Top 10 Excel applications

[francescoG]

I'm researching the Top 10 business applications deployed using Excel/VBA across all industries. If you have a moment, please submit your Top 10 based on your own personal programming experience.

Regards,

Francesco

 

[Domski]

I'd put amployee time sheets near the top. Almost everywhere I've worked has used Excel for time recording.

 

[Oaktree]

A couple of ideas off the top of my head:

ad-hoc/customized reporting
financial forecasting
trend analysis
charts
survey deployment/results aggregation
matching/merging data sets (that are small enough where you don't need Access or SAS)

 

[Cbrine]

Here's a few thing I use VBA for.

HR process automation
Hourly Merit
Salaried Merit
Quarterly Bonus
Bench Tracking

HTH
Cal

 

[Greg Truby]

If you're really, really sweet to Miss Tracy (aka starl) in a PM she might give you some feedback on the most frequently-appearing kinds of projects Mr. Excel's consulting gurus get called in for. I would think that Tracy would have one of the best views of anyone anywhere as far as where Excel gets applied.

 

[starl]

aw, Greg, how sweet.
but to tell you the truth - I'm seeing a lot listed here.... can't think of anything new to add

 

[Greg Truby]

Kind of a different interpretation of your question -- it's not really an "application" per se. But I would have to say that Excel's most common usage is as a "generic list exchange" application. You can take any old list of whatevers -- part numbers, model numbers, invoice numbers, PO numbers, Airwaybill numbers -- and e-mail to vendors, customers, whomever and they can open it and use it; i.e. dump it into their system and/or run a query of some type -- Qty On-Hand, List Prices, Invoices Open, PO ETA's, Tracking Info; and then return it to you with the data you were needed appended to it. That's probably how most of my co-workers use Excel. Only folks that get beyond the novice stage use it to "develop an application" or to crank meaningful analyses.<hr />

Hiya, Miss Tracy!

 

[erik.van.geit]

producing + storing, invoices
comparing telephonerates (50 calls to here, 20 to there, 3 minutes each, afternoon)
stockmanagement

 

[starl]

I've had clients show up with letters in Excel.. certain areas linked to ranges..
we end up moving those to Word tho.

 

[Greg Truby]

I've had clients show up with letters in Excel...
-starl

Were they preparing their financials using tables in Word?

<hr />

Back to the topic at hand (so as not to worry Erik ) -- I'm starting to play with its XML stuff a bit. While not a mainstream usage of it today, I would think that in the future that might be an area where Excel will get used more.