Excel has been an excellent substitute for expensive accounting software available especially for small businesses. The increase sophistication of excel is definitely advantageous to businesses owners, rather than being a disadvantage.
For one, business owners are usually adept in the use of office package applications such as excel in their day to day activities. Since excel is generally known by accounting personnel, there is no need for the company to send them for trainings especially with regards to training them for the use of a separate accounting software. Additionally, the company will not need to purchase a separate software solely for the company’s accounting use because these can already be done using excel which is already packaged in the MS Office Suite.
What makes Excel a viable tool in for businesses is the fact that most employees have been using the software since their early exposure to accounting so they have a standing knowledge on the software which they used as basis when new functionalities come available they can used. The basic financial reports needed by small businesses can be done using excel. There are also numerous report templates available for free download online which these companies can utilize as a basis for their own forms. In terms of maintenance, using accounting software almost always entails additional hardware upgrade when upgrading the software, unlike excel when you can add updates without necessarily making adjustments in the underlying software and hardware. (Morris, 2012) Excel also provides solutions for compatibility issues.
Generally, the additional sophistication introduced in excel would not be a disadvantage but pose advantages to small business operators because it shows that what you can do with accounting software can also be done using simple excel. With this, the company will not expend on purchasing a separate software because most of the time, excel is already readily available in offices and employees can use it outright without the need for a separate training.
References
Morris, Kaye. (2012, March 4). The Disadvantages of Using Accounting Software. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-using-accounting-software-3823.html
