How To Earn Income with Excel Freelance Work

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Are you looking to cash in on the new wave of working remotely vs commuting for 2 hours to that 9-5 job? Perhaps you're looking for a side hustle to pay off some debt, save for a car or vacation, or just have some extra cash on hand for a rainy day? If so, you're in the right spot. You can use Microsoft Excel to earn money online.

I'm Lindsay and I have been using Microsoft Excel daily for the last 20 years both professionally and personally. I also have taken a few university-level Excel courses in the day. You could call me a bit of an Excel nerd. My goal is to make Microsoft Excel accessible to as many people as possible while teaching them how to use it and in turn, make money using it.

Welcome to my guide on how to make money doing Excel freelance work! If you're passionate about Excel and seeking opportunities to leverage your skills, you've come to the right place. In this article, I'll walk you through the ins and outs of Excel freelance jobs and show you how to turn your expertise into a profitable freelance business.

Even if you're just starting out using Excel, you can still start setting up for freelance work. Your price is going to reflect your experience, plus you'll only offer services you can do, so don't worry about not knowing how to do something specific. You're not going to offer something you don't know how to do.

What is Freelance Work?

A Freelance worker is someone who makes money on a per-job basis. They are self-employed and are not typically doing jobs for just one company. A freelancer can have one-time clients (create an Excel template that the client will use on their own after you create it) or continuing clients (an example could be monthly analyzing of sales data to determine best or poor-performing products). As with anything, there are pros and cons to this type of work.

Pros of freelance work:

• You're your own boss. No more making someone else rich.
• You make your own hours. Of course, your clients will have deadlines, but you can do the work anytime before that deadline. Do you feel inspired at 2 am? No problem!
• You choose your clients. No more being forced to work with someone who doesn't pull their weight or for a boss who doesn't care that you have a life outside of work. If you and a client aren't a good match (it happens and it's ok), you can both decide to walk away peacefully and that's it.
• Work as little as often as you want. You decide your workload.
• You can work from anywhere. You've dreamed of living in Mexico? Excellente, bienvenido a Mexico! Moving to another country comes with a whole list of things you must take into consideration, but that's not for this post.

Cons of Freelance work:

• Inconsistent work. No clients mean no money. If you don't have recurring monthly income from regular clients you'll be constantly looking for your next client to pay your bills. This can get old fast.
• No work benefits. This could be things like health benefits, life insurance, gym memberships, pension plans, etc. Anything that you could get as a benefit while working for a company.
• Completely responsible for all tasks. If you run into a problem with your work, you don't have a boss or coworker that you can get advice or help from. Also, if you're sick, you have no one who can help you complete a task. Everything is on you.
• No paid vacations. You can obviously take any time off you want by not booking clients and informing monthly clients you'll be away, but you won't be getting paid during that time off like you would if you took paid vacation from a company you were employed by.
• Tax Implications. Working for yourself comes with its own tax rules. Working in another country could also come with its own tax rules. This is something to look into wherever you live or plan to live.

Lots of people do freelance work and love the freedom it offers, like being able to stay at home with the kids and working after they go to bed. Other people want more stability in knowing they have a consistent pay cheque each month or consistent hours and opt to work for a company, or as I call it, the 9-5 job. It boils down to what you want or are comfortable with.

The very first thing you need to do is get Excel if you don't have it already. I would suggest a paid version if you're going into the freelance business. Running off a free version, is just not going to be enough in terms of spreadsheet size, functions and formulas. See this blog post where I go over paid vs free versions of Excel and determine how you're going to get Excel.

Ok, so you've made it this far and you're ready to learn more about being an Excel freelance business? Let's get started!

Building a Solid Foundation

As you embark on your journey to make money through Excel freelance work, it's essential to establish a strong foundation that will set you up for success.

Think about the first impression you're going to make on potential clients. You only have one shot at a first impression. What are you offering to clients? Are you good at this task? Are you priced competitively? All of these things and more build your foundation or your package that a potential client is going to use to decide whether to hire you or not. Let's make it good!

Assessing and Improving Your Excel Skills

To thrive as an Excel freelancer, it's important to assess your current skills and continuously strive for improvement.

Identify Your Excel Strengths and Weaknesses: Take a moment to evaluate your Excel proficiency. Make a list (in Excel of course 😉) of the tasks you are proficient at, the tasks you are ok at or might need a bit of a refresher on, and then the tasks you don't know how to do or don't do well. You will need this later when determining what services you will offer.

Make sure you're really honest with yourself about what you do well. A good question to ask is, do you feel comfortable doing that? If the answer is yes or probably (we're usually our own worst enemy, right?), put it under the ‘I excel at' list. Being honest will ensure that you're offering yourself out to others for tasks that you know you can do and do well, and at the same time you've got a list of tasks to learn more about.

Utilize Online Tutorials and Courses: The internet offers a wealth of resources for expanding your Excel knowledge. Seek out reputable online tutorials (like this one) and courses covering specific areas you want to strengthen.

Practice Makes Perfect: Theory alone is not enough to become an Excel master. Apply your learning by working on real-world projects. Start by tackling small tasks and gradually take on more complex projects. This hands-on experience will sharpen your skills and build your confidence.

Did you recently learn how to build a budget template? Make one for yourself. Make one for your best friend. Make one for your parents. Make them different from each other to try different layouts, formulas, etc. Do this with all the Excel tasks you learn. Stack tasks into one spreadsheet (create a template with formulas, table formatting, conditional formatting, IF statements, etc.). The more you play, the more you'll learn and master. Here are 5 templates that you should try.

Identify Industries You Have Knowledge About: Where have you worked in the past? What experience have you gained that you can apply to using Excel spreadsheets?

If you worked as a Real Estate Administrative Assistant you could offer to create data spreadsheets or templates for Real Estate Agents because you know what information they're going to need (addresses, house size in square feet (or meters), landscaping like pools, number of rooms, and whatever they may need), client lists per Realtor, and more.

If you worked as a car salesman, you could offer to create templates (and even populate with data) for car inventories, parts inventories, customer databases specific to sales (what car did they buy), warranty spreadsheets, etc.

If you worked at a small local clothing store you could offer to again create templates for inventory, ordering supplies, budgeting for the business (small business bookkeeping), and payroll spreadsheets.

Think of your past experience and brainstorm the type of data that those industries create and how you can use Excel to capture that data. EVERY industry creates data of some kind. Everything we do creates data of some kind. This is why Excel is such a powerful tool.

Developing a Professional Portfolio

A well-crafted portfolio is your ticket to landing Excel freelance jobs. Consider this your Excel resume. It serves to showcase your abilities and demonstrates your problem-solving skills. Consider the following tips to develop an impressive portfolio:

1. Highlight Relevant Industry Experience: Here is the list I had you build above. If you have experience in specific industries, such as finance, marketing, or logistics, highlight projects demonstrating your expertise. This will make your portfolio more appealing to clients in those industries who are seeking specialized Excel freelancers.
2. Demonstrate Problem-Solving Abilities: In addition to showcasing your relevant industry experience, emphasize your problem-solving abilities. What are common pain points for your target audience from #1? Describe how you approached challenges, overcame obstacles, and delivered practical solutions using Excel. This will help potential clients understand your value as a problem solver.
3. Showcase Diverse Excel Projects: Include a variety of projects that highlight your versatility. For example, you could showcase a financial analysis model, a data visualization dashboard, or a project demonstrating advanced formulas. Aim to demonstrate your ability to tackle different types of tasks.

By assessing and improving your Excel skills and developing a professional portfolio, you'll establish a solid foundation that will attract clients and set you apart from the competition. Remember, continuous learning and a diverse portfolio are key ingredients for success in the world of Excel freelance work.

There are whole blogs built around how to create a freelancer portfolio, so do some research and look at other Excel freelancer portfolios for ideas. Do not copy someone's portfolio. Ideas only.

Also keep in mind that portfolios, like resumes, change over time in what information is desired by those looking for a freelancer and you should continually be updating your portfolio for new skills and showcasing projects.

Finding Excel Freelance Opportunities

Now that you have built a solid foundation in Excel skills and created a professional portfolio, it's time to explore the avenues for finding lucrative Excel freelance opportunities.

Utilizing Freelancing Platforms

Researching and Registering on Popular Platforms: Begin by researching reputable freelancing platforms that cater to Excel-related projects. Platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr are known for their wide range of job postings. Create a compelling profile that highlights your expertise, experience, and the value you can provide to clients.

Optimizing Your Profile and Portfolio: As I noted above, stand out from the competition by optimizing your profile and portfolio on freelancing platforms. Use a professional headshot, write a captivating bio that showcases your skills and passion for Excel, and feature your best work samples. Tailor your profile to attract your target clients looking for Excel freelancers.

Navigating Job Postings and Bidding Processes: Regularly browse job postings relevant to Excel freelance work. Read the requirements carefully and submit well-crafted proposals that demonstrate your understanding of the project and how you can meet the client's needs. Be responsive, professional, and diligent in following up with potential clients.

Starting a Blog

Starting a blog is a great way to promote yourself as an expert, just like I have done. Blogging is a great way to target your niche audience showing that you're an expert in Excel. You can write articles for prospective clients on how to find an Excel VA, what to avoid, what the average price is for Excel Freelancers, etc. You can also write about the best ways to organize specific data when to use macros, tips and tricks for data analysis, and other topics that lend to your expertise.

There are a lot of ways you can monetize a website/blog, taking advantage of active income (where you earn an hourly rate or per project like your Excel freelance work) and passive income (earning money when you're not actively working like creating a template once and selling it over and over again).

This topic is easily its own blog post, I'm not going to go further into this here, but if you're interested in learning more about blogging, check out my mentor Sadie Smiley. She teaches all there is to know about blogging and making passive income on her Passive Income Pathways website.

Networking and Self-Promotion

Attending Industry Events and Meetups: Expand your professional network by attending industry events, conferences, and meetups focused on business, technology, or data analysis if there is such a thing in your area. Engage in conversations, exchange business cards, and make meaningful connections with potential clients, fellow freelancers, and industry experts.

Take a walk down the street: Small to medium business owners are going to be your biggest customers. These are the companies or individuals that expensive software is not feasible financially nor does it make sense for the size of the business, but they need something to track their data. This is your local hardware store, grocery store, non-chain hotel, local coffee shops and restaurants, clothing stores, party rental places, construction companies, and literally any company or industry.

Leveraging Social Media Platforms: Utilize social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to showcase your expertise and connect with professionals in your target market. Share valuable Excel tips, insights, and case studies. Engage in relevant discussions and build relationships that can lead to freelance opportunities.

Don't be spammy in your face about your freelance business, but also don't be too casual and use your personal profile either depending on what you have on it. I would start a business Facebook persona and in your ‘About Me' section, you'll link to your Fiverr profile, you'll note your Excel interests, and that you're an Excel Freelancer.

When you give tips and insights within a Facebook group and someone clicks on your profile they'll see you do this for a living. Before you shake your head that people won't check out your profile. They will. People will snoop! I will click on your profile if what you have said interests me. I want to see if you're someone I think I can trust.

If your profile looks professional, I'm more likely to feel the tips and advice you gave are good. If clicking on your profile takes me to your personal profile with pictures of you guzzling beer out camping and the ‘About Me' notes you studied at the School of Hard Knocks, I'm less likely to take you seriously and ignore your tips.

Building Relationships with Potential Clients: Cultivate relationships with potential clients by offering value upfront. Provide free resources, such as Excel templates, tutorials, or informative blog posts, to establish yourself as a helpful authority in the Excel community. This approach can lead to clients seeking your expertise when they require freelance assistance.

By utilizing freelancing platforms and leveraging networking and self-promotion strategies, you will position yourself as a sought-after Excel freelancer. Remember, it's not just about finding opportunities, but also about building relationships and nurturing your professional network. These connections can lead to long-term collaborations and a steady stream of Excel freelance work.

Pricing and Negotiating Contracts

As an Excel freelancer, it's essential to have a clear understanding of how to price your services competitively and negotiate contracts effectively. In this section, I will discuss the key factors to consider when determining financial compensation, understanding project requirements, and successfully negotiating payment terms.

Determining Competitive Rates

Evaluate Your Skills and Experience: Take into account your level of expertise, industry knowledge, and the value you bring to clients through your Excel skills. Consider your years of experience, specialized certifications, and the complexity of the projects you can handle.

Research industry standards and competitive rates to gain insight into appropriate pricing ranges. This is super important. You need to know what the going rate is for this type of work. If, on average, the hourly rate for data entry is $20/hr and you're charging $50/hr, you're not going to get many clients.

Now, with that said, you could decide to charge by the amount of data vs an hourly rate. You could say that you charge $50 for 300 cells of data or data or 150 rows with a maximum of 4 columns, etc. The client knows exactly what they're paying you for the job and if it takes you an hour or 3 hours, you're still getting $50.

Consider Time and Effort: Assess the time and effort required for each project. Complex projects that demand specialized knowledge, extensive data analysis, or custom macros may warrant higher rates. Conversely, simpler tasks or projects with shorter turnaround times may be priced more competitively.

Consider how much time you have for freelancing. You don't want to overextend yourself and start missing client deadlines. This is going to cause you to lose clients quickly. People are more likely to talk about bad experiences than they are to give good reviews. So you can be assured, a missed deadline is going to result in a bad review. While a great project completed on time may not result in any reviews.

How are you going to ensure this doesn't happen? Do a time audit. How many hours in a week or month do you have available for work? How much data entry can you do in that time? How long does it take you to create a basic small business accounting template? As you take on clients make sure you know that you can meet the agreed-upon deadline for the work before accepting the client and then also take that into consideration when getting additional clients.

Factor in Overhead Costs: Account for any overhead costs associated with running your freelance business, such as software licenses, online subscriptions, or marketing expenses. These costs should be considered when determining your rates to ensure you maintain profitability.

Don't forget to take into consideration the fees that the platform you're using will charge. A lot of time these include a percentage charged don't the total price. So if you're paying Fivver 20% of what you're charging (this is the cost at the time of this blog being published), then you need to inflate your cost by that much. For example, if you want to have $20/hr take-home pay, you'll need to charge $24/hr as Fivver is going to take that $4.

Understanding Project Requirements and Client Expectations

Clarify Project Scope: Before accepting a freelance project, communicate with the client to gain a clear understanding of the project scope, objectives, and deliverables. Ask questions to identify any potential challenges or specific requirements that may impact the pricing.

Assess Project Complexity: Evaluate the complexity of the project, including the size and intricacy of the data sets, the level of analysis required, and the desired outcomes. This assessment will help you determine the amount of time and effort needed, which can influence your pricing.

Discuss Client Expectations: Engage in open and transparent discussions with the client to understand their expectations regarding project timelines, revisions, and communication. Clarify how revisions and additional work beyond the initial scope will be handled to avoid misunderstandings during the project.

If you are struggling to fully comprehend what the client wants, complete a small sample and submit it to your client to ensure you're on the right path. Doing this means you'll be confident finishing the project and the client will be confident they're getting what they want.

Negotiating Payment Terms and Milestones

Define Payment Structure: Once the project and the price have been determined, determine the payment structure that works best for both you and the client. Consider whether partial upfront payments or milestone-based payments align with the project's timeline and your financial needs.

This could look different for every client. If it's a small data entry spreadsheet that you're creating that will take less than a day to complete. You may just take a small upfront fee, or just payment at the end.

Discuss Revisions and Change Requests: Establish clear policies regarding revisions and change requests. Outline the number of revisions included in the initial project fee and define how additional revisions or major changes will be handled, including any associated costs.

Communicate Professionally and Flexibly: Approach negotiation conversations with professionalism and a focus on building a mutually beneficial relationship. Be open to flexible arrangements that accommodate the client's budget while ensuring you are compensated fairly for your time and expertise.

Doing The Work!

So you've found a client and negotiated the price and payment terms. Now it's time to do your promised part and do the work. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Delivering High-Quality Work

Paying Attention to Detail: Excel projects often involve working with complex datasets and performing calculations. Pay close attention to every detail, ensuring accuracy in formulas, data entry, and formatting. Thoroughly review your work to catch any errors before submitting the final deliverable. You want to be accurate but also efficient.

If you're creating a template, ensure you test it out several times. Try to duplicate errors that you've seen commonly occur. Can you lock down specific cells so errors are less likely to occur?

Going the Extra Mile for Client Satisfaction: Stand out from the competition by going above and beyond to meet and exceed client expectations. Anticipate their needs, offer suggestions for improvement, and provide additional value whenever possible. This commitment to exceptional service will foster long-term client relationships and positive referrals.

My mentor taught me that if you give your clients more value than they expect, you're going to have a return customer!

Communicating Effectively with Clients

Clarifying Project Requirements: This was noted earlier but it bares repeating; understanding what the client wants before you start is going to save a lot of frustration from both parties. Engage in thorough discussions with clients to clarify their expectations, objectives, and desired outcomes. Ask questions to ensure you have all the necessary information before starting the project.

Providing Progress Updates: On longer projects, make sure to keep clients informed about the progress of their projects. Regularly share updates and milestones achieved. Transparent and proactive communication will build trust and demonstrate your professionalism.

If you're doing a one-day project or have agreed with the client that progress updates are not required, then don't send them.

Make sure that if something is going wrong and you're unsure if you can fulfill your promised outcomes on the promised date you inform your client as soon as possible. This is a must to keep good relations and hopefully agree on a new due date that is satisfactory to both parties.

Managing Client Feedback and Revisions: Handle client feedback and revision requests gracefully. Actively listen to their input, consider their suggestions, and implement changes promptly and accurately. Maintain open lines of communication throughout the revision process to ensure client satisfaction.

As part of the price negotiations, you should have decided on a number of included revisions and change requests included in the contract. It is up to you how to handle additional requests. Probably for most clients, this won't be necessary. And for a few, it might be necessary, but the client will likely amend their due date, etc. to allow for time to finish.

Expanding Your Excel Freelance Business

As an Excel freelancer, you have the potential to expand your business and unlock new opportunities. Here are some ways to do that:

Seeking Repeat Business and Referrals

One of the best ways to expand your freelance business is by impressing your existing clients. Strive to provide exceptional service, deliver projects on time, and exceed their expectations. Satisfied clients are more likely to hire you for future projects and refer you to their networks.

Stay in touch with your clients even after completing their projects. Send follow-up emails, check in periodically, and offer assistance if they have any new Excel-related needs. Building lasting relationships fosters repeat business and opens doors to valuable referrals.

Upselling Additional Services or Specialized Expertise

Assess your skill set and identify related services you can offer alongside your Excel expertise. For example, you could provide data analysis, reporting, or automation services to complement your data entry Excel work. This expands your service offerings and appeals to clients looking for comprehensive solutions.

If you have specialized knowledge or experience in a particular industry or niche, highlight it in your marketing efforts. Position yourself as an expert in that area, emphasizing how your Excel skills align with the specific needs of clients within that industry. This targeted approach can attract clients seeking specialized expertise.

Scaling Your Business Through Team Collaboration or Outsourcing

A way you can scale your business is to consider collaborating with other freelancers who possess complementary skills. For example, partnering with a graphic designer or a data analyst can enable you to offer comprehensive solutions to clients. By leveraging each other's expertise, you can take on more significant projects and expand your client base.

Keep in mind that as your business grows, it may become necessary to outsource certain non-essential tasks. For instance, administrative work like email management, or social media content creation can be outsourced to free up your time for high-value client work. Delegating these tasks allows you to focus on what you do best while maintaining efficiency and quality.

Managing Your Finances and Taxes

Managing your finances and understanding your tax obligations is crucial for running a successful business. In this section, we'll explore key tips to help you stay on top of your financial matters and ensure compliance with tax regulations.

Keeping Track of Income and Expenses

Separate Business and Personal Finances: Open a dedicated business bank account to separate your personal and business finances. This simplifies tracking income and expenses, making it easier to analyze your financial performance and prepare for tax filings.

Maintain Detailed Records: Keep organized records of all your income and expenses related to your Excel freelance work. Use an Excel spreadsheet to log your earnings, invoices, project costs, software subscriptions, and any other relevant expenses. This will save you time and effort when calculating your taxable income. If your business gets big enough or you really don't want to do this yourself, consider hiring a bookkeeper.

Understanding Tax Obligations and Deductions

Tax laws and regulations can be complex, so it's wise to seek advice from a qualified tax professional. They can guide you on the specific deductions and credits available to freelancers and ensure you comply with the tax laws in your jurisdiction.

If you're considering moving to another country, make sure to find out if you'll have to pay income tax in that country and your home country (where you hold citizenship).

Familiarize yourself with the tax obligations and deductions relevant to your freelance business. Research tax laws specific to self-employed individuals and freelancers, such as deductions for home office expenses, business-related travel, software subscriptions, and professional development.

You're an Excel Freelancer!

Congratulations! You've reached the final section on how to make money with Excel freelance work. This was a super long blog, so here's a short recap:

1. Building a Solid Foundation: I emphasized the importance of assessing and improving your Excel skills, as well as developing a professional portfolio to showcase your expertise and problem-solving abilities.
2. Finding Excel Freelance Opportunities: I highlighted the significance of utilizing freelancing platforms and networking to connect with potential clients and secure freelance projects.
3. Pricing and Negotiating Contracts: We discussed the importance of determining your price, understanding project requirements, and effectively negotiating payment terms to ensure fair compensation for your services.
4. Excelling in Excel Freelance Work: I emphasized the need for delivering high-quality work, paying attention to detail, and maintaining effective communication with clients throughout the project lifecycle.
5. Expanding Your Excel Freelance Business: We explored strategies such as seeking repeat business and referrals, upselling additional services, and scaling your business through collaboration or outsourcing.
6. Managing Finances and Taxes: I provided a few tips on keeping track of income and expenses, understanding your tax obligations, and seeking professional advice if needed to stay on top of your financial matters.

Now that you have gained valuable insights and practical tips, it's time to put your newfound knowledge into action. Start by assessing your Excel skills, building a portfolio, and exploring freelancing platforms to find exciting opportunities. Remember, success in Excel freelance work is not achieved overnight, but with dedication, continuous learning, and a proactive mindset, you can thrive in this dynamic field.

Wishing you all the best on your exciting Excel freelance adventure!

I would love to hear if you started an Excel Freelance business, and how it's going. Please comment below.