If I ask you what Excel means to you, you will say it is a set of rows and columns that facilitate many complex tasks. For ordinary individuals, this is what Excel all about. But this proposition changes when it comes to businesses.
The number of functions that businesses can accomplish with this software is unimaginable, and most companies can wholly leverage what excel offers if they hire an Excel expert.
As per the reports, 750 million people still use MS Excel, and as per Satya Nadella, it is the most critical consumer product by Microsoft.
Reasons why Excel is a hot favorite amongst masses:
- Excel presents any complex data in a readable format, i.e., you get clean and well-organized data that saves you a lot of time.
- It offers ease of use and a high level of flexibility. For example – You can manage your simple monthly grocery spending and, on the other hand, handle complex accounting needs.
- It is a boon for small companies that cannot spend a fortune on expensive software programs for varying needs. They can hire an Excel expert and get most things done.
What can Excel do for businesses?
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Accounting
You cannot imagine Excel without brimming numbers, and, truth be said, it is the primary essence of Excel. Every accounting professional need not be an Excel expert but needs to have Excel knowledge in some capacity.
Ask the accounting experts, and they will tell you the fantastic things that Excel can do for you. After all, Excel supports processes like creating balance sheets, preparing financial statements, and setting budgets. It can also help with expense tracking, forecasting, and loan calculation.
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Project Management
Small businesses and startups can’t always invest in an expensive project management tool. Still, if they hire an excel expert, they can manage a lot of operations with this single software. It can help manage tasks such as financials, project scope, project progress, etc.
For example, it has a visual timeline chart where you can establish a project schedule. You can also use Excel for project tracking and ensure that you always meet the deadlines. Another benefit of using Excel is that one can share it with others without needing any prior knowledge to know how it works.
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Managing Contacts and Emailing Lists
Businesses send and receive many emails through sales, promotions, queries from customers, and even in-house emails. MS Excel offers a feature mail merge that helps to manage mass emails. You can create mailing lists using this feature and send bulk emails.
You can check this link here to see how it works.
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Data Visualization
Data visualization is one of the principal uses of MS Excel. The amount of data that businesses collect on day to day basis is extensive. It includes everything from website traffic to product sales to supplies expenditure etc. MS Excel can help gather critical information from these raw data sets and present complex information in a much simpler format.
Excel supports diverse visualization options that make raw data visually appealing, and anyone can make sense of it. For instance, you see that your website traffic drops on a Sunday based on that, you can think of not posting critical information on that day.
Although it is slightly complex, and in such cases, if one hires an Excel expert, things can get much more manageable.
It is a great way to communicate your information succinctly and compellingly. With the help of charts, you can pinpoint the notable points in the data that anyone can understand, whether it is a potential investor or a coworker, or your team.
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HR Management
People management is not an easy feat, and MS Excel can help you store the information and quickly retrieve it as needed. Talent acquisition, training, organizing events, conducting company benefit programs are some of the processes that come under the umbrella of HR managers.
MS Excel can help them stay on top of their game to keep tabs on individual employee work schedules, keep track of their leaves, and maintain event schedules without missing any other critical information.
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Managing Events
Events, big or small, all need proper planning and execution. MS Excel can come in handy, which is easy to use, and one can customize it as per the event’s requirements. You can use it to allocate resources, keep track of participants, assign duties to various other members. Also, if a new member joins in, he can immediately take the lead.
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Contract Administration
Contract administrators can use MS Excel to store and record the contract details such as starting date, ending date, deliverables, and payments.
Microsoft also offers plenty of templates that can be customized as per your needs and simplify the process of contract administrators. These templates can be brought into use at any stage of the contract lifecycle.
These are some of the most prominent uses of MS Excel for businesses. MS Excel can be a game-changer for businesses if used with the proper knowledge and skills. Today’s market is brimming with specialized tools for every sector, whether for project management or people management, or simple day-to-day jobs. But all these tools come with a price and a learning curve.
However, the flexibility and ease of use that MS Excel offers cannot be found anywhere. If businesses hire an excel expert, they can use it for simple and sophisticated business operations while saving on their valuable time and resources.