There’s so much that a business can do with numbers. They offer the most effective way to keep information—revenue, expenses, cash flow, ROI, etc.—in the most quantifiable form possible. Keeping track of figures is also key to analysis, research, and devising business strategies to further improve operations.
Spreadsheets are by far the best way to record different types of data. Software like Microsoft Excel has tools and functions that let you easily create a summary of data that are vital in reporting and managing the business, overall. Below are some of the most common uses of a spreadsheet.
What is a Spreadsheet For and When Do You Use It?
• Data Storage
You can use a spreadsheet to store almost all kinds of data—financial, customer, product, etc. Excel, for example, can support 16,000+ columns and 1 million+ rows to store a vast amount of data, proving it useful for creating a database.
• Accounting and Calculation
Even the most successful businesses today use spreadsheets to manage their business accounts. Excel has various tools and formulas that automate your calculations without the expense of using third-party accounting software. It can save you from having to do manual calculations while maintaining accuracy and efficiency.
• Budgeting and Spending
A spreadsheet can also help you keep track of your spending, manage your income, and monitor your cash flow. This information is particularly useful so you don’t miss anything when it’s time to file your tax return.
• Reports and Charts
Use spreadsheets to analyze data that will help you identify trends and make business forecasts. You can also utilize it to keep track of your business performance by making comparisons between sets of data and from there, adjust your strategies where necessary.
• Administrative Tasks
On top of all that, you can maximize the use of spreadsheets by creating receipts and invoices. You can configure them the way you need them to be to help achieve your business goals.
In summary, spreadsheets can vary in complexity. But, their key purpose is to help you organize and categorize in a way that is logical for everyone involved. When you input data into the spreadsheet, it can help organize and grow your business in more ways than one.
With the many benefits they offer, a minor problem with spreadsheets is that they can be quite sensitive and you want to make sure that the information is as accurate as you created it. Otherwise, one slight change can ruin the formula and the entire summary.
Because of that, you have to keep a spreadsheet secure and this is where converting Excel to PDF proves useful.
The Benefits of Converting Excel to PDF
Microsoft Excel is a tool that allows you to keep and present information accurately. However, there are situations when it’s better to convert it to PDF for the reasons listed below. You really don’t have to worry about the editing those converted pdf file, because you can always use sodapdf to make all the required changes in your pdf file.
Accuracy
Inputting data takes hard work to avoid mistakes that can compromise its accuracy. Of course, you would want everyone who has access to this data to have the same level of caution, but you would better not take the risk. Transfer your data from an Excel file to PDF with zero to minimal transfer issues. This way, you can preserve all the elements in the document, without worrying about them being altered during the transfer.
High-level data encryption
PDF supports data encryption offering a secure way to transfer data online. User access levels can also be customized allowing you to limit who can view, edit, download, or print the file. There are also tools available that let you add digital signatures in your PDF file to confirm its authenticity. With a PDF file, you can be least worried about losing or compromising your data to a third party.
Portability
When you’re working with an Excel file that’s particularly long and contains a lot of numbers and graphs, you might have difficulties sharing it online, as most services have a file-size limit. In such cases, you can convert the file to PDF, which allows you to compress the file size without compromising its quality. This is particularly useful for teams who are working with great amounts of numbers and need the file to remain accessible while in progress.
Accessibility
It’s challenging to find a more accessible program than PDF. It’s supported by various software and because of the huge demand for this format, it’s unlikely that PDF will be outdated in the next 5-10 years. What’s more, you can convert almost any file into PDF and vice versa, further proving its functionality and accessibility.
Versatility
Essentially, a PDF file can become what you need it for. It supports images, graphics, text documents, spreadsheets, hyperlinks, videos, and almost all kinds of content. It’s one of the many reasons that put the PDF way ahead of other formats. It just gives you peace of mind by making things more convenient and secure for you.
Converting an Excel file to PDF is useful when you’re sending data via email or messaging apps. While you can edit a PDF file directly, you can also always translate it back to an Excel format to update its content and that doesn’t require a lot of work. Several online PDF converters let you edit or convert a PDF file to almost any format imaginable.
How to Convert Microsoft Excel to PDF
PDFBear, for example, is a quick and easy online tool to convert an Excel file to PDF format. All you have to do is upload the Excel file that you wish to convert on the site, choose from the options available, and click “Convert” to translate the file to PDF. The converted PDF file will be shortly available for download.
In addition to the reasons above, a PDF file has a professional appeal to it. You can bet it’s the reason why some legal papers, reports, invoices, and resumés people send these days are in this format.
What do you think of converting an Excel file to PDF? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
