If you’re like most business owners, you’re always looking for ways to save money. One way to do that is by monitoring prices and making sure you’re not paying more than you have to. In this blog post, we’ll show you how to build your own price monitoring tool using Excel. With this tool, you can keep track of prices for any product or service that you offer. Stay ahead of the competition and make sure you’re getting the best deals possible!
Choose the price points you want to track
The first step in building your own price monitoring tool is to decide on the prices you want to track. Consider both the items you already regularly purchase and any items you may be in the market for soon or have been considering buying. Decide what level of savings would make a particular purchase worth it, as well as what prices are too high for you to pay. You should then create a list of these desired prices so that when using your tracking tool, you can easily compare current prices with those on your list and determine if an item is worth purchasing or not.
Once you have established your personal price points, it’s time to find tools that will help you keep track of them. There are numerous online platforms available which allow users to easily set up and monitor their price alerts. Many of these platforms feature visual tools that allow you to quickly see price changes, as well as customizable options for frequency of notifications and the range of prices you want to be alerted about.
Find a reputable source for current prices
The first step in building your own price monitoring tool is to find an accurate and reliable source for current prices. This can be a database of prices from online marketplaces, or it might be a pricing service that regularly updates its database with the latest prices. It’s important to make sure the source you choose is reputable and provides accurate information so that you can trust your results.
Once you have found a reliable source for the data, you can begin to build your own tracking program. You will need to create a spreadsheet or other database that includes all of the product categories and their corresponding prices from the source you chose. Be sure to keep track of any discounts, promotions, or other special offers available on certain products so that you don’t miss out on the best deals.
Collect data on a regular basis
Once you’ve set up the basic parameters of your price monitoring tool, it’s time to start collecting data. The frequency with which you collect data will depend on how often prices are likely to change and how much accuracy you need in your results.
For example, if you’re tracking prices for a specific item like a house, then daily or even hourly updates might be necessary. On the other hand, if you’re tracking changes in commodity prices such as oil or wheat, then weekly or monthly updates might be more appropriate.
To make sure that your data is accurate and up-to-date, consider setting up an automated system that can pull the data from its sources directly into your database or spreadsheet.