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Executive Summary

The purpose of my VBA project is to provide an automated tool that scans a list of items
purchased from Staples, downloads the latest prices for the items in the inventory, and
requests partial refunds if prices for any of the purchased items have dropped.
The resulting program, PennyPincher 1.0, has the potential to save small businesses
hundreds or even thousands of dollars every year by ensuring that the business takes full
advantage of Staples’s 14 day price guarantee.

The user of this program enters key pieces of data from a Staples purchase into a
spreadsheet by using a user form that is accessed via a button on the spreadsheet. The
user may then choose one of two options to check for price changes.

One option is a onetime check that checks all the prices, sends out e-mails requesting
partial refunds for items that have dropped in price, updates the data in the spreadsheet,
then terminates. The second option sets the program to repeat the price check at regular
intervals of the user’s choosing.

One of the most valuable aspects of this program is that, when it does find an item that
has a new, lower price, the program actual sends an e-mail to Staples customer service
detailing the drop in price and requesting a refund. This ensures that no refund
opportunity is ever missed due to delay or forgetfulness on the user’s part.