Most people are familiar with how Microsoft Excel. It is used by almost every business to record and organize data, but there’s more to the software than just entering data and processing it. Microsoft Excel is also versatile enough that it can be used to help improve business operations if you know how. Check out some of the many things Excel can do for you.

Use Excel to Minimize Losses

Proper calculations are essential to make sure everything is accounted for in business obviously, but it could be a daunting task if there’s too much information to work with. Every single computation runs a risk of having mistakes because of human error. However, Microsoft Excel’s autosum feature can easily take care of adding up values, saving time and human error.

Autosum is only a basic part of Excel. Excel power users with a full grasp of formulas can easily come up with spreadsheets that don’t just add up, but perform other mathematical computations, automatically collate data, and perform complex organizational sequences that take care of the work more quickly and accurately than doing it manually ever could.

Learn to use Excel add-ins like PowerPivot and you will be able to import thousands or even millions of rows of data from many sources into a single workbook, which you can further organize by creating relationships, developing formulas, and including elements like PivotTables and Pivot Charts.

Use the Software for Better Form Creation

Large and small businesses alike have to produce a lot of form. These require careful formatting if the forms are to avoid being problematic and having issues like , not having enough space to enter names or having bad print or display layout. This isn’t a problem with Microsoft Excel, which features pre-existing templates that can be fully customized with automatically adjusting cells, but with the designer of the form. Good form set up can also help by standardizing form size when printing on different sizes of paper, saving you time and effort.

Finally the best bit.  With enough Excel expertise, it’s possible to create forms that automatically update certain file databases stored on a company server, so there’s no need to manually update them every time someone fills out a form or answers a survey.

Identify Trends with Advanced Excel Features

Excel is great for looking for long term trends. By studying the data, it’s possible to predict incoming spikes or dips in anything ranging from expenses to profit and even other things such as employee retention and turnover. Microsoft Excel can be used in conjunction with other Office programs such as Microsoft Access to make it easier to present and analyze data.

A better grasp of Excel does more than just show trends. By being able to extend trend lines beyond the existing data, it’s even possible to have a fairly accurate display of future possible trends. There’s no need to predict blindly if there’s a more solid prediction based on computerized calculations.

Create a “Portal” File for Better Access

It’s not uncommon for a business to have multiple spreadsheets and trackers to organize different aspects of their business. This could mean having to sift through dozens or even hundreds of files even with an organized file naming system. This is an even bigger issues if you have spreadsheets that have varying access rights or are kept in separate folders.

With the right use of formulas, it’s possible to create an “all-in-one” file that could serve as a portal to access certain spreadsheets. As long as the spreadsheet is in the right location and available for access, getting there is just a matter of accessing the “portal file” and clicking a few links. There’s also an option to protect individual sheets with passwords, so it means employees can only access info that they want without compromising more important spreadsheets.

Microsoft Excel is an incredibly versatile tool, and these four are just a small example of what it can be used for to help your business. By mastering the software, it’s possible to come up with even more innovative ways to sort out data and make your operations even more efficient.