The next thing you know is that there are a team of people tripping over each other trying to use the same spreadsheet. Copies are taken and you quickly lose track of what’s the latest. Changes are made to two different copies, so some changes get lost.
So you set up a set of spreadsheets which all link together. A right royal spaghetti.
Generating things like sales invoices will be difficult. If you want workflow, you won’t get it. If you want an audit trail of changes, you can’t have one. If you want a range of management reports, that will be tricky.
Sound familiar?
Time to move to a database, in one of three ways:
- Get a packaged application
- Develop and maintain a system in-house
- Get someone to develop a system for you
Camwells has helped businesses make this transition, in areas such as order processing and business forecasting. In one case the new system unlocked purchase savings that doubled profits. We’d be delighted to help you.
An alternative to manage data in spreadsheets or word documents is to adopt a collaboration tool that provides version control plus 'check out' and 'check in' features. Microsoft SharePoint is a commonly available tool but it is only one of a number of options. Systems are good for repetitive tasks where the investment and the IT overhead can be justified. Otherwise its a question of trusting trained and competent people as always. Comment from Nicholas Harvey
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