Are spreadsheets good for managing data

Excel is great for what it does with data. You can even connect Excel to data visualization software like Power BI.

A lot of companies use Excel to create pivot tables, look at line-item lists and build graphs. But some businesses rely on it way too much. If you’re running large data sets or entire projects in Excel, then you might want to consider what you are missing with a tailored solution that can give you more accurate data more of the time.

Permissions

In Excel, anyone can update a spreadsheet who has access to it. It’s just a spreadsheet that someone updates by hand.

However, if you are using a database and a platform like SharePoint, only people with the proper permission can edit fields. Whereas in a spreadsheet, anyone who has the spreadsheet can edit whatever they want.

If you have all your financial data in Excel, why would you let someone who is not in accounting make official edits to financial data? There are no controls on the data in a spreadsheet.

Automation

If you are using Excel, chances are your data is not automated, which means data is not flowing from software that collects the data to the software that projects that data with visualization tools.

If a data transfer is not automated, then guess what? You are doing data entry and copy and pasting cells. Not only are you wasting extra time and resources, you risk making errors with your data.

Accuracy

Check out our story on why your data is not accurate.  Humans enter data into the Excel fields. With every human task, there are inevitably errors that will be made with data entry. Even a hidden decimal or hidden row can cause your entire excel sheet to be inaccurate.

With a data entry process or the right enterprise-level software, you can control what data you enter with checkboxes and dropdowns. This limits possible entries and errors.

Chapter Six:

How to Control Human Resource Employee Data

Quit the Spreadsheet

Use the tools large enterprises use, control your data with SharePoint

Managing Data with SharePoint Will Transform Your Business

Are you managing your entire company from a spreadsheet? How are you going to grow with those document management tools? Does your SharePoint work the way you want it to?

If you properly implement SharePoint, it will transform your company’s productivity. Employees will be more efficient, you’ll have better access to your company’s data, and you’ll be able to better report on key metrics. HingePoint’s custom SharePoint solutions have helped many companies struggling with unorganized data and manual, multi-step processes. Those same customers have transitioned into a more organized, productive organization through automated workflows and easy-to-search information.

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