Build a budget spreadsheet that calculates
Goal. A monthly budget in Excel where totals update when I change a number.
Open. Cowork, paid plan (the Excel skill loads by itself).
Build a monthly budget as an Excel file. Rows: [rent, food, transport, phone, savings, other, add mine]. Columns: the 12 months. Add: a total row, a total column, a difference-from-plan column, all as live formulas; a small chart of totals by month; a header row in bold; the sheet should print on one page. Test the formulas with sample numbers before you give me the file, and tell me what you tested.
What you get · Watch out
What you get. An .xlsx under Outputs with working totals and a chart; a note on what was tested.
Watch out. Name your rows; Claude's guesses are generic. Open it in Excel once and change a number to see the totals move. If stuck: Chapters 2.1, 2.6.
More prompts like this
See all →Compare two contracts and flag the risks
Goal. Know how two offers differ and where the traps are, before I sign.
Open. Chat, any plan; attach both files; effort High.
Attached are two [contracts / offers / quotes] for [what]. I am the [tenant / buyer / client]. 1. A table of the differences: clause, document A, document B, which is better for me and why. 2. Risks in each: anything one-sided, unusual, or unclear, with the exact wording quoted. 3. Five questions I should ask before signing. Be specific and quote the text. Do not give legal advice; tell me what to check with a lawyer.
What you get · Watch out
What you get. A differences table, a risk list with quotes, five questions.
Watch out. Claude is not a lawyer; use this to prepare for one, not to replace one. Make sure both files are readable (not blurry scans). If stuck: Chapters 1.2, 4.8.
Analyze survey results and make charts
Goal. Turn a spreadsheet of answers into findings I can present.
Open. Cowork, paid plan; attach the spreadsheet or CSV.
Attached are survey results ([number] responses, questions in row 1). Our question was: [what we wanted to learn]. 1. Clean the data: note blanks, duplicates, odd values. 2. For each question: the headline number and one sentence. 3. The three findings that matter most for [our decision], with the numbers behind them. 4. Charts for those three (simple bar or line, labeled), as images and in an Excel file. 5. What the data cannot tell us. Plain words; no statistics jargon without a one-line explanation.
What you get · Watch out
What you get. A cleaning note, per-question lines, three findings, three charts, an Excel file.
Watch out. Say what decision the survey is for, or you get everything and nothing. Small samples: ask Claude how confident the numbers are. If stuck: Chapters 2.1, 2.6.
Make a dashboard from a sheet
Goal. My monthly numbers on one page with charts, so I see trends at a glance.
Open. Chat with / and the Dashboard type, or Cowork (paid); attach the spreadsheet.
Attached is my [sales / expenses / visitors] sheet by month. Build a one-page dashboard. Top: the 4 numbers that matter most this month, each with the change from last month. Middle: a line chart of the main number over time; a bar chart by [category / product / region]. Bottom: a short table of the 5 best and 5 worst [items]. Plain labels, no chart junk. Tell me the one trend I should act on.
What you get · Watch out
What you get. A dashboard page with four headline numbers, two charts, a table, one insight.
Watch out. Clean the sheet first (Card 31) or the charts lie. Ask for the "so what", not just the charts. If stuck: Chapters 1.8, 2.6.