Microsoft Excel has always been a popular and compelling software application in business. It’s a default tool for many because spreadsheets are highly visual and easy to use. However, there comes a time when you have to step away from your comfort zone, especially when spreadsheets are starting to slow down your business. If you seek ways to upgrade your data management, we advise you to convert Excel to a web app.
Read on to learn more about:
The Benefits of Converting
Even though Excel has many use cases, spreadsheets can easily cause inconveniences due to one or two small mistakes. An errant input, an inconsistent data format, or an overwrite of a formula or logic can result in wasted time and financial implications worth millions or even billions of dollars.
So, how can turning spreadsheets into an app help you avoid their drawbacks?
Keeping Track of Data
When you work with Excel spreadsheets, the chances are that most of your teammates are sending them around to share information. Often things get out of control, and you find yourself losing the latest version. You can’t keep track of who made changes. Moreover, these updates can end up damaging the core data and make the file unusable.
By moving your data from Excel to the web app, you’re enabling access to a limited number of users. That way, you assign them to specific data and fields. They can carry out their tasks simultaneously, without inadvertently corrupting the original spreadsheet.
Security
Not encrypted Excel spreadsheets have a high risk of becoming a vast business vulnerability. Even though you can password protect them, the security is still low. Many third-party services can hack into your “protected” spreadsheets in no time. If you want to keep your data safe, then converting to a custom web application is the best option.
It will allow you to remove user access to the source file, encrypt the data, and keep it in your domain. Only users at the admin level can access it, so you preserve data integrity. You could even restrict access to any third parties or set an expiry date. After it runs out, your app is no longer available to any users.
Excel Is Difficult to Scale and Error-Prone
While Excel is a reliable place to store and manage data, it does not offer a database’s functionalities. It doesn’t support complex data types, nor relations between files and records or different data sets. It narrows the types of operations you can perform. Additionally, the software doesn’t allow for real-time multi-user input, making it difficult for teams to work together and take immediate action. As your files grow in size, they take forever to load. Therefore, the more data you have, the more time you need to get things done. Unlike web apps, which can be customized to restrict users’ views of specific data, spreadsheets expose formulas to everyone. It often leads to possible tampering and errors, intentional or otherwise.
In contrast, an app offers your users the advantage of flexible and easy-to-access data. They can use data from a variety of sources, not just Excel.
No Need for Programming Skills
Unlike a custom software solution coded by hand, you don’t need any programming skills to turn Excel into a web app. If you wanted to develop an app that lets users perform different calculations, it could be time-consuming and costly. However, when you create these calculations in Excel and then convert them into the web app, you save time and money. You can mobilize data without switching your already existing system or files stored online.
Easy to Use
Working with Excel on your mobile devices can be a bit cumbersome. A web app is always more straightforward to use than an Excel spreadsheet. You can access it anytime and anywhere. An extra benefit of having an application is that you can automatically perform updates to your entire network of users. With built-in email and push notifications, you can quickly notify users of changes and updates, improving your company’s communication.
How to Convert Excel to a Web App?
Before uploading the Excel spreadsheet into the App platform, you need to ensure that your file format is right. It will make the converting process more manageable and help you avoid any mistakes. Here are some things you might want to check before this process:
- The consistency of headings. Your lists must contain titles at the top of the column. That way, the program can recognize the list as one and assign it proper values.
- Do you have more sheets? If one of your files contains more sheets or fields outside the list space, you will need to create a separate file for that data. Doing this will prevent the possible flow interruption of the information.
- Formatting of the cells. The better your source file is, the easier and faster you will convert it into an app. Check if the cells’ format is compatible with the values they display.
Once your file is ready, you can upload it and convert your spreadsheet into Kohezion. The app will allow you to change its preview or rearrange some elements. Group them as you wish, and even add new content using the app’s fields.
You’ll design and build your applications in the Builder tab. It contains standard data fields, such as:
- Single-Line Text: This field is for short strings or phrases you wish to display on a single line, such as first names and last names.
- Multi-Line Text: The multi-line text field is meant for longer text inputs. It can be useful for comments or any text that you want to add to your record that could take up more than one line.
- Date and Time: In the Date field, you can choose to add single data input, date range, or set a default date value. You can even use it to calculate the age according to the date of birth you enter. You can do all this with time inputs as well. A great use of date/time range fields are appointments with a date, a start time, and an end time. They will be displayed in a calendar view in the workspace and the dashboard.
- Dropdown: This field has excellent tools to categorize your data in a manner that is structured. It’s really helpful if you want to filter data quickly or plan on using pivot tables.
- User List: The user list field allows you to assign one or multiple users to a record. It’s handy if you’re dealing with person-specific tasks, for example.
- File: You can use the File field to upload and attach files to some records. It could be any type of file, such as an image, Word document, or a PDF file.
- Calculation: In Kohezion, you can easily set calculations for your application with the Calculation field. It is a read-only field that will automatically populate when creating a record. To use it, you need at least two active Number fields in your application.
- Record Link: If you want to create data relations, you can use a data relationship and even link to a different application.
- Additional fields: There are more fields under the dropdown menu. They include the Header, ID, Link, Tree, Map, Time, Signature, Credit Card, and Description field.
You can drag and drop these data fields wherever you need them. If the default version of any field doesn’t suit you, choose to configure it. You can set their properties using the property grid on the right of the screen.
As you can see, with Kohezion, it is easy to design the web app to match your needs both visually and functionally. When you finish assigning the access levels to coworkers and enriching the content with all the data you own, you can publish your app. All users will be free to use the app whenever they need it, while the data stays protected to the extent that you want.
Conclusion
Whether you’re using Excel as a data storage or project tracking tool, you can convert it into a web app without having to know programming. Kohezion comes with many built-in features that will allow you to design the app to fulfill your every business need. All of this takes a minimal amount of time, and the simplicity or complexity of your final application depends solely on what you want.
Changing your spreadsheet into an app is not as costly as a custom software solution, either. It offers better security, and you don’t have to worry about the version of stored data. The updates will happen automatically, and cloud-based systems ensure that you never lose your data.
