How to Effectively Manage Business Spreadsheets Using a Web App

Spreadsheets remain one of the most important business tools, thanks to their power, flexibility and omnipresence. Harnessed for purposes including accounting, report generation and forecasting, the most commonly used spreadsheet software is Excel, which still boasts half a billion users worldwide. However, its popularity doesn’t mean that it’s perfect. In fact, Excel has several shortcomings that makes spreadsheet management especially difficult. Yet, companies are reluctant to part ways with the software, not only out of familiarity, but for its simplicity, and the fact that their existing Excel spreadsheets may store large amounts of historic business data.

Fortunately, it’s possible to continue using Excel without having to deal with its pitfalls. All you need to do is use EASA’s web app.

How EASA helps with enterprise spreadsheet management

Eradicates version confusion

EASA ensures that users can only access and make use of the latest version of the spreadsheet, thereby preventing version confusion. Only the administrator can modify the underlying files by uploading a new version to the EASA system, making spreadsheet management extremely easy from the top. Different individuals can also use the same version of the spreadsheet at the same time, with no need to check in or out, and no risk of overwriting another person’s work, making it easier for companies to manage these files. If collaboration is needed, then EASA can save data into a supplied relational database which can facilitate working on the same project or spreadsheet.

Keeps proprietary data safe

Since users access a spreadsheet through a web application (HTML interface) and never directly come into contact with the underlying file, they can’t gain access or change its logic, formulas or other proprietary or confidential aspects. This helps to protect a company’s intellectual property.

Solves compatibility issues

As users only require a web browser and a link to your secure servers to access the EASA portal, they won’t need any locally-installed software, or even Excel itself. This removes any issues with compatibility between each team member, as everybody works from the same web app rather than different Excel programs.

Other benefits of EASA

Audit trail and access control

Another huge drawback of Excel is the absence of any systems for recording updates to spreadsheets or a way to control access, which makes spreadsheet management extremely difficult. In comparison, EASA’s web app offers a clear audit trail and access control feature to keep track of all versions of a spreadsheet, recording who utilized each workbook and when.

Process automation and workflow management capabilities

EASA’s web app also enables you to integrate and automate spreadsheets with software and data sources such as CRM systems, ERP software and databases. You can also segment and implement different processes through EASA’s workflow management capabilities. For example, a user may need to obtain an approval or e-signature before they can continue to the next step in a given process.

Ability to manually create a custom user interface

Should you desire a more elaborate and intuitive interface design than the typical column-row format, there’s no need to pay for experts to build this for you. As EASA is a low-code platform, you can create a custom application yourself, even if you have no software development or IT skills.