This one weird trick

If you’ve done office work for a small nonprofit, you might have used MS Excel as your database software. Often, it just doesn’t make sense for a little organization to purchase elaborate software to house the members’ contact info.

Chances are, this Excel database will be used for a mailing. And if most of your members are in New England or New Jersey, here’s where you’ll get tripped up.

You see, MS Excel was never meant to be used as a database. Years ago, Microsoft had a labyrinthine database program called Access but then someone invented the wheel and realized that tools didn’t have to be so complicated. Just use Excel, eh?

Here’s the rub: New England and New Jersey ZIP codes all begin with the number zero. When you enter it into a cell, the software drops the zero at the beginning because it’s, you know, a number. You wouldn’t say you were 034 years old, right? Right. But now the ZIP code is only four digits long and, per Murphy’s Law, you only realized that after you printed out all the address labels.

Wait, the fun is just beginning! Once you make this embarrassing mistake and waste a pile of pristine Avery label sheets, you diligently change the number format for the ZIP code column. Highlight the column, right-click, choose Format Cells, and in the Number tab, choose Special. Ha, you’re such a genius — there’s the option for a ZIP code format!

But the same thing happens: the first zero is dropped off of every darned ZIP code. At least this time, you printed it on scrap paper instead of labels. See, you’re learning.

The real solution is to convert the number into “text” form. To do that, simply begin every ZIP code with an apostrophe. Or circumvent the whole mess by having one column for “City, State ZIP.”

The real lesson is to be careful that there aren’t any unforeseen pitfalls in your “off-label” uses of various tools! When you’re small, you cut corners and adapt your existing resources to serve many functions. Always take these new functions for a test run before you print. Or better yet, find someone from Boston who’s been doing this way too long. She made all of your mistakes years ago.