# Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?



## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

*Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

Anyone out there willing to share their "copies" of time and expense sheets used to manage "help" doing field work?

Looking for ideas for layouts / categories other beeks use.


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## RAK (May 2, 2010)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

hivetracks.com helps keep track of hives...

I am thinking of getting an ipad and going with beetight.com. They have an option where you put a printable bar-code on each hive and scan with your smartphone or ipad...


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

I'm probably behind the times, I know I'm disorganized and don't have employees, but, do Commercial Beekeepers use the things y'all are writing about? No one I know does. Honey-4-All, you must be running quite a few hives, I'm guessing.

I don't see, in my mind, anyone keeping track of hives. Not indoiviodual hives. Unless they are selecting for queen rearing maybe.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*



sqkcrk said:


> I don't see, in my mind, anyone keeping track of hives. Not indoiviodual hives. Unless they are selecting for queen rearing maybe.


Bingo!


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*



sqkcrk said:


> I don't see, in my mind, anyone keeping track of hives. Not indoiviodual hives. Unless they are selecting for queen rearing maybe.


I am with you on this as well. We do have our own set of hieroglyphics scribbled on the fronts of the hives that we use to mark potential breeders and any other hives that bear watching. A 5"x7" spiral notebook is my most indispensable record keeping tool for our spring cell raising and nucing operations. One such notebook with some handy bookmarks has plenty of room to write anything of note including a daily diary and is still small enough to fit in your back pocket. In it I keep track of everything from cells grafted/accepted to a running diary of everything done on a particular day, I also keep the previous years' handy as a reference. I feel I am a reasonably tech savvy kind of guy but I really can't imagine any electronic device that could be as useful and still be able to survive the beeswax, propolis, honey, syrup and bee poop that it would be exposed to. For summer honey production in the north we work off of a large poster board on the wall of the honey house with all the locations listed geographically where we record the date and activity for each location and is updated on a daily basis. Pretty simple, straightforward and large enough for several people to stand around and look at as we discuss what the highest priorities for the day are.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

SQKCRK wrote:

I don't see, in my mind, anyone keeping track of hives. Not indoiviodual hives. Unless they are selecting for queen rearing maybe.

Although we have been using lumber crayoons for 70? years to right on the roofs, in recent years we have increased the range of data recorded, and have found it to be of value. We have noted some minor patterns with the added data that where not noted before. I have spoken with Sheri on this subject, and believe for SOME, the value of the information might justify the cost of a more advanced system.

Crazy Roland


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure that modern means of record keeping would be of some benefit to some beekeepers and it's the newer beekeepers who will and should blaze the way. I just don't keep those sorts of records.

Theyu could be interesting to someone else in the future, if they could access them. There is no problem accessing the notebooks I have, which I no longer spend much time making notes in.


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

The scan and track would save time an money. No sence running hive in yard that under produce. Right now I do the paper work in the yard and then add it to computer when I get back to the shop. I do a 7 year honey tracking every few years to find out if I keep or close the yards. 
Just think if you could just increase honey production of just 5 lb a hive. WOW thats only another 2 ton. Even in a small operation like mine, I can see it paying for itself in just a season.:thumbsup:


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

If you are operating commercially, I think the object is to make the colonies all alike, so that operations are performed on the same day in the same way, so individual recordkeeping wouldn't serve as much pupose that the lumber crayon can't take care of. I think yards that under perform are mentally noted every trip out until you have had enough and move off it. A good record of what your yards produce is the more important thing to track. Manage your make and break areas and decide if your machinery and its software are an affordable deductible and not an impulse buy like the ones I regularly fly into.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*



Vance G said:


> If you are operating commercially, I think the object is to make the colonies all alike, so that operations are performed on the same day in the same way, so individual recordkeeping wouldn't serve as much pupose that the lumber crayon can't take care of. I think yards that under perform are mentally noted every trip out until you have had enough and move off it. A good record of what your yards produce is the more important thing to track. .


You stole the words right off my keyboard


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

Psychic plagerism is not a crime. Yet.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

PM me with spicifics


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## RAK (May 2, 2010)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

New Zealand (Blaycliff Apiaries) use electronic tracking. 

Very interesting... I use paper... Mainly to know which queens perform the best so I could breed from them.

http://blaycliff.onlinenz.net/why blaycliff.html#qualitycontrol


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## BMAC (Jun 23, 2009)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

I do think tracking with a computer comes in handy but not for day to day in the field use. In fact most these devices (smart phones, Ipads, whatever else they come up with next) are too sensative to actually be out in a bee yard with me all day long. They are too expense as well. My wife's Ipad just cost 700 bucks. I couldn't afford to run that over with the skidsteer cause if fell on the ground or have the screen ruined by forgetting it on a hive in the sun. 

However I am writing a database and application to help us track our inventory of bottles and how much we should plan for in the next delivery of honey to our stores to make sure that process runs smooth. When I am done we will also be able to utilize it to track our income based on honey sales for tax season. This will greatly expedite our efforts as well as track sales trends to possibly drop or pickup more stores in a specific geographic location depending on the cash flow that area produces for us.

As far as the beeyards. I know which yards produce and dont produce. I also know which ones would be possible queen producing colonies with just simple scribbling on outisde of boxes along with a few paint spots here and there. Though I don't run very many.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

Sorry for the plagarism Mr. Lyon! Have you posted that thought before here? I am on heart meds that should be called lobotomy in a bottle and possibly I done you wrong by remembering your thoughts right! Does that make it a bad idea??? I must be going to the dark side:<}


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*



Vance G said:


> Sorry for the plagarism Mr. Lyon! Have you posted that thought before here? I am on heart meds that should be called lobotomy in a bottle and possibly I done you wrong by remembering your thoughts right! Does that make it a bad idea??? I must be going to the dark side:<}


Too late the wheels of justice are already turning  Actually it was a complement Vance but then I think you already knew that.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

*Re: Excel "beekeeping" Spreadsheet for managing "help" time and field expenses?*

Thanks


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