In modern business, spreadsheet tools are used for everything, from budgeting to forecasting and even for completing basic payroll tasks, simplifying a number of different departments. Learning to use spreadsheet tools is one of the best things you can do as a businessperson since they are becoming more and more relevant and almost every modern business utilizes them. This post will explore this topic in more detail, explaining how spreadsheet tools drive business planning and delving into why you should be learning to use them if you are in business.
Automation Tasks
One massive benefit of spreadsheet tools is that they can be used to automate repetitive data-entry tasks. Using Excel, the web’s largest and most popular spreadsheet tool, can make life very challenging. The team from Solving Finance makes clear on their site that it’s entirely possible to automate Excel. Automation allows businesses to allocate their resources more efficiently. It’s also worth noting that automating certain tasks makes it possible for businesses to reduce the number of employees they have employed, reducing the number of people they need working in their admin departments. Automation also saves businesses time that would otherwise be spent on training employees how to use Excel.
Viewing Data
Storing and saving data is an important part of modern business. It’s impossible to run one without using data. However, because data typically comes in massive quantities, proper storage is essential. You can use spreadsheet tools to ensure that your business’s data is professionally and safely stored, making it easy to revisit it in the future. Make sure that you spend time researching proper data storage so that you are able to effectively store yours. If you adopt bad data-entry habits, you can complicate accessing it in the future. It’s also worth noting that automation software, like the type mentioned above, can further simplify data storage.
Visual Presentations
Excel spreadsheets can be used for visual presentations. It’s very common for business owners to utilize spreadsheets for showcasing data that they are working with. If you are a business owner and need to use Excel for presentations, make sure that you carefully work every other aspect of your presentation to ensure that it’s perfect. You could argue that the easiest part of a presentation involving spreadsheet slides is the spreadsheet itself. As mentioned above, you need to make sure that you properly enter data and use automation tools to do it for you if you are unable to.
Repetitive Calculations
Another benefit to using spreadsheet tools is that they simplify repetitive calculations. Tools built into Excel and other spreadsheet programs allow you to fully automate calculations. If you are not especially talented when it comes to mathematics, in addition to using automation tools, you might want to take some time to read online guides and tutorials dedicated to simplifying the calculations necessary to answer mathematical equations on Excel or other spreadsheet tools. Repetitive calculations can take up a lot of time, which is why automation is a fantastic way to save yourself time and make your life considerably less stressful.
Employee Progress
It’s good to keep track of your employees’ progress. Knowing where they are with work makes forecasting much easier. If you don’t know the volume of work your workforce is able to tackle (and how long it takes them to complete tasks), you won’t be able to accurately predict the coming months or years, meaning forecasting is impossible. Make sure that you keep logs of what each employee does and track how long it takes tasks to be completed. Identify employees who work extremely hard and get work done quicker than their colleagues. Such employees deserve extra attention and should be considered for promotion.
Storing Information
Throughout this post, references have been made to the fact that it is possible to use Excel to store data and information. Storing information is something that needs to be done carefully and meticulously. If you don’t take time when archiving and storing data, you could end up losing it or storing it alongside data it shouldn’t be grouped with. Spreadsheets are great places to store data, mainly because they are easy to navigate and work through. Make sure you filter data by types and dates, so you can easily open and find it.
Roster of Staff
You can use Excel spreadsheets to create a roster of staff, logging every single employee you have working for you. A roster of staff makes it much easier for your company to keep track of its employees. Make sure that you log people according to the department that they work in. You can then filter by departments, opening and closing them when you need to. If you have a large company, filtering by departments is essential, since it’ll mean that you can investigate, research, and track specific departments without having to go through your entire company’s staff roster.
Logging Paydays
It’s good to keep track of company paydays. Keeping track of paydays can make your business’s finances much easier to manage. If you are planning on logging paydays, make sure that you pay somebody who’s an expert in financial services management to do this for you. For example, you can hire an accountant. An accountant will be able to keep track of all of your company’s finances and help you create budgets. When you know what your company’s finances are like, you can more effectively budget. Creating budgets is essential in business today.
Budget Planning
Budget planning is very important. If you are a business owner, you need to know exactly how much money you have set aside for projects and other things. Project managers need to know how much money they have to spend, for example, so that they can effectively run things. Make sure that the budget planners you hire are all experts in business money management, i.e., accountants and other financial professionals. You can use Excel to more effectively manage your budgets.
Spreadsheets drive business planning. In the modern world, they are used by almost everybody. If you run a business, now’s the time to think about investing in them. If you are going to start using Excel or any spreadsheet tool, give consideration to the points listed here.