Why spreadsheets are not the answer for your business

Sophie Killeen

8 years ago

We all like a good spreadsheet, BUT…

If your business is looking for a quick and easy way to create a list, or a table, or if you are wanting to manipulate figures for finances and budgets, then a spreadsheet could be exactly what you are looking for. However, anything larger or more complex than that and the spreadsheet will struggle to hold out. Not only because spreadsheets struggle to grow with you, but once they grow, all of a sudden there is only 1 person in the company who actually understands what it does and how it works.

This post looks at some of the bigger failings of spreadsheets and demonstrates why it might not be the best tool for your business.

There is no integrity of information – Anyone can edit or delete almost anything. So how do you identify who changed what?

Within the business market there are very few data reports that never need updating or adjusting after first being written. Keeping track of where changes were made and by whom is important and in many sectors it is a legal requirement. Although Excel does have a ‘track change’ feature, it can be rather complicated to use and does not distinguish who made the changes. This can cause disruptions within the workings of the company and can also spill out to a point where it is noticed by customers.

A well constructed database keeps track of who changed what and when. Usually a full history is available, so when a customer calls up, anyone who answers the phone is completely aware of everything that has occurred in that customer’s case.

Who can make changes and which data they are able to change?

The majority of work places need some way of controlling who can change information. Otherwise individuals can begin to change other peoples’ information as well as their own. This can result in multiple versions of the same document. Unfortunately, excel gives you little or no control over this.

Have you ever tried importing 3rd party data into a spreadsheet?

The changing face of data is such that almost every database out there needs to communicate with 3rd party data. Integration with supplier or customer web services is more the norm than the anomaly and it is only getting more so. Integrating your spreadsheet with this data is never going to give a truly satisfactory result. On the up side, 3rd party data integration with a custom database is common place and readily achievable with a few, well chosen strokes of the keyboard.

Lack of availability

It is not so easy to access your spreadsheets everywhere you go. These days, the concept of data anywhere is largely expected. Google goes someway to facilitating this with its google docs concept, whilst this goes someway to bridging the gap and making spreadsheets accessible anywhere, there are limitations to what can be done within such a document. A custom database starts with the premise that your data will be accessible from any device, anywhere in the world.

If we can help with the planning or implementation of your custom database, contact us here:

desktopenterprises.co.uk/contacts

Still not convinced? You might want to check out these other posts: