Microsoft Excel is definitely a valued tool when it comes to budgeting; 60-80% of companies use it as their main budgeting tool today. Although it is a very powerful tool, Excel does have its limitations. A heavy reliance upon spreadsheets to support your processes can be problematic for a number of reasons.

First of all, they are vulnerable to human error. Manual data inputs can lead to incorrect numbers or formulae, which can end up skewing an entire forecast. Since budgeting can be stressful as is, when budget contributors are time-pressed, this often leads to an increased number of manual input errors, causing the Excel spreadsheets to be even less reliable.

Secondly, manual data input and merging of spreadsheets to transfer data can be very time-consuming. When making important business decisions, you want your numbers to be as accurate and current as possible. For the most part, Excel doesn’t give you the ability to have numbers update in real-time.

So what is the solution to these problems? Make use of technologies that can leverage the power of Excel to help you build better business budgets.

A recent study done by Gartner shows that one of the top priorities for CFOs and other finance leaders in 2020 is better aligning their technology and business needs for future success. This tied into increased spend on budgeting, planning and forecasting solutions to help improve the long-range financial planning process. You can read about this, and other top CFO and finance executive priorities for 2020 here.

We aren’t suggesting that you stop using Excel or your spreadsheets by any means. What we recommend is using available technologies and software to help leverage and improve your current budgeting processes. True Sky allows you to use the familiar interface of Excel, but provides sophisticated modelling and analysis capabilities. Additionally, our solution is adaptable and flexible, and can integrate with your ERP, HR, CRM or other source data systems.

True Sky gives you better visibility of your numbers, and leaves less room for error. To learn more about how True Sky can help you improve your budgeting and forecasting process today, give us a call at 1 855 878 3759, or visit our website www.truesky.com.