Still using spreadsheets? | Cloud alternatives | Nano Solutions Fremantle

Take the guess work out of your work. Ditch spreadsheets!

If you own a business or take care of accounts in a company, you are no doubt very familiar with Excel. It has many good features but in our changing times, there are some serious pitfalls, too.

Excel spreadsheets are certainly convenient to use in isolation for very small businesses but once there’s some growth and an increase in staff, things get complicated and time consuming.

The Pitfalls of Excel Spreadsheets

Excel is a fantastic tool and can be of great help in the office. However, relying too much on it can create issues, because…

• It is not ideal to set up good data sanitization.
• It requires quite a lot of training to be used properly.
• Without using cloud systems such as Dropbox, Google Docs and iCloud, it’s difficult for multiple people to share and edit Excel files effectively.
• Splitting a spreadsheet to be completed among several people may seem a good idea to streamline work, but it is a very tedious procedure, just as it is tedious to merge all the documents afterwards to create a single one.
• Cells and rows often need to be copied and pasted into other spreadsheets, because Excel data is not normalized.
• Generally there’s a lot of scope for human error when working with traditional spreadsheets, particularly with staff on the move and working using a variety of devices.
• Also, just getting all staff to use spreadsheets consistently well isn’t easy.

Effective Cloud Alternatives to Excel Spreadsheets

They are easy to use and, some of them, accessible to all. For example, Google Docs: the Google-powered cloud system offers the possibility to create and share documents, slides and spreadsheets entirely online. Once it is created, the file can be edited and worked upon by multiple, approved users and changes take place in real time. Once you are done, you can store documents on your Google Drive for free and access, read and edit them any time, anywhere, from any platform.

More Advanced Cloud Solutions for Your Company

If you are looking for something better tailored to the needs of your company and its main partners, you should consider innovative Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.

These systems, provided by among others, Capsule, Salesforce and for finances, Xero, help connect companies doing business with one another and facilitate communications. However, off-the-shelf CRMs do not always fit well with all companies and bespoke CRM services have been high in demand.

Signs It's Time to Move Beyond Spreadsheets

How do you know when your business has outgrown Excel? Here are the common warning signs we see with Perth businesses:

• Version confusion: Multiple copies of the same spreadsheet floating around, with no one sure which is current. Staff email files back and forth instead of working from a single source of truth.
• Manual reporting: Someone spends hours each week copying data between spreadsheets to produce reports that should be automated. That time could be spent on higher-value work.
• Data entry errors: Typos, wrong formulas, or accidentally deleted rows cause downstream problems that take even more time to diagnose and fix.
• No audit trail: When something goes wrong, there is no way to see who changed what and when. This is particularly problematic for businesses with compliance obligations.
• Growth pain: What worked for a team of five becomes unmanageable at fifteen. Processes that were simple become bottlenecks as the business scales.

If any of these sound familiar, it is worth exploring purpose-built alternatives. The transition does not have to happen overnight — many of our clients start by replacing their most painful spreadsheet with a custom tool, then gradually migrate others as they see the benefits.

Custom Business Portals: Take Your Business to the Next Level

If you think your company needs to move on from Excel to try the freedom and security of having a cloud storage system with an integrated CRM, talk to Nano Solutions. Our systems integration and cloud performance optimisation services help businesses replace fragmented spreadsheets with connected, cloud-based systems.

Nano Solutions can build a custom software solution for your business that’s easy to use and with a simple interface perfectly suited to the specific needs of your office and colleagues.

Our custom solutions are always built to be compatible with your files and specific work flow so will enhance the way you do business.

We take the best of cutting edge technology and make it work for you.