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As a business owner or manager, you may find your operationsdivided between a number of spreadsheets. Everything from accounts andbudgeting to staff records and appointments, all needing to beconstantly updated to avoid incomplete records or missing out on workopportunities.
There are a number of ways in which spreadsheets are an imperfect toolfor running a company, even a small business with a handful of staff. You might find spreadsheets to be satisfactory in terms of keeping upwith work, but you should still consider whether a faster more flexibleoption is more suitable for you. If your business is growing, then thecomplexity involved in a higher turnover or product selection could makeimplementing an alternative necessary.
Human error
Even though spreadsheets can automatically calculate figures, allowingfor quite complex tasks, the original information is entered by humanusers. Data entry, or copying and pasting from other sources can lead toerrors, that even if they start small, cause major problems further downthe line. One wrong figure for a price or percentage applied over andover again in multiple calculations has the potential to lead to highcosts and headaches.
Fraud
If you have large spreadsheets with thousands of rows and columns, it’sclear to see how fraudulent entries and changes could be made withoutanybody noticing. As there is no standard way to alert you whensomething is out of place, or a chronological log of changes, detailscould be altered significantly without you being any the wiser. To spotanything amiss, lengthy and expensive auditing procedures may have to becarried out.
Unconnected
Superficially, spreadsheets have similarities to databases, but arelacking important features of the latter in many respects. Relationshipsbetween different tables in a database can be established, allowing forcomplex queries to be run, to produce detailed statistics and records. Mass updates to large tables can be made with the right queries. Programming skills are required, but the flexibility and range ofoperations available far surpass a spreadsheet based solution.
Collaboration difficulties
Spreadsheets are not ideally suited for collaboration. Problems arisewhen multiple copies of what are supposed to be the same spreadsheet arekept and updated separately on the hard drives of a number of users. This inevitably leads to confusion and poor record keeping. Even withthe rise of cloud based spreadsheet solutions like Google Sheets, thatallow collaborative updates in real time, it is hard to discern whoentered what and when.
Security issues
Even though a spreadsheet can be password protected, there are a lack ofmore sophisticated security features such as different employee accesslevels, or two-factor authentication. The practice of emailingspreadsheets between staff and clients leaves large security gaps,especially in the age of large scale hacks and advanced malware. Manyviruses have been distributed through spreadsheet files, causing majorproblems for large organisations. Ideally, you want a method of updatingdata with accessibility and security, without compromising on either.
Make the switch
SwiftCase is a centralised, cloud-based business management process platform that allows for secure, flexible access to information. Update records in real-time as you work, without having to enter the same data over and over again.
If you’re interested in the business growth and productivity benefitsthat come from moving on from spreadsheets and other documents,get intouch for a free, no obligation demonstration today.
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