Show HN: Use Excel as a simple CRM | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: Use Excel as a simple CRM

ironspread.com

54 pointskaramazov27 comments

"This only ends in tears." - Every small bus. that went down this road ever.

I currently work for a company with over 500 employees, who are still using simple excel sheets as the bug tracker, feature requests, etc. etc.

There are tears every day. (mostly mine)

So export it to a CSV and migrate it to a simple website with MySQL/PHP or whatever you find convenient.

I've done that a few times, and everyone else keeps editing the excel file, no matter how many times I give a presentation about the benefits of a decent bug tracking tool.

Even the few people that occasionally use the bug tool eventually just ask for me to export it back into "excel format", "because it's better"

I see a promising start here, but I am puzzled by why all this instead of just maintaining different sheets and use lookup functions myself.

From reading your friend's blog it seems that you're going after flexibility and automation. I don't see much automation in the example given...

I tried maintaining different sheets, and it became too much work - each time a new problem came up I had to figure out where all the relevant pieces of data were and cross-reference them by hand.

I don't focus on automation because a lot of my data consists of handwritten notes, but we'll have some data-intense examples with automated entry soon.

Then you'll need to tell me why use this instead of the other currently available, often free, CRM options :)

What exactly do you need a CRM for?

Right now, I'm using notepad (please don't laugh) to keep track of who I'm talking to, what they've said, and what leads I have to pursue.

What other benefits does a CRM provide when you have less than 100 contacts?

Your solution is a bit cumbersome to scale beyond 1 person

Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C, Crtl-Tab, Ctrl-T, docs.google.com, New Document, Ctrl-V, Share. Done.

So is Excel.

Two benefits. One, I have very different types of contacts in the same database, and I can sort through them easily. Two, you'll get above 100 contacts at some point - I needed to scale once we got there.

How is typing python commands better than using Excel's built in functions to do the same thing? (References, Lookups, Sorting, Filtering)

It's not the built in functions they're trying to replace, it's using python instead of VBA to make macros.

While Excel functions are relatively robust, doing more complex operations that impact more than one cell typically require macros. I was attempting to process 50,000 cells and I tried making a function, but it was a pain in the ass given how complex it was. Since, I didn't know VBA, but did know Python, I used Ironspread to use write a script to do the job. I was impressed, it's pretty smooth to use.

Yep, this is exactly what I thought.

Having done my time in Excel and VBA, I can say as soon as you need to use VBA in Excel you're at the limit of what Excel can do.

It's a fantastic tool for visualising data, but as soon as you need to pass multiple data sets through an algo - you reach the limit of not only Excel, but the concept of visualising the entire working of an algorithm.

Basically, it can't iterate (well).

I would like to see some live data integration into Excel, like pulling server logs into visual graphs in Excel. It shouldn't be too hard with the plugin from http://www.ironspread.com and python, right?

Excel has data tables, that can pull external data in from various sources. Works much better on Windows than Mac, unfortunately, but still.

Also check out: http://www.querycell.com/

For better or worse, Excel is still the most widely used general-purpose business application. Even SalesForce, Freshbooks, and the ungodly Quickbooks have failed to put a dent into Excel's dominance and pervasiveness as a business planning, management, and operations tool.

It will take something quite extraordinary to dislodge Excel as a tool for simply and effectively managing a business. There's something to be said about a business app that can so handily meet the needs of such divergent business audiences.

That said, I think businesses can really do a LOT better than Excel. I'm working on fixing that.

TBH I think the only way to compete with Excel is to help new firms with no Excel legacy compete with and put out of business those firms those with Excel legacies. I see no other way because the switching costs (both time and money) from Excel to something is are usually too high to be worth it.

Excel is like Kudzu / Bamboo - once it takes root it is VERY difficult to eradicate. In fact, the organization will actively cultivate its usage of Excel because to dislodge it, once it is in use, has a higher cost than retaining it. Excel's ratio of simplicity to usefulness is very high. The same cannot be said for those that vie to replace it.

One of my habitual, long, boring rants is on the theme "Excel is not structured data."

In the hands of an analyst who knows what he's doing, Excel is a fine tool. As a database, it is an incovenience waiting to turn into a disaster. Remember the researchers whose gene sequences went to hell because Excel did automagic conversions on things that looked like hex sequences? (comp.risks, about 10 years ago)

CRM is a broad concept that goes way beyond shared access to your company's contacts. If you can answer the 4 W questions (who, where, when, why) + how for each opened ticket and periodically use this data to reshape your internal processes, then you have reached an elementary CRM implementation level.

This looks to be a cool tool for automating spreadsheet work, and Excel is fine for a very small client list, but for a long term solution you can use Insightly CRM for free forever with up to three users, and it integrates right into Gmail to track your conversations with clients. http://insightly.com (Disclosure - I am the CEO of Insightly).

We use insightly over here at Namella! Fantastic product.

But we reallllly need integration with Unbounce. :)

"Excel is a poor man's database." My boss.

"It works. Business users and MBAs don't need programmers to make changes." Me.

There is a time and a place for using each tool. We use a CRM, but often the best way to view the data is to just put it into excel because it can be manipulated faster. When you are small excel will work. When you grow - it will become unmanageable. Learning when to transition is difficult.

I'd love something this based instead on SBCL

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