How to turn error-prone Google spreadsheets into efficient apps

Business management has evolved incredibly, and there’s no limit to what the future holds. As of today, many businesses have turned to spreadsheets as their go-to solution-providing tools for managing business data and workflow.

Indeed, Spreadsheets have found a good spot in the hearts of most people. Some see them as more convenient, while others see them as easy to operate, and cheap. Additionally, they can manage projects, finances, CRM data, track inventory, workflow processes, etc. However, below is the heartbreaker:

Transferring your business data to other apps (especially large data) can be tiring and error-prone. Moreover, as custom web applications are gaining ground, the limitations and risks of solely relying on spreadsheets are becoming more obvious than ever. That is why at Smartrisksheets, we will explore how to turn error-prone Google spreadsheets into efficient apps.

However, before we move on, let’s answer this question:

Are Spreadsheets Actually Good for Business?

As an expert in this field, I’ve had to answer this question more times than I can recall. Nonetheless, I won’t get tired of answering! The simple answer is yes. Don’t worry, I will mention some of the advantages that spreadsheets bring to your business.

Spreadsheets, indeed, are excellent and powerful tools commonly used to handle various tasks. These tasks may include tracking inventory, creating budgets, making calculations, and analyzing data. In addition to this, they have a familiar grid format for easy imputation and organization of data. 

Furthermore, they can generate charts, perform complex calculations, and create graphs for visualizing data. Ultimately, many users like spreadsheets because they are user-friendly, highly customizable. You can choose to remove, add, or even reorganize columns and rows as you deem fit. 

As sweet as the advantages are, some things about spreadsheets may give you a headache or even break your entire workflow. I call them the “Pain Points”. Let’s examine them below. 

Pain Points (Reasons Why Spreadsheets Break Down)

 

Spreadsheets are a good fit for small to medium-sized businesses, and I’m sure the next question on your mind is “why?”. Why are spreadsheets not a good fit for large-scale business? What are the common problems? What could go wrong? Well, here are some quick answers to help you understand some of the common failure points of spreadsheets: 

1. Human Error/Data entry mistakes: 

Human beings are not perfect, and that, indeed, is one characteristic common to all Humans. For instance, you can expect typos, missing fields, and inconsistent formats with spreadsheets. This is especially true when faced with a large set of data. Imagine having to manually transfer tens of thousands of data.

2. Concurrency issues: 

It’s beautiful how people from different locations are able to access spreadsheets and make edits to them. However, that beautiful experience can soon become ugly if plenty of people are editing at once, thereby resulting in conflicting versions.

3. Access control/Errors:

Computational errors, figure swapping, or data leaks are part of the problems businesses face day in and day out. Since anyone, anywhere can see or make changes to a spreadsheet, businesses may face the risk of data leaks. As a result, this may have severe consequences on the business either immediately or in the long run.

4. Scalability limits: 

Business owners are looking for platforms that are scalable and effective. Unfortunately, Sheets may gradually begin to slow down or experience efficiency issues with tens of thousands of rows. This means that as business data begins to grow exponentially into tens of thousands (and even more), you’ll definitely need a more scalable platform to handle your large data.

Pain Points Solutions (Turning Spreadsheets into Web Apps)

 

There are several ways to turn error-prone spreadsheets into efficient apps; however, we’re going to discuss one of the ways. This is making use of No-Code Platforms. The fastest way to turn spreadsheets into Web Apps is what is popularly known as “no-code” platforms. These platforms act like a bridge between your raw data (in a spreadsheet) and a modern, interactive interface (Web Apps). 

You can turn Google Sheets into a web app by using:

1. Google Apps Script with Google Sheets

2. Google Form linked to your Google Sheet

3. Glide Apps

4. AppSheet

5. Sheet2Site

Google Apps Script works best for custom scripting, while Google Forms allows for data collection. Similarly, Glide Apps and AppSheet are best suited for building Web Apps (no-code apps). Sheet2Site is better for publishing data online.

Always think about the purpose for which you need an app. Your target audience, ease of use, and security measures/features are also important.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, you can easily transform your spreadsheets into powerful web apps all without writing a single line of code. Unlike spreadsheets, web applications are specifically built with growth in mind and built to last. 

Whether you’re simply seeking to track sales or manage inventory, try Web Apps. They are secure, user-friendly, and perfect for your business. Likewise, they can help you gain control, improve team collaboration, and automate workflows. Web apps will give you the answers you seek without the cost of custom development.