Microsoft Excel is also known as spreadsheets and regularly used by many businesses for internal financial data and management operational figures analysis.
Spreadsheets are constructed of grids consisting of horizontal rows and vertical columns. A single spreadsheet can consist of hundreds of rows and columns. Each blank space on the spreadsheet is called a cell and can be identified as the intersection of a row and column. Numbers in any cell can be added, subtracted, multiplied, or divided by any other number, or cell, on the spreadsheet. Each cell can also represent a complex mathematical formula.
The main advantage of a spreadsheet is the ability to change any number and have that change reflected automatically in all of the other numbers or formulas on the spreadsheet. This spreadsheet feature is used to consider "what if" and it is very useful in making projections. In seconds, you can see the effect of changing a single number or of changing a series of numbers. Then a decision can be made to accept the "what if or not to accept it. Spreadsheets are, therefore, very useful in preparing budgets and sales projections, and even for bookkeeping because cells and rows can be easily changed within a spreadsheet.
Spreadsheets are also often used to create tables just consisting of normal text such as file indexes or labels for your accounting files. The editing features of spreadsheets are usually more powerful and flexible than the table features of word processing software, and the resulting table can be inserted into word processing or mapped into other accounting software such as QuickBooks, Sage or Caseware and also most online bookkeeping software.
Spreadsheets are usually printed with columns of text and numbers and can also display the financial data in the form of graphs. In addition, spreadsheets can exchange information with word processing software so the information can be incorporated into the text of another document, such as an annual report and it can be formatted to accept changes in font, point size, row height, and column width. Clipart may be inserted and borders and shading may be added to enhance the appearance of the report.
If you are using spreadsheets for recording VAT transactions and information for your company accounts and require some help to create the templates for these purposes, you are welcome to contact Accountants at Concise Accountancy, they will be more than happy to help you.
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