Microsoft’s Excel program has been helping businesses become more productive for over a decade now. It has the advantage of being one of the top applications that are taught in many college business, bookkeeping, finance, and secretarial classes. Plus, there are literally millions of businesses that have the program already installed on their computers so it’s very available and accessible. Here are some more of the benefits and uses of the MS Excel program and how to do trends, trendsetting, and forecasting in the program.
With The Overflow Of Data, Organization Is Key
It has been speculated that each year civilization creates more data than was created in the 10,000,000 years before computers were invented. Plus, each year the amount of data that needs to be saved, sorted, and analyzed in growing exponentially. All of that collating and analyzing must be done quickly and with efficiency or mankind will grind to a halt, buried in data.
The spreadsheets that Excel is most commonly known for are an excellent example of taking raw numbers and putting them into a readable form to be analyzed. Otherwise the data really has no meaning and couldn’t be put to use.
Plus, as long as all the various departments of a business, from sales and marketing, to shipping and handling, are all using the same tools the business can run effectively.
One Of Excels Fortes Is Its Ability To Build Charts
Taking a spreadsheet and turning it into a chart or graph that can be easily read in mere seconds is a strong benefit of the Excel program. This allows managers to see immediately where problems in the production and manufacturing of products are. Or, a sales department can see where sales are lost and gained by reading a quick chart.
When the sales representative takes his show on the road, charts and graphs can easily help him explain where a possible new client could gain from the use of whatever product he is selling. Charts are so easy to read and explain that they do their own selling in just a few seconds.
Excel Can Help Find Trends
If an executive is looking at raw numbers it can be difficult to find the trends of where investments should be made, or what new products should be concentrated on.
When put into the form of a graph or chart, with colors included, it’s easy to see the trends that will be emerging in the near future. Plans to make or buy more products in a certain niche take time and must be planned for in order to have them on hand when the demand is strong.
By using the trendlines feature of Excel, it’s easy to extend the lines past the graph of current sales and into the future. Excel can do this with ease and help predict the future of product sales.
Excel forecasts can then be used to increase production, buying, and shipping in order to have the products on hand and distributed to retail locations nationwide or worldwide.
Excel Also Offers Online Access
Sales forces, managers, and executives can go online and access Excel from anywhere that has an internet connection. It will also work on almost any device from computers, laptops, iPhones, and tablets. The work can be saved and sent to others in a group so they can add their expertise to a project as well.
From making graphs and charts to forecasting trends and trendlines, MS Excel rises to the occasion. There are millions of people already trained in using the software so very few companies need to teach their employees the system. That also helps when sharing information and data from one branch to another or with other companies as well. And, it’s easily connected to and integrated into dozens of other software to expand its usability on into the future.
