FAQ > Estimating Tools > How do I analyze my bidding efforts over time?
While simply tracking the basics about each job in a spreadsheet will allow you to calculate some basic sales statistics, estimators who want to examine their sales in more depth may find these tips beneficial:
1) The "pivot table" and "pivot chart" abilities of Microsoft Excel can quickly show you patterns in your sales that you might not otherwise find. Both functions allow you to drag and drop columns/rows into charts and tables dynamically so can experiment until you find useful information. Microsoft has an example pivot table you can download here: http://bit.ly/eGevlz. Pivot tables are particularly useful if you work with a large number of products, contractors, or projects and need to see what you are selling and who's buying it.
2) Microsoft MapPoint can import your raw sales data from a spreadsheet and show you that data on a map. For example, it can create a map that easily represents project locations, types, and dollar values all at the same time. It also supports sales territories, can link to live data, and can export to a variety of formats. Microsoft has a free demo version of MapPoint here: http://www.microsoft.com/mappoint/en-us/trial.aspx. MapPoint also has some good route calculation software built-in. If you need to coordinate multiple vehicles and job sites, that feature can be useful.