Working with Spreadsheets in airSlate WorkFlow

Why do you need spreadsheet automation?

Most business professionals are all too familiar with spreadsheets, from creating to manipulating them for varying business purposes. In general, they help people organize and categorize data. If we dig deeper, we see that people are using spreadsheets for specific purposes. Here are some of the most popular:

• Storing business data. For example, an Excel spreadsheet can contain more than 16,000 columns and more than a million rows. This is enough data to create a vast database of various types of information, including customer, product, financial, or personal details.
• Accounting and calculating. Spreadsheets enable you to keep track of all financial activities using formulas. They make it easy to calculate profits and losses, which helps you forecast financial results.
• Visualizing results. Most programs have functions to insert charts created using the data in your table, so generating useful and clear reports requires just a few clicks.
• Exporting information. Most systems with large amounts of data (like CRM systems) only allow you to export the data into spreadsheets. In a spreadsheet, the data is readable and can be further processed.

If you already have the ability to add millions of rows and insert formulas into your spreadsheets, implementing spreadsheet automation may seem redundant and unnecessary. But you might be getting ahead of yourself with that conclusion. Consider counting how many hours you spend every day or week processing data in tables, and you'll understand that your process would greatly benefit from optimization.

Despite the existence of multiple advanced tools in the software you are using (that doesn't have the ability to automate spreadsheets), managing data in your tables still requires a lot of manual work. Creating tables, editing them, adding new information, and editing formulas is only quick and straightforward for the first few days. It eventually ends up taking up a good chunk of your time as your project (and spreadsheet) grows and expands.

Remember, the bigger the spreadsheets are, the slower they function. And they also start to impact your device, slowing down your browser and programs. If you decide to split these files into smaller ones, you run the risk of creating multiple spreadsheets laden with errors.

To avoid these complications, and the monotony of tending to spreadsheets, spreadsheet automation is your best bet.

Macros and spreadsheet automation

Microsoft Office enables its users to use a macro, some action or a set of actions that can be launched any number of times. Macros can be helpful for people who complete simple, repeatable tasks and want to accelerate their processes. However, if you dive deeper into the nature of macros, you'll see that their helpfulness isn't the whole story: They have the ability to transfer malware onto devices. Of course, modern versions of Microsoft Office have specialized security features that protect you, but there is no guarantee that they are 100 percent effective, especially when factoring in human error.

How to implement spreadsheet automation

Use airSlate WorkFlow! Our solution has a specialized editor, made especially for dealing with tables. It supports all the important functions from the most popular programs and has a significant advantage that will outshine all other services: the capability to automate your workflows.

With this workflow automation, you have the ability to enable spreadsheet reporting automation, turn on automatic calculations, transfer data between multiple systems of record, and import information right to your documents. In other words, you'll be able to create complex systems with high-performing results. And, you don't need to have coding skills or write a single line of code. All you need is a web browser and an understanding of how the process should work.

In airSlate WorkFlow, automation is achieved through robotic process automation (RPA). RPA runs on bots, which are specialized software robots that work according to pre-defined rules. You create your documents or spreadsheets, add bots, and determine when they should activate. Then, you get to watch the work get done without having to lift a finger.

1. Saved time. All the calculations, pre-fills, and data transfers are made automatically, so there's no need to deal with them on your own and waste your valuable time.
2. A smaller number of mistakes. People make mistakes; machines don't. They do everything how you want and when you want.
3. 24/7 availability. You'll never have a bunch of tasks or emails waiting to be processed after weekends or holidays: software robots will do the work all day and night for you, even when you're not on the clock.
4. Powerful integrations. Your data will be transferred to and from your CRM system, cloud storage, or web form with no effort on your part.
5. Improved visibility. You can keep track of each action in your workflow to find and eliminate bottlenecks or any other issues to reach a new level of efficiency.

Where to learn spreadsheet automation

Enroll in airSlate Academy courses! To do so, go to the top of the page and click Enroll. Register an account and start the "Working with spreadsheets in airSlate WorkFlow" course. We also recommend you take the "airSlate WorkFlow Fundamentals" course to become familiar with the basics of our platform work.

Become a specialist in the sphere of workflow automation and get all the benefits of RPA with spreadsheets by using airSlate WorkFlow. Enroll now!