The approach this user is attempting, extracting MEB balances from a source they cannot alter, is exactly the kind of problem that exposes the limits of traditional spreadsheets. They are trying to build a single formula they can drag across cells, working around a rigid source structure that forces MAB, MEB, and CDAB columns to stay interleaved. That constraint is not a minor inconvenience; it is the core friction. And the user is right to feel frustrated.
The real issue here is not the formula syntax. It is that VLOOKUP and INDEX/MATCH were designed for static, well-ordered tables. When your source data refuses to cooperate, when columns are scattered and headers are mixed, you end up juggling nested functions, hard-coded column references, or manual adjustments every quarter. That is not a workflow. It is a maintenance burden dressed up as a solution. The user's instinct to build something drag-friendly is smart, but the tool they are using was never built to honor that instinct.
What this situation reveals is a deeper need: the ability to query data by meaning, not by position. Instead of telling a spreadsheet "column 4, column 7, column 10," you should be able to say "give me MEB balances for Q1, Q2, Q3." That shift, from column numbers to column labels, is what makes a data tool feel like it understands you. It is what turns a repetitive formula-writing exercise into a single, transparent instruction. The user should not have to rebuild logic every time the source shifts.
This is not about replacing one formula with another. It is about recognizing that when your tool forces you to work around its own limitations, you are spending energy on mechanics instead of outcomes. The user's goal is correct: extract the right data, preserve the source, and make the process repeatable. A spreadsheet that requires a workaround for that basic task is not a partner in productivity, it is an obstacle. The next step is to explore tools that treat data as something to query, not something to rearrange.