They’re easy to use, powerful, versatile and affordable (just look how easy it is to access Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets), but ask someone who uses them often and you’ll find that they carry inherent limitations and weaknesses that will quickly descend you into ‘ExHell’.

For a majority, spreadsheets are indispensable. They’re also a pain in the backside at times. Here are just some of the ways spreadsheets are holding you back from greatness. 

Compromising Accuracy

Data Security and Transparency:

Spreadsheets in isolation provide inadequate data protection and lack a proper audit trail to trace the origin, timing, or reasoning behind alterations. 

This absence of transparency can lead to various interpretations of the truth, ultimately undermining any trust in the data. The lack of efficient version control can culminate in a unified plan that is based on incorrect or incomplete data, or due to inconsistent model structures, an outright inability to integrate the data.

Collaboration:

Effective business planning hinges significantly on extensive cooperation across teams. 

If you’re looking for a more accurate plan, then you need to undertake a more inclusive cross departmental solution. Frequent errors and deployment challenges associated with spreadsheet-based planning promote a confined, compartmentalised process that reflects just a fraction of the organisation.

Impeding Agility

Standardisation:

Spreadsheets are inherently inconsistent and individualistic. They rely on email in place of systematic workflow. Without a streamlined, uniform process, time is often squandered in repetitive tasks and waiting for others to contribute and provide feedback. 

It becomes a burdensome chore for managers to monitor individual contributions and ensure their timely submission. The final process is thus curtailed by the slowest participant.

Speed:

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, swift decision-making is key to success. Without the ability to quickly analyse vast amounts of data, you’re restricting your ability to be proactive. 

Spreadsheet-based planning and analysis processes fall short of allowing organisations to quickly adjust budgets and do “what if” scenarios. Changes to values of key business drivers (e.g. revenue) typically required re-work of budgets for related areas. This process can often take days or weeks to complete.

The effort needed to combine hundreds of spreadsheets can impede quick responses to market changes or competitor actions.

Failing to Scale

Size:

Spreadsheets falter when dealing with oversized data files, resulting in sluggish performance. They are ill-equipped to manage large data volumes and to merge multiple files. This results in users spending more time collecting and verifying data than actually analysing it and taking action based on the provided insights. 

Granularity:

The finite number of cells in spreadsheets restricts users from incorporating all the granular data they require. If you can't examine data at a sufficiently detailed level (for instance, you can only see product type but not SKU), your ability to analyse the data and plan effectively is compromised. After all, what’s the point in looking for insights when you’re only seeing half the picture? 

Capacity:

Spreadsheets have a breaking point and become unresponsive once that threshold is crossed. How often have you experienced lost work or system freezes due to a spreadsheet overloaded with complex formulas?

By recognising these potential pitfalls, organisations can start to explore more sophisticated and scalable solutions to support their performance management and planning needs.

That’s where we come in. At assimil8, we’ve developed a way to supercharge Excel to give you more than you ever thought possible. Contact us today to find out more, or visit our dedicated Financial Planning and Budgeting page.