Templates are spreadsheets that are pre-formatted with text, colors, and/or formulas. They can be used to save you time and effort. Sometimes you are using a workbook as a template and don’t even realize it. By this I mean you have a spreadsheet that you use daily, weekly or monthly. You may have to modify a few cells but the remainder of the spreadsheet is exactly the way you want it. It may be tedious to modify the cells but it is easier than recreating it from scratch.  Guess what, you have the basis of a template!

If you wanted to make this spreadsheet into template, you would need to take two more steps. The first step would involve modifying the spreadsheet to display only the data that remains the same. If you are constantly changing certain cells, you would leave these cells formatted but blank. The last step involves saving this spreadsheet as a template. Once this is done, you would always have access to a clean spreadsheet that is formatted the way you want and ready for your modifications.

Microsoft has hundreds of free templates available on their website http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates. You can also download templates that are already loaded in your version of Excel. They are typically located under the File/New or Office Button/New option. When downloading these business and personal templates, be sure to monitor the version of Office that the template applies to. They have templates available for all of the versions of the Office Suites.

Tywan Miller is a MOS instructor. She has trained and supported thousands of students across the US using the Microsoft Office Suite. She still does support from time to time. Visit my site http://www.myexceltemplates.com and harness power of utilizing excel templates in your daily business and personal life!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tywan_Miller
http://EzineArticles.com/?Using-Excel-Templates-When-Organizing-Your-Personal-and-Business-Matters&id=2900008

A common complaint among small business owners is the failure of employees to complete their time sheets. The employees typically have a strong start but fail to their enter time for the entire week. This can be frustrating for the business owner who has to use valuable time playing catch up with the employees while they try to complete these time sheets so the employee can be paid on time.

Educate, Reward, and Consequence Model

Consequence - If you are having similar issues, you must first generate a plan to see why this problem is happening. Do your employees realize the importance of completely filling out their time sheets and consequences of not doing this? Do you have consequences for incomplete time entry?

Establish and communicate consequences for delayed or incomplete time entry. Make sure these consequences are included in the employee handbook or company intranet for reference.

Educate - Once you understand why the problem is happening, you can educate the employees on the proper time completion procedure. Once they are educated and aware of the consequences, you can jumpstart reward part of this model.

Survey your employees to see why they are turning in the time sheets late. Use the surveys to develop a plan to educate them the importance of on time completion and the consequences of incomplete time sheets.

Reward - Create a weekly game or contest around this time sheet completion learning process for all employees. Draw names each week from a pool of people who correctly entered their timesheets correctly. I’ve seen prizes range from a half day off to a gift certificate for dinner at a fancy local restaurant.

Sounds childish, but this works. This technique re-trains the employees during this contest or trial period so that when this phase was over, they will continue to enter their time properly.

If necessary, create a new excel timesheet template that is easy that they can fill out electronically or print it manually. Try the contest idea and see if your timesheet completion rates don’t improve drastically!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tywan_Miller
http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Simple-3-Step-Solution-to-Getting-Your-Employees-to-Complete-Time-Sheets-on-Time!&id=3351828