1. Are they any good at it?

Even though spreadsheets are easy to get in to, they are also incredibly easy to break.  Do you want to find out how little your team member knows about them after they’ve broken your ‘bible’ spreadsheet that does your invoicing and controls your work?  Probably not.

Luckily, there are other more suitable and affordable solutions to help your team stay efficient and focussed.

2. You are paying them to do something else.

Very few people who spend all day with their nose in spreadsheets were actually taken on for the purpose of doing complex data analysis.

Therefore, there is something missing in your team’s toolbox (A DATABASE!) which means they are having to use up their paid hours on something other than the reason you hired them in the first place!

3. Spreadsheets always end in pain.

If you are a small, growing business you will inevitably at some point in the future have to move away from spreadsheets and on to an integrated database system to run your business. Spreadsheets were not designed to take, store and compile that amount and complexity of data. So there is a painful period where you move your business from spreadsheets into a database.

Those among us who have already made the transition know that the sooner you do it, the less pain there will be in the long run.  You also have access to the efficiency and reporting improvements earlier in your business’s lifetime, so you win both ways.

4. With the Right Tools you won’t look at a spreadsheet twice ever again.

Here at Working Data (Experts in Bespoke Database Development) we have been fortunate to share that EUREKA moment with many clients as they see the difference an integrated database system makes to their business and what it can achieve. The forward step in what your system can automate for you and the reporting you have access to is a real game changer.

Imagine how much more productive your team could be if they never had to dabble with spreadsheets again and had all their data and tools were ready at their fingertips.

5. Someone always guards the knowledge.

Often someone in your organisation has become the ‘Go To’ person to get information because they are the Excel Guru! Perhaps they may even feel protective and have begun to guard that knowledge. The best thing for them and you is to set them and your business free by removing that pressure point and having a Custom Access Database.

This allows your business to have the best fit database system whilst giving you and your team the tools they need to take your business forward.

6. Better Solutions Exist & Are Available Now!

Spreadsheets are a very useful tool but their use has become confused with that of a database.  When you are doing a very small amount of data, then you can sort of fake a database using Excel.

However, as your business grows and the need to organise, store and compile data becomes more important, then a Custom Access Database will give you the task automation, data capabilities and process structure your business can grow with.

7. Successful Companies Don’t Use Them.

What I mean here is that they don’t base their entire business on spreadsheets.  Naturally, there are always new ideas to check out and small problems to look at which spreadsheets are just fine for.  But, there is no way that any successful company is running their core business on a system of spreadsheets.

Can you imagine if Amazon or FedEx were using spreadsheets to satisfy all those orders?  And your bank had a spreadsheet with your name and the month, year on it so it can do your end of month statement?

If Not Spreadsheets, Then What?

The important lesson here is that databases are a major step forward for any business both in terms of efficiency and task automation.

Every successful company will at some stage of development move away from spreadsheets and onto a custom database system.  For many businesses a Custom Access Database is the best next step.

Contact us here today to chat over where your business is at now and where you want it to be, and how a custom database will help you get there.