Are you using spreadsheets to run your business? Frequently, we are consulted to improve upon business processes with automation and integration through custom software only to find out they are running everything from accounting, payroll, inventory management, BI reporting, daily diaries, and project management through spreadsheets. The truth is, there is a better way and with a little investment, you can receive great value and time savings by going with custom software that fits your business process and can integrate with your existing/future systems.
What are some of the issues with spreadsheets?
Have you ever had to rename a spreadsheet to something resembling `Daily_Accounting_06-12-2018_final_version2.xlsx`? We all have, either because someone else had it open or just because we are afraid of messing up the original. These spreadsheets become difficult to manage and more often than not are full of errors and require lots of manual data entry and manipulation. Think of the time that could be saved to have a simplified process to automate and properly validate the data going in and out of your business. While spreadsheets can be a great tool to highlight specific aspects of a particular process or represent data, it falls short when trying to run your business or even parts of your business.
Here are just a few reasons why spreadsheets fall short:
- Historical data is not maintained
- Security (who can/should access the data?)
- Unable to process large amounts of data quickly
- Data is often input into spreadsheets only to be copied/pasted into another system (wasted time)
- Scales poorly
- Difficult for sharing and working collaboratively
What’s the answer?
Now that we’ve stated all the reasons why you should not use spreadsheets to run your business, you might be asking “What is the answer?”. Some companies decide to move towards a prepackaged Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. While this is an option, often times companies find it to be too expensive and more than what they need making it difficult to navigate and cluttered with data and features they have no need for.
SandStorm can make this process simpler and fit your business needs and give you exactly what you need to run your business without all the extra clutter and the flexibility to integrate with other software/systems as your business needs grow and expand. Our custom software team specializes in helping small to medium size companies make this transition and provides great value to our customers. Feel free to give us a call at 901-475-0275 and we would be glad to discuss how we can improve upon your business processes.