Claude tips and tricks · Power move · 10 minutes
Ask questions about a spreadsheet export
The job: Find patterns in your call log or job list
Most business software can export a spreadsheet, like your phone system's call log or the job list from your scheduling software. Upload the file and Claude can count, sort and chart it to answer plain questions, like when you miss the most calls. It works on every Claude plan.
How
- Export the file as CSV, and delete the columns you don't need, like customer names and phone numbers.
- Check that "Create and edit files" is on in Settings, under Capabilities (older versions call it "Code execution and file creation").
- Upload the file to a new chat and ask your question.
The prompt to copy
This is our call log for the last three months: [attach]. Which days and hours do we miss the most calls? Show me a chart and a short table, tell me how you counted, and list anything in the data that looks wrong.
What a good answer looks like
A chart, a short table and a note on how it counted, so you can redo one number yourself.
The mistake to avoid
Uploading customer names and phone numbers. Delete those columns first; the patterns don't need them.
ChatGPT can analyze spreadsheets too.
Source: Claude Help Center: Create and edit files with Claude, checked 2026-10-24.