6 Ways to Know You’ve Outgrown Excel Spreadsheets for Asset Management

As your company continues to grow in an expanding marketplace, the time will come where you’ll have to consider how you manage your company’s assets.

 

We know this because it happens to every business once it reaches a certain point. Nearly half of all U.S businesses fall short of effectively tracking their business assets.

 

If growing your small business with spreadsheet asset management has become frustrating and inefficient, it’s time to find another solution. While Excel spreadsheets have been the most user-friendly and reliable asset management tools for decades, the technology is simply outdated for managing and tracking business assets.

 

Here are some signs that you’ve outgrown Excel and are ready for real Asset Management Software.

 

You’re experiencing data overload

As your business grows, new assets are acquired continuously. Managing and tracking your assets’ data is essential to keeping your business secure and profitable.

 

Data is everywhere today. Your asset data points are crucial to understanding how your assets are used, where they are in their lifecycle, and ROI information.

 

But getting accurate data from spreadsheet accounting is a challenge due to manual entry, incomplete data, duplicate data, erroneous data, the list goes on.

 

Do more than keep track of your asset data, use it to grow! Get our small business Guide to Asset Tracking Part 1

 

If you’re dealing with data overload now, continuing on a path with outdated tools will only make the problem worse.

 

You’re struggling to keep track of updates and changes

You might be finding problems with editing pre-existing records. This is probably caused by a data overload that Excel can’t handle. If you have several Excel spreadsheets managed by different people or one overloaded spreadsheet, edits can be nearly impossible to consistently keep track of.

 

Here are some common data points businesses struggle to manage within Excel:

 

How many spreadsheets would it take to track this data?

 

 

You need more sophisticated reporting and analysis features

There is a reason Excel has been popular for so many decades. It’s easy to use and great at managing small bits of information. However, it lacks some sophisticated asset management tools you didn’t even know you needed. For example, when was your equipment last calibrated?

 

You’re experiencing too many human errors

Human error is a guarantee if you manually track assets using Excel. New and innovative Asset Management Software can eliminate these human errors by consolidating all of your existing operations into one simplified platform your staff will actually use.

 

You’re paying more than you need to have employees manage assets.

Excel is a manually operated organizational tool. Although it’s easy for small companies, you might find that you want to employ people to take care of the more beneficial tasks that will help expand your business operations. Asset management software will help ensure the nagging data collection and asset tracking.

 

Think you can track ghost assets with Excel? Learn more about Ghost Assets And Their Impact Your The Business

 

You need to know more information about your assets

Unless you have decades worth of information about your assets stored in your Excel documents, it’s unlikely that each of these assets’ histories is obtainable. And even if your spreadsheets went that far back in time, can you imagine sifting through that much data in one spreadsheet?

 

Incorporating asset management software means you can seamlessly track each asset’s origins.

Why is Asset Management Software a Better Fit?

 

It’s easy to teach and learn

Whether you’re planning on taking on the switch to software yourself or planning to teach a team how to make the switch for you, converting from Excel to management software is easier than you think.

 

It enhances communication between departments

When you switch from a messy array of Excel spreadsheets to a seamless software system, you will immediately feel the benefits. Everyone can work together towards the same goals, and communication will instantly improve throughout your company.

 

When the HR department sees the same information as accounting and ERP, your assets will always be intact and up to date.

 

You’re able to stay in tune with even the small details

When it comes to tracking the history and movement of business assets, Excel spreadsheets just aren’t capable of collecting enough valuable information that software now can.

 

There are several advantages to using specialized software, such as:

 

You get customization opportunities for tailored workflows

Asset management software can produce reports in various formats, which can help track trends or share information with others in the organization. You can choose what information is collected and how it’s done.

 

With a customized asset management solution, you are better suited to manage your particular business needs and add unique elements to cater to your business model and allow you to execute quick and seamless workflows.

 

Increase accuracy in your data

Asset tracking software keeps more accurate data over the lifetime of an asset with less likelihood of misplacing assets over time versus when using manual methods when there is a higher likelihood.

 

Ready to make a change in how you track assets?

Excel spreadsheets for complex business needs are a thing of the past. Although they are easy to understand and valuable for collecting small data, they don’t offer all of the innovative technologies that you can expect in switching to Asset Management Software.

 

Asset tracking software is a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes. It allows companies to keep track of their assets, both movable and immovable, in order to ensure that they are being used efficiently and that no assets are misplaced or stolen.

 

Integrating an asset management solution for your business will help you focus on the more exciting parts of growing it.

 

Abandoning Excel spreadsheets for a more enhanced asset management tool will save you time and money while at the same time ensuring that all of your data is properly stored and accurate. You can seamlessly track current assets, but also predict how long an asset will last to make decisions about replacements accordingly.

 

So if you’re planning on expanding your business, take the manual element out of collecting, storing and tracking your asset data.

 

FAQs

Why are Excel spreadsheets an outdated tool for asset management?

Tracking assets through Excel is a manual process that is prone to human error. Avoid these errors and save time and money at the same time.

 

How can Asset Management Software change my business’ future?

You can gather more valuable insight about your assets that weren’t previously possible such as real-time locations and how they are being used, as well as identifying patterns that detect fraud. Want to learn more about the ins and outs of the asset tracking solution?

 

 

How can I save money by switching to Asset Management Software?

When you stop storing data with Excel, you remove the manual process needed to do so. That said, you don’t have to pay an employee or team to do the monotonous work of manual data entry; the software does it for you.

 

ASSET TRACKING SOFTWARE

Your entire process can be frictionless.