Using Excel Power query for Construction Billing & Data Mining

 This blog published automating construction billing during 2013. It is tried and tested and customises, nested ifs, data validation, Vlookup and workbook protection skills to meet the accounting department's requirements. Excel since then has transformed into analyzing and visualizing the big data. Construction projects have also transformed. 2013 was the time when the dashboard became fashionable, it served the purpose.

Now is the time for low code, no-code development —dashboard remains in the front but the real value and not just automating a semi-manual billing that was inherited; what present-day site monitoring and management requirements are much beyond. Construction quality and safety as demanded today can be met by freeing the site engineers from all possible non-related activities. And meeting the requirements of construction data mining. 

 Why today's IT pro and construction software tools won't work? Many reasons can be listed; probably our not knowing what present-day low code no-code tools can do is the most important and sums it all. 

Just look at an example where I have put in the construction bills in the simplest form. Now when an additional bill is approved say is converted to a CSV or pdf -- all billing data is updated; yes— bye bye copying pasting or doing anything else: Download the folder and check it up yourself. If it does not work check-up with your Excel version. I tested it on Version before I put up this. 

You can download the step by step method and the sample data folder here.

ForConstructionpros.com informs that a big project today generates an average of 130 million emails, 55 million documents and 12 million workflows. And we now require to integrate these organization-wide.

Surely, the construction industry; Indian construction industry, in particular, is not ready. The new Excel offers all these and more.

This blog would further explore how the same construction billing requirements can be fitted into low code, no code model and provide insights into project monitoring and lessons learnt which can be utilised while on the go.