One cannot deny that Microsoft Excel is a valuable tool for any business. Professionals who deal with big numbers and a considerable amount of analytical data live and die with this software, as it is the primary application for managing spreadsheets.
However, it would be surprising to know that not all working individuals are adept with how to utilize Excel for work. Studies indicate that only 1 out of 8 people know how to use Excel. It has also been found that office personnel, despite the availability of this software on their units, haven’t been able to receive any formal training or certification for using this productivity platform.
To understand more why Microsoft Excel is a vital skill for people who are into business and finance, here are several points that will make it clearer for you:
Financial Tracking and Accounting
Although there are existing accounting programs and tax preparation systems available in the market that businesses can avail of in closely monitoring financials and tax liabilities, Excel is a step ahead with these tools, with its easy-to-use features. Many enterprises can attest that the usage of Excel by their finance personnel has dramatically helped keep track of their month-to-month accounting.
Trained employees who have gone through Online Excel Courses can attest that creating double ledgers is simpler to record business income and overall expenses, sales data entry, inventory management, and budget tracking. Downloading all these data on your Excel spreadsheet is also trouble-free and is helpful if you wish to transmit such data to your accountant for review.
Customer Data Storage
When it comes to your database, you must determine the types and amounts of data your system can store right from the beginning. If you miss doing so, changes to your data structure might be hard to make, primarily if it is already encoded into your database system.
Excel makes customer data storage easier to maintain as it allows you to keep data more flexible yet organized. Storing data such as client names and contact details is made more accessible, as well as creating additional columns for additional data when needed. Businesses continually change; hence, continuous improvement in streamlining operations, such as maintaining data systems, should be a priority in any industry.
Employee Management and Scheduling
For seamless employee management and performance monitoring, businesses can take advantage of Excel by utilizing its spreadsheets and dividing them into shifts. These spreadsheets can be color-coded about each employee, so you can have a visual when it comes to output analysis if you give higher value to product management.
Constant Monitoring of Sales Activities
The use of Excel is not limited only to record-keeping and data analysis. It is also a great organizational tool in which you can organize your sales data into graphs, bars, or charts if you wish to have a visual reference of your activities. Advanced Excel operations, such as regression analysis, can be integrated into data interpretation by personnel who have undergone training for this software.
Document Administration
Gone are the times when you can only review all data accumulated over time through rummaging in heaps of paper. You can now store vast amounts of these data in one place, and they can be easily shareable with departments, as duplicating these spreadsheets upon printing is effortless. When you import data to and from Excel, you can save time and avoid the tedious process of manual inputs.
Takeaway
Although mastering Excel takes time and a little getting used to, it is a vital tool that will help individuals and companies engaged in finance and business optimize efficiency in business transactions. It’s about time you take advantage of the features Microsoft Excel offers.
