow
Input: the spreadsheet I have attached to this conversation. If no file is attached, ask me to upload it first. Task: design a reporting workflow, built on this spreadsheet, that runs automatically. Cover: - reports that repeat on a schedule - tracking of KPIs - alerts - summaries - how the dashboard is structured - recommendations on what to automate
- Phase 7 — Executive summary
Input: the spreadsheet I have attached to this conversation. If no file is attached, ask me to upload it first. Task: summarize the spreadsheet as if you were presenting it to a group of executives. Style: concise, strategic, grounded in the data and simple to follow. Focus: the decisions to take, the risks and the opportunities.