Is fiddling with Excel a good or a bad use of time?

Posted by gfeechan on Fri, 27/01/2012 - 15:29 in Blogs 1444 8 comments | report

I'd really like to know what everyone thinks about this question - because I am not sure myself.

I have always fiddled with Excel until I got it to do what I wanted. For me, personally, it has worked out very well as I turned the skills I developed as a result into a successful business! But was it good for my employers at the time?

Granted, they got some good spreadsheet solutions in the end, but would it have been more effective to bring someone in who already knew how to do it, rather than use my time to get there by trial and error!

I'm sure I'm not alone as someone who likes to make sure they find a way, but it can be all too easy to spend far more time than could be justified in financial terms. Once the problem has been solved, the skills are there for next time, but is it the most efficient approach?

There are a few alternatives to fiddling with it until you get there using Google and Excel's help facility, they all have a financial cost but can considerably reduce the time spent:

Excel training - this can obviously be useful but is often too generic to then apply to your real problems when you get back to the office. I have found a one-to-one approach is often more effective, working with the client's own spreadsheets and problems. Another approach is to have training tailored to your business or industry (the service I offer to Accountants in Practice at Excellent Accountancyworks along these lines)
Subscribe to a service where you have someone to ask - my Excel Advice by Email subscribers get this kind of service by email for just £75 per year
Get someone else to do it - I have my own service for this atneedaspreadsheet.com

My suspicion is that any one of these could be right, depending on the relative value of your time vs your business cash, and whether you ultimately want the skills in-house. If you have plenty of time and no cash (especially if you want to develop the skills yourself), then keeping fiddling is probably the best route (it worked for me!). At the other end of the scale, your time is usually more valuable than the cost of getting the job done outside, and this for many is a no-brainer if the primary purpose is not to build your own Excel skillset. I'd love to hear what you do now, and what you think is best as they may not be the same!

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Comments

The problem I find ...

Old Greying Acc... | Fri, 27/01/2012 - 21:43 | Permalink

... is I spend a day or two coming up with a fantastic solution, but by the time I come to need it again 5 years later I can't remember what I did (or who for) and chances are the software's been upgraded and its all different anyway.

Being a long time 2003 user, having just through necessity had 2010 put alongside, my first impression is that it was designed by a baboon with a penchant for Picasso - no doubt I will get used to it (and feel the same about 2010 when forced to upgrade to 2020) but it does seem to have a far more than the half dozen or so functions I need, and am now struggling to find amongst the veritable jungle of what I am sure are very useful buttons, but to me and I imagine 95% of users are just unecessary clutter that stop you finding the bits you want!

Love your description of Excel 2010

gfeechan | Mon, 30/01/2012 - 11:50 | Permalink

I've got to say I love your description of Excel 2010 as being "designed by a baboon with a penchant for Picasso".

Often the key is to know what the key functions you use are and focus on pinning those down. I don't think we can stop Microsoft moving these things around for fun!

Donation ?

JC | Wed, 01/02/2012 - 11:14 | Permalink

Nice try - But afraid I totally disagree with the concept of donations for any blog, especially one that most people could have knocked up in 20 mins on the well worn subject of Excel - furthermore, there are a legion of similar things scattered all over the internet

In fact since you are advertising in the first place surely Aweb should be charging you for the right to post your blog

The ethos of Aweb is that it is essentially a free resource and if everyone on this site asked for money when they posted an answer or helped anyone then it would probably be the end of the site

Nevertheless, there are a whole range of issues from loss of chargeable time, more fun programming than accounting etc. right through to correct tools for the job and a proper development framework for using Excel, but a lot of these have already been addressed on this site in the past and quite frankly this blog does not really bring anything new to the party - other than asking for money

Donations?? Have you no shame??

saltimbamba | Fri, 10/02/2012 - 15:46 | Permalink

Your brazeness is quite astounding.

The fact that you've managed to convince AW to give you free publicity and a plug for your 3 businesses is surprising enough, but for you to then to reinforce your boundless chutzpah by passing around the begging bowl just takes the biscuit.

Sift Media / AccountingWeb.....what has happened to your previously high standards of journalistic integrity??

My advice to the poster is to offer more free stuff to users...and they just might come back to you for more. Here's an example:-

http://www.accountingweb.co.uk/topic/technology/how-checksums-can-ease-financial-modelling-woe/445092

Sales pitch masquerading as advice

Alf | Mon, 13/02/2012 - 09:50 | Permalink

I don't think AccountingWeb should allow this type of article which is just a thinly disguised sales pitch.

How can any of the advice be taken seriously when the author obviously has their own hidden agenda.

This was (is?) a common problem with Accountancy magazine but.

Apologies 2 thanks

gfeechan | Mon, 13/02/2012 - 16:08 | Permalink

My apologies to those of you who have complained about the "salesy" nature of this post and the request for donations, as well as to Accountingweb for any embarrassment that I may have caused.

If I can explain both of these separately:

"Salesyness": My blog on Accountingweb includes the posts from my own blog that I believe will be of interest to Accountingweb readers. Most of these include useful Excel advice, that is normally well-received. Obviously some of the posts on my own blog are more "salesy" than others and I deliberately do not post the "salesy" ones on Accountingweb. This post has created a lively debate in a number of other forums and was included in Accountingweb for that reason. With hindsight it maybe shouldn't have passed my "salesyness" test for this audience.

Donations: This was an oversight and shouldn't have been in the version of the post submitted to Accountingweb. It is a standard paragraph that appears at the foot of every post on my own blog and was inadvertently included in the copy and paste to Accountingweb.

Once again, apologies to anyone I have offended.

Thanks gfeechan

robertlovell | Fri, 24/02/2012 - 10:00 | Permalink

Hi gfeechan,

Many thanks for your most recent comment and apology on this blog post.

Some may have been distressed by the original blog and given you a hard time for being too salesy, but we do recognise the amount of work that goes into providing a regular blog.

We realise that the donations appeal was an oversight, so please do not let this latest episode hold you back in continuing to blog on AccountingWEB.

Regards,

In house normally best?

dl | Fri, 16/11/2012 - 20:39 | Permalink

Great post and question. My view (for what its worth!) is I want to give my staff time and freedom to experiment with Excel as this is ultimately the best way for them to learn and improve. By having an in house skillet I have people to hand who understand in detail what has been built. And also understand the business.

If I outsource it I may get a great one off solution but it could well be a "black box" and also difficult to change as the business changes.

Further, I believe you get the best out of employees by giving them some freedom to learn. This motivates them. And that includes learning a very useful, generic, transferable skill like excel.

So in house is usually the way to go for me.

(Two exceptions: (1) a hard build I want done very well and professionally, get a consultant in to help (2) I could see a situation where there is a right deadline and resources are stretched where going external could be beneficial.

Dominic
AccountancyStar

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