Now
that you are a bit more familiar with the purposes of the two, how
do you determine which is best for your data? Most businesses
find that using both works best. Take a look at the
following simple example:
Company
ABC needed a method of storing data related to customer sales where
they could print invoices and be able to track orders and customer
contact information. They also needed to be able to quickly
calculate what an increase or decrease in product prices and/or
sales would do to their overall revenue generation along with a way
to analyze trends.
First,
they developed an Access database to store all of their customer
information and ordering data. They included the following
tables: Contact Information, Products, and Orders. From this
they used the tables and also created queries of the table data on
which to base reports, like invoices. They also created easy
to use forms for inputting data and a user-friendly switchboard for
easy navigation. This gave them an efficient way to enter
data, store data, and generate information for invoices, sales by
product, sales by customer, and so on.
Second,
they used Excel spreadsheets to quickly calculate what changes in
price and sales would do to their revenue by creating various
scenarios. They could also use their sales information in
Excel to analyze trends by generating charts and graphs. This
gave them an easy way to analyze their data and trends in a tool
with understandable and meaningful formats.
What
can we gain from this example? As a general rule of thumb,
databases should be used for data storage and spreadsheets should be
used to analyze data.
If you currently use a
spreadsheet to store data, ask yourself the following questions:
Do
changes made in one spreadsheet force you to make changes in
others?
Is
the sheer amount of data unmanageable or becoming unmanageable?
Do
you have several spreadsheets that contain related information
(such as separate sheets with sales for branches in Los Angeles,
Chicago, and Houston)?
Can
you see all relevant data on one screen, or do you have to keep
scrolling to find information?
Are
several people accessing the data at the same time?
Do
you have a difficult time viewing specific data sets that you
want?
If
you answered yes to at least two of the questions, you should think
about moving your information to a database application.
In
a Nutshell
Use
a database if...
the
information is a large amount that would become unmanageable in
spreadsheet form and is related to a particular subject.
you want to maintain records for ongoing use.
the information is subject to many changes
(change of address, pricing changes, etc.).
you want to generate reports based on the
information.
Use a spreadsheet if...
you want to crunch numbers and perform automatic
calculations.
you want to track a simple list of data.
you want to easily create charts and graphs of
your data.
you want to create "What-if"
scenarios.
In most cases, using the combination of a database
to store your business records and a spreadsheet to analyze selected
information works best.
Notice: You have the author's
permission to use the tutorials on this site for your personal
use only. If you would like to use these tutorials for
training classes or other commercial use, please contact kstille@esmartweb.com.
Distribution in print or on the Web without the author's permission
is strictly prohibited.
Featured Sites
HandofGrace.com
Quality,
affordable sterling silver beaded bracelets & mothers
bracelets. Swarovski crystals, fresh water pearls, Venetian
glass and other unique findings are featured in our bracelets.
The perfect gift for any occasion!
BakedByMom.com
Offering homemade cookie and candy boxes or gifts at reasonable prices, Baked by Mom strives to provide the best quality product in it's class. Try the White Chocolate Chip & Lime cookies, Rocky Road Candy and Caramels - they get rave reviews!
