If your business uses Excel for data management and reporting, you’re not alone. Many businesses rely on Excel for calculation and reporting because it’s familiar, widespread, and easy to find employees that have the skills to use it.
But there is a better way to manage your data and reporting. As software evolves, more business owners are turning to innovative software that stores information on the cloud, runs quickly, and is more user-friendly.
Called Business Intelligence software, or BI, these programs offer a more robust and easy-to-use experience than Excel.
If your business experiences any of these common Excel problems, it’s time to ditch Excel and look into more modern business intelligence solutions.
1) Excel is running slowly
This may come as a surprise, but Microsoft Excel isn’t capable of handling large amounts of data. After your file reaches a certain size, attempting to edit it will cause Excel to slow down, lag, or freeze your computer altogether.
If you have tech-savvy employees using Excel, they will often attempt to mitigate this problem by breaking large workbooks into smaller chunks. However, this practice makes generating reports more time-consuming, as your employee then has to write custom code to pull in data from the other sources.
So, not only will Excel waste time and lower your business’s efficiency by running slowly — the workarounds will also take additional time and effort.
2) More than one person is involved in reporting
If you have more than one employee working on Excel sheets, confusion and frustration are likely. That’s because Excel stores a single version of a workbook per employee computer.
Even if you attempt to integrate Excel with SharePoint, it’s difficult to get all of Excel’s functions to work on different computers. And generally speaking, only one person can edit an Excel sheet at a time.
If you want to improve communication and collaboration between your teammates, you should look into a cloud-based BI software that offers simultaneous editing. Doing so can help your employees break up tasks more effectively.
3) Reporting takes a long time
It doesn’t seem like Excel is lagging, but it takes a long time for your employee to get back to you with the reports that you need. It’s not that they’re being lazy. Instead, generating complex reports with Excel requires manual effort, time, and energy.
Whereas other BI solutions allow you to access Key Performance Indicators with a few clicks, generating a report in Excel often involves cleaning up data, navigating slow workbooks, and creating custom code.
The longer it takes to generate the report you need, the less likely that report is going to be useful. Using a BI solution allows you to make more informed decisions faster.
The Bottom Line
While Excel is a fine software for small businesses, most businesses quickly outgrow its usefulness. If you’re still relying on Excel after your business has scaled up, your employees are likely wasting time on slow workbooks, ineffectual reporting, and single-user limitations.
Vodigy Software is a leading custom software company in Minneapolis and St. Paul. We work with businesses to implement custom software solutions that make operations simpler, faster, and more efficient. Contact us today.
