Spreadsheets & Digital Media – A Marriage made in Heaven!

When they save me so much time and money and make running my business so much simpler is it any wonder I openly declare that:

“I Y Spreadsheets”

 

I also confess to a passion, close to addiction, for my favourite social media platforms.

• Thanks to IFTTT any retweets or favourited tweets are automatically updated to my twitter spreadsheet.
• I regularly export my LinkedIn contact details to a spreadsheet too. The contact information can be imported to an email address book, used for a free email marketing campaign (such as Mail Chimp) or to produce and send out a free electronic questionnaire (I use Survey Monkey or Google forms).
• And guess what the results of any surveys or feedback supplied via electronic forms are also automatically fed back into a spreadsheet so I can analyse the results to determine areas for improvement and ensure the services I am providing are constantly updated to match the clients ever changing needs.
 
“I don’t believe there is a business owner out there


who could not benefit from Spreadsheet and Digital Media Training”.
When you're ready  - get in touch - and lets make it happen!
www.secretsofsoftware.co.uk

 

 

Spreadsheets are Sexy?

Spreadsheets are Sexy!

I was recently asked to advise a committee on what computer skills were most relevant to start-up and small business owners. There were smiles all round as I ran through the benefits of understanding social media platforms and related strategies, nods of agreement and acknowledgement as we discussed email management, electronic business cards and video conferencing. But, when I mentioned spreadsheets, faces twisted as though I’d delivered an almost fatal stab to the heart, and the project manager exclaimed ‘Oh no, not spreadsheets, they’re just not sexy’!

How I hope business owners are more enlightened to the benefits of spreadsheets. Throughout the entire process of setting up and running a business my reliance on spreadsheets, has been up there with my need for oxygen.

It started with spreadsheets for a personal budget, set up costs and creating an excel database of potential clients. Once up and running excel templates produced quotes and invoices.

Spreadsheet files now record, income, costs and expenses, including travel and mileage and are all automated to produce the required totals for each annual tax return. Effective use of spreadsheets allows me to avoid the need and expense of an accountant.

Spreadsheets keep a track of every client, the service received and potential future requirements. Keeping in touch with clients and ensuring they receive first class customer service is an absolute priority. Applying a quick sort and filter to my spreadsheet means I also avoid the need for expensive Customer Relationship Management software.

 

But are spreadsheets sexy? What does the dictionary definitions have to say about Sexy:

1.      Arousing or tending to arouse sexual desire or interest.

No! Even I have to agree that spreadsheets aren’t quite that amazing!

 

2.      Highly appealing or interesting; attractive.

 I say yes! Spreadsheets are Sexy!

 

The final decision is yours – but don’t waste too much time making your mind up J

 

 

 

Excel vs. Accounting Software

Excel vs. Accounting Software

When it comes to accounts and admin tasks many business owners don't really need complex solutions but something that gets the job done for them. A customised and user friendly experience.

I am not a fan of many "off the shelf" products as they tend to get you 90% of the way there but don't provide for the customisation that will ALWAYS be required.

Most accounting software on the market has been created with a specific purpose and with pre-packaged tools that cannot be altered by the business owners to suite their specific business needs, style of work or thought process. However, a system based in Excel gives the business owner the option to create and customise whatever the user desires.

Simplicity is paramount, regardless of what system is used. The rows and columns associated with a simple spreadsheet provide the most intuitive system to begin recording revenue and expenses in tabular form. Very often, user interfaces designed to minimize complexity and reduce effort achieve the opposite.

Efficient and cost effective business recordkeeping systems can be produced using Microsoft Excel. Business owners can also analyse the primary variable that drives sales, develop fact based revenue scenarios and determine the best price for products, to name a few. The right chart(s) along with a methodical recordkeeping system can assist in the daily decision making processes of business owners.

The learning curve associated with Excel is much quicker than that of accounting software. Due to the wide spread usage of Microsoft Excel in educational establishments many people are familiar with basic usage. That familiarity gives Excel an advantage over other software on the market.

By investing some time and effort to improve your working knowledge of Excel, as an accounting tool, there are many other benefits. The Excel skills acquired can also be applied to a multitude of other business related tasks from simple to-do lists to extracting and storing contact data from LinkedIn to facilitating email marketing campaigns. The possibilities and uses of Excel are endless.

Microsoft Excel is one of the major competitors for business accounting softwares. Excel can be manipulated to fit the logic of the user better than any pre-packaged software.

Here at Secrets of Software we run Excel courses specifically for self-employed and small business users. Essentially our aim is empowering people to do for themselves.

For more information on our next course feel free to visit our website www.secretsofsoftware.co.uk

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