Why You Should Outsource Excel Work and How To Do It

Microsoft Excel

$89 On-Demand Excel or VBA Support

Looking for quick Excel Outsourcing or VBA fix? Schedule a one-hour dedicated support support or training call.  All consultants are based in the U.S. or Canada and undergo an extensive background check and vetting process so we can deliver the best results. Why wait? Solve your problem today!

Have a larger project or more detailed request?

We can handle that, too. Our Excel Outsourcing and VBA project capabilites exceed our client’s expectations. If you’re looking to create stunning, functional and optimized dashboards, reports, scoreboards, or more – look no further than Prosperspark!

Spreadsheets suck.

You know it. I know it.

However, they have been a necessity in business for years… and will continue to be. Why?

As long as we use computers, we will have data. As long as we have data, we will need a way to visualize it. Massage it. Customize it.

Most small to medium-sized businesses (and even a few large corporations) live and die by intricate custom-made Microsoft Excel and/or Google Sheet files. We use spreadsheets because they are so cost effective. We use spreadsheets because they are easy to use, intuitive, and have been around for over 30 years.

That wasn’t a typo. Yep, 30 freaking years.

Those aren’t the only reasons why we use Excel spreadsheets. We use them because you can create about anything in Excel; dashboards, reports, templates, scorecards, charts, graphs, quoting tools, calculators, financial statements, forecast tools, document generators, and my favorite… fantasy football draft tools.

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review cited a survey that suggests that we spend more than 10% of our lives spreadsheeting. The article went on to say that if you’re in research and development or finance, it’s more like 30% of your day. I can’t speak for other areas of the country, but in Omaha, NE that number seems very realistic. It may even be low.

Crazy.

After you’ve cleaned your glasses and reread that, you might also be surprised (or not) that 81% of businesses globally use Excel. It’s no wonder why more and more businesses are relying on Excel outsourcing as a professional solution.

You Are Busy

Image - Full Inbox and Schedule

Unread emails in inbox –  94.

Meetings today – 3.

YASSSS!!! It’s going to be a great day!

Like you, busy is a constant; it never ends. I remember in previous jobs, where having fewer than 100 unread emails in my inbox and 3 meetings on my calendar was a gift from the heavens.

Automated emails that contain Excel spreadsheet reports, CSV exports, and huge text file exports clutter our inboxes. Yes, some software companies still send .txt file reports (C’mon man, at least send me a CSV file).

We also have to call four vendors on pricing, respond to seven urgent client emails, and coach one our subordinates on why it’s not okay to taste people’s lunches in the breakroom (it’s NOT okay, Steve!)… all before lunch.

You get the picture.

Whether you are in Omaha, NE or in New York, we are all busy.

Offloading Work

There are only so many levers you can pull to change your crazy level of busy.

One, you can quit and become a pygmy goat farmer like you’ve always dreamed and live off the land. Two, you tell your boss you would like less work because you need more time to focus on your fantasy football lineup (don’t do this). Three, you find some creative ways to outsource Excel work internally or externally.

Easier said than done, right?

Wrong.

It’s 2018, baby! There’s this thing called Google… and it’s awesome. More importantly, there are plenty of freelance websites out there with great talent on them. There’s also plenty of local independent freelancers and/or professional consultants/agencies (like me in Omaha, NE – ProsperSpark) that can take a ton of work off your plate.

One type of work that is becoming increasingly popular to outsource, is almost any task related to Excel and VBA automation (aka macros).

For example, take one of those 94 unread emails sitting in your inbox. I’m guessing at least one of them is probably a report that you have to manipulate and possibly send out to your team each and every day.

You might be saying to yourself, “It only takes me five mins, so it’s not a big deal.”

Actually, it is.

To put things in perspective, that five-minute Excel report task you do every single working day is costing you 22 hours per year.

Twenty-two hours. That’s a little more than half of a work week.

Multiply that task times your entire staff. The numbers start getting quite large.

Chart - Daily Tasks Impact in Annual Hours

Now before you reach for that tall glass of scotch and worry that you’re completely doomed, think about this. Unless there is something completely subjective to processing that report, it can probably be 100% automated.

So, what does that look like?

Maybe that report contains data that has to be reformatted, a simple formula applied, a pivot table created, and then a few filters applied before finally sending out to 10 people.

Sound familiar?

What if I told you that you could absolutely automate that entire process down to a few seconds with a click of a button.

Boom! You’re ready to high-five me, aren’t you?

Alright, enough high-fives! Here are the steps on how to outsource Excel work and/or VBA work.

1. Choosing the Type of Help You Need

Before you give me that high-five, we’ve got a few steps to go. So, strap-in, pause your Katy Perry or Shinedown playlist, refill your coffee-cup, and start reading.

When deciding to outsource Excel work, choosing the right type of help you need is critical. I’ve run into a lot of people who know they need help, but don’t know what kind. Here’s how I like to break it down:

1. Do it for me.

2. Improve existing.

3. Train me.

Let me be totally upfront, I am 100% biased. I own and run ProsperSpark, a company in Omaha, NE that helps small and medium-sized businesses with anything related to Excel spreadsheets or VBA macros among a few other services.

That said, it just makes sense to outsource Excel work that you either don’t like, don’t have time for, and/or don’t have the skillset in. For example, it’s not that I couldn’t figure out how to do my own accounting. There are plenty of resources available online to learn everything there is to know.

However, because I’m not a CPA, any sort of accounting work takes me forever. I’m not good at it. I’m not fast and I certainly don’t know all of the subtle tax laws. I also don’t want to research tax laws… much like you probably don’t want to watch endless amounts of Excel tutorial videos.

I hire my accounting out. I want them to do it for me.

The same goes for my legal services, janitorial needs, and graphic design work. I simply need more time to do what I do best; Excel spreadsheets/VBA, analysis, and process improvement. (Notice how I didn’t say writing there?)

Here are the three most important items you should determine first; time commitment, skill level, and budget.

This sounds simple. It’s not.

I’ve run into a lot of folks who simply don’t realize the time commitment required to coordinate a project and/or have to walk away at the 11th hour because the project cost wasn’t approved. Sometimes that’s unavoidable, but take the time up front to really think through those three items.

If you have a relatively solid Excel/Google Sheets solution, then having a professional improve your existing solution is your best bet. The professional can polish it up and possibly add a few features like conditional formatting, custom graphs/charts, infographics, and badass pivot tables. It’s worth mentioning, however, that if your existing solution is hard to follow, messy, or not structured well, you might be better off having a freelancer start from scratch.

If you or others in your team/organization are relatively Excel savvy and you have a little bit of bandwidth, then it may make sense to bring in an Excel trainer and tell them “train me.” I also provide that service as well (sorry, I can’t help but put a plug in for ProsperSpark here in Omaha, NE) and I travel all over.

 

Before you give me that high-five, we’ve got a few steps to go. So, strap-in, pause your Katy Perry or Shinedown playlist, refill your coffee-cup, and start reading.

Choosing the right type of help you need is critical. I’ve run into a lot of people who know they need help, but don’t know what kind. Here’s how I like to break it down:

1. Do it for me.

2. Improve existing.

3. Train me.

Let me be totally upfront, I am 100% biased. I own and run ProsperSpark, a company in Omaha, NE that helps small and medium-sized businesses with anything related to Excel spreadsheets or VBA macros among a few other services.

That said, it just makes sense to outsource work that you either don’t like, don’t have time for, and/or don’t have the skillset in. For example, it’s not that I couldn’t figure out how to do my own accounting. There are plenty of resources available online to learn everything there is to know.

However, because I’m not a CPA, any sort of accounting work takes me forever. I’m not good at it. I’m not fast and I certainly don’t know all of the subtle tax laws. I also don’t want to research tax laws… much like you probably don’t want to watch endless amounts of Excel tutorial videos.

I hire my accounting out. I want them to do it for me.

The same goes for my legal services, janitorial needs, and graphic design work. I simply need more time to do what I do best; Excel spreadsheets/VBA, analysis, and process improvement. (Notice how I didn’t say writing there?)

Here are the three most important items you should determine first; time commitment, skill level, and budget.

This sounds simple. It’s not.

I’ve run into a lot of folks who simply don’t realize the time commitment required to coordinate a project and/or have to walk away at the 11th hour because the project cost wasn’t approved. Sometimes that’s unavoidable, but take the time up front to really think through those three items.

If you have a relatively solid Excel/Google Sheets solution, then having a professional improve your existing solution is your best bet. The professional can polish it up and possibly add a few features like conditional formatting, custom graphs/charts, infographics, and badass pivot tables. It’s worth mentioning, however, that if your existing solution is hard to follow, messy, or not structured well, you might be better off having a freelancer start from scratch.

If you or others in your team/organization are relatively Excel savvy and you have a little bit of bandwidth, then it may make sense to bring in an Excel trainer and tell them “train me.” I also provide that service as well (sorry, I can’t help but put a plug in for ProsperSpark here in Omaha, NE) and I travel all over.

 

2. Finding Help

Search for Local Excel Consultants

Simply go to www.intelspark.com and fill out the contact form. Okay, okay, okay. I’ll stop trying to pitch ProsperSpark (I probably won’t).

In today’s digital age, you have a ton of options. Every option has its pros and cons. I won’t cover all of those in this article, but I will give you a short synopsis of each one.

Online Freelance Websites

1. Upwork. For sake of transparency, I own and run an agency on Upwork. I’m also a top-rated freelancer on their platform. That said, regardless of my personal affiliation with Upwork, I believe they are the best out there for a litany of reasons. I have also used Upwork from a client perspective, hiring somebody off of Upwork to design my website and logo.

2. LinkedIn Profinder. This is a great tool for those one-off consulting needs where you need someone to help educate you. This might be a good option if you’re looking for an Excel professional close to your area.

3. Fiverr. Need something done super cheap and don’t mind conversing 100% via messaging? Then check Fiverr out. Like Upwork, there are some absolutely talented people on this platform. I find the communication to be a bit cumbersome and you may run into a few language barriers. However, I think there are a few industries where Fiverr absolutely excels.

4. Others. There are plenty of other niche freelance websites out there, some offering professional Excel /VBA macro help.

Local Consultant

Some businesses don’t want to hand over their sensitive financial project to someone online.

They are worried that the online freelancer, who does some ad-hoc Excel work during nights and weekends while they are hopped up on Red Bull at 2:00 am, might accidentally add their expenses instead of subtracting them from their revenue.

They want a professional that does this full-time. They want someone local.

They want someone local who can talk Big 10 football (go Hawkeyes!) just as easily as they can about their Excel project with them.

Alright, alright… you knew I was leading you here. Right?

ProsperSpark - Spreadsheets. Analysis. Process.

ProsperSpark is located in Omaha, NE. We serve clients all over the United States, as well as a few in the U.K. We are happy to road-trip to neighboring states like Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado. We can help you with that Excel /VBA Automation (macros) project, provide Excel training to your staff, help you analyze your business, or help you improve your processes.

Like ProsperSpark, you might be able to find a few Excel /VBA consulting firms in your area with a simple Google search.

DIY Excel

If you are a skilled Excel user and you want to up your game, there are plenty of great resources out there. Even after doing this for 15+ years, I find myself doing a quick search to look up complex formulas or VBA code.

A lot of times, it’s a complex formula or VBA code I’ve used before. It’s just easier for me to simply search for something rather than trying to remember it all.

Here are my favorite resources:

1. Stackoverflow – Resource for any and all Excel/VBA

2. MrExcel – Another resource for any and all Excel/VBA

3. Ablebits – Great tutorial website.

4. Chandoo – Another great tutorial website.

5. Leila Gharani – Leila’s easy-to-follow instructional videos are awesome. Great designs.

6. Oz Du Soleil – This guy has some great instructional videos.

3. Fit

This is so important. It’s not impossible to work with somebody you don’t gel with, but it sure is difficult. Find somebody, regardless of the platform and type of help you need, that you like and can work with.

You might be thinking, “Thank you Captain Obvious.”

However, you need to make sure you are evaluating the whole package. Does this person seem professional? Were they responsive to your calls and emails?

Did the Excel consultant ask the right questions? I’m not talking about the obvious; when can I start, how much will you pay me, and what’s the bare minimum I can do.

They should be asking you about your company goals, the goals of the project, what problem is the project solving, what sort of computers are you using, and more open-ended questions.

Ask to see some of their work.

Does it look like it’s from 1999? If you’re looking for a modern-looking Excel dashboard, then they probably aren’t the right fit. A professional Excel consultant’s portfolio will tell you a lot about what you can expect your project to look like.

Check out their website. Does it look professional? If they don’t care enough about their business to have a professional website, how much attention to detail do you think they will give your project?

4. Project Scope

Project Scope - Excel/VBA Consulting

Whenever you use a consultant, not just Excel consultants, make sure that you have a good project scope outlined. You will want to make sure that both you and the consultant are on the same exact page.

Don’t skimp on this.

Again, do NOT be lazy on the project scope.

Nothing’s worse than telling a consultant you want something with black and white stripes. You expected a zebra, and all you got was a skunk.

Spend the time to lay out what the goals of the project are, what your budget is, how often you want progress updates, how many rounds of revisions you expect, what your specific requirements are, and what your expected timeline is.

5. The Cash

How an Excel/VBA project is structured is often totally up to you.

One way to do it is a project quote (aka fixed-price). That means that once you have the project quote, you can bank on getting a bill for that exact amount at the end of the project. This is completely dependent on a good scope being outlined from the very beginning.

One disadvantage of having a fixed-price project is that halfway through you may want to change the project scope or add to it. This inevitably leads to additional charges and your budget getting completely wrecked.

Another option is to simply pay an hourly rate. If you are the iterative type and like to figure things out as you go, then this is a great option! It gives you a lot of flexibility and then you control the cost somewhat by keeping tabs on how many hours the consultant has in the project.

Of course, it’s easy to rack up a lot of hours too if you go through multiple rounds of revisions or have a bad case of scope creep.

Wrap-Up

Well, there you have it. Now you know what your options are.

The next time you get tasked by your boss to analyze a large dataset, create a quoting tool in Excel, or get some charts put together for a client presentation, know that it doesn’t have to be you.

You have options.

Nothing says you have to stay late at work to stumble through creating something in Excel.

Get home to your friends and family sooner. Pay someone else to do it (like ProsperSpark), who actually likes spreadsheets.

$89 On-Demand Excel or VBA Support

Looking for a quick Excel or VBA fix? Schedule a one-hour dedicated support support or training call.  All consultants are based in the U.S. or Canada and undergo an extensive background check and vetting process so we can deliver the best results. Why wait? Solve your problem today!

Have a larger project or more detailed request?

We can handle that, too. Our Excel and VBA project capabilites exceed our client’s expectations. If you’re looking to create stunning, functional and optimized dashboards, reports, scoreboards, or more – look no further than Prosperspark!

Enhance Team Coordination with a Shared Calendar

Airtable’s built-in calendar goes beyond a simple scheduling tool. It transforms into a powerful hub for task management within your team. Project managers can create timelines, assign deadlines, and set reminders within the calendar view. Team members can access this centralized calendar to view upcoming tasks, track project progress, and collaborate seamlessly. This eliminates the need for multiple calendars and ensures everyone is on the same page, fostering efficient project execution.

Real-World Examples:

  • Marketing Team Campaign Management: Create a shared calendar to visualize brainstorming sessions, content creation deadlines, social media posting schedules, and campaign launch dates. This keeps everyone aligned and ensures a smooth marketing rollout.
  • Sales Team Activity Tracking: Use the calendar to track sales calls, client meetings, and follow-up deadlines. This allows managers to monitor individual and team performance, identify potential roadblocks, and provide timely support.

  • Product Development Team Sprint Planning: Block out dedicated times for user interviews, design sprints, development cycles, and testing phases on the shared calendar. This transparency ensures everyone involved knows what’s happening at each stage and fosters collaboration.

  • Customer Support Team Shift Scheduling: Create a visual schedule for customer support representatives, including breaks, training sessions, and planned maintenance windows. This ensures adequate coverage during peak hours and avoids customer service disruptions.

  • Content Creation Team Editorial Calendar: Manage a shared calendar for brainstorming sessions, content assignment deadlines, editing and revision cycles, and publication dates. This keeps the content creation process organized and on track.

Simplify Resource Management with Custom Spreadsheets

Airtable’s true strength lies in its ability to transform traditional spreadsheets into dynamic tools for resource management. Gone are the days of static data! Airtable spreadsheets can be customized with various field types, including formulas and automation. Teams can track project budgets, allocate resources efficiently, and monitor project timelines, all within a single, adaptable workspace. This level of customization empowers teams to manage resources effectively and identify potential roadblocks before they arise.

Real-World Examples:

  • Project Budget Tracking: Craft a custom spreadsheet to track project expenses, categorize costs, and compare them to allocated budgets. This allows for real-time financial health monitoring and facilitates informed resource allocation decisions.

  • Team Member Capacity Planning: Design a spreadsheet to visualize team member workloads, including deadlines, project assignments, and estimated time commitments. This helps identify potential bottlenecks, distribute tasks efficiently, and avoid overallocation of resources.

  • Inventory Management: Create a custom spreadsheet to track inventory levels, reorder points, and supplier information. This ensures you have the necessary resources in stock when needed and avoids stockouts or excessive storage costs.

  • Client Project Profitability Analysis: Develop a spreadsheet to track project costs, billable hours, and client fees. This facilitates profitability analysis for individual projects and helps identify areas for improvement in resource allocation for future client engagements.

  • Scenario Planning and Resource Forecasting: Build a custom spreadsheet to model different project scenarios and their resource requirements. This allows you to anticipate potential resource needs, plan for contingencies, and make data-driven decisions about resource allocation.

Boost Productivity through Automation

Airtable automates repetitive tasks, freeing up valuable time for your team to focus on high-impact activities. Imagine automatically sending task reminders, assigning new projects based on workload, or generating reports based on predefined criteria. Airtable’s robust automation features allow you to streamline workflows and eliminate manual data entry, boosting overall team productivity.

Real-World Examples:

  • Automated Task Management: Automatically create tasks in a to-do list when a new record is added to a specific Airtable base. This eliminates manual data entry and streamlines your workflow.

  • Email Reminders and Notifications: Automate sending email reminders or notifications based on deadlines or specific field changes in your Airtable base. This ensures you and your team stay on top of important tasks and upcoming events.

  • Data Pre-Population and Field Updates: Use automation to pre-populate fields with default values or automatically update related fields based on user selections. This reduces manual data entry errors and saves time.

  • Data Aggregation and Reporting: Automate the process of collecting and summarizing data from different Airtable bases into a single report. This saves time on manual data manipulation and provides a consolidated view of key metrics.

  • Content Approval Workflows: Create automated workflows that route content for review and approval based on pre-defined criteria. This streamlines the content creation process and ensures timely feedback and approvals.

Keep Projects Aligned with Real-Time Updates

Airtable Sync ensures your teams are constantly working with the latest information. This innovative feature lets you link projects across different bases, enabling real-time updates. No more refreshing pages or chasing down the newest document version – Airtable Sync keeps everyone in the loop, fostering smoother collaboration and faster project completion.

Real-World Examples:

  • Centralized Project Hub: Consolidate all project-related information in a single Airtable base, including tasks, deadlines, files, and discussions. With real-time updates, everyone can access the latest project information, fostering transparency and alignment.
  • Dynamic Dashboards and Reporting: Develop dashboards that automatically update with the latest Airtable data. This provides a real-time view of project progress, metrics, and potential roadblocks, allowing for data-driven decision-making and course correction.

  • Automated Dependency Management: Set up automations to track dependencies between tasks within your Airtable base. When a dependent task is completed, the automation can trigger updates or notifications for subsequent tasks, ensuring a smooth workflow and everyone stays on the same page.

  • Streamlined Communication and Feedback: Leverage Airtable’s commenting features to provide real-time feedback directly on tasks, files, or project updates within the platform. This eliminates the need for separate communication channels and ensures all project conversations are documented and centralized.

  • Collaborative Brainstorming and Planning: Use Airtable as a collaborative workspace where team members can brainstorm ideas, add notes, and update plans in real time. This fosters a dynamic and interactive environment where everyone can contribute and see the project evolve continuously.

Organize Workspaces by Linking Records

Airtable goes beyond simple data storage, allowing users to create relationships between records. Imagine linking customer information to related sales orders or connecting project tasks to their corresponding deadlines. This functionality fosters organization within your workspace, making tracking dependencies and visualizing project flow easier. Additionally, Airtable offers pre-built templates with pre-defined relationships, saving you time and ensuring a well-structured workspace from the outset.

Real-World Examples:

  • Content Management System: Create a system where content ideas in a brainstorming base are linked to corresponding production stages in a separate base. This allows you to track the progress of content pieces seamlessly across the entire creation process.

  • Sales Pipeline Management: Link opportunities in your sales pipeline to relevant customer information in a separate CRM base. This provides a holistic view of each prospect and streamlines the sales process.

  • Bug Tracking and Development Workflow: Link bug reports to corresponding tasks assigned to developers. This allows developers to easily access all relevant information for each bug fix and track the progress of their work.

  • Event Planning and Vendor Management: Link event details to specific vendors involved in the planning. This keeps track of all associated vendors, their services, and any communication threads related to each event.

  • Research Project Management: Link research topics to relevant source materials, such as articles or data sets. This allows researchers to easily access and reference the sources used for each aspect of their project.

Flexible Task Scheduling Options to Suit Any Project

Not all projects require the same management style. Airtable caters to this by offering a variety of task-scheduling options. Choose from list views for a simple overview, Kanban boards for visualizing workflow stages, Gantt charts for tracking project timelines, or gallery views for showcasing creative assets. This flexibility allows teams to select the view best suits their project management style and needs.

Real-World Example:

  • Agile Development Sprints: Airtable’s flexible scheduling allows you to define sprints (iterations) within your project base. Tasks can be assigned due dates within each sprint, enabling agile development teams to manage short work cycles and adapt to changing priorities.

  • Freelancer Project Management: Assign tasks with flexible deadlines based on freelancer availability and project milestones. This approach caters to the dynamic nature of freelance work, ensuring clear expectations while accommodating individual schedules.

  • Content Marketing Calendar: Schedule blog posts, social media content, and other marketing materials with specific publish times or deadlines. Airtable’s flexibility accommodates recurring tasks and seasonal content, ensuring a consistent and well-paced marketing strategy.

  • Event Planning with Staggered Deadlines: Manage complex event logistics with tasks due at various stages leading up to the event date. This could include tasks for venue booking months in advance and social media promotion closer to the event.

  • Long-Term Project Roadmaps: Airtable’s flexible scheduling isn’t limited to short-term tasks. Outline major project milestones and phases with tentative due dates, providing a high-level roadmap that can adapt as the project progresses.

Centralized Documentation for Easy Collaboration

Airtable isn’t just for data – it can also house all your project-related documents, images, videos, and files. This eliminates the need for scattered folders and email attachments, centralizing everything in one easily accessible location. Team members can collaborate on documents in real time, add comments, and ensure everyone has the latest version readily available. This fosters a culture of transparency and streamlines communication within your team.

Real-World Examples:

  • Single Source of Truth: Consolidate all project-related documents, such as meeting notes, design specifications, and user manuals, within a dedicated Airtable base. This ensures everyone can access the latest and most accurate information, eliminating confusion and wasted time searching for scattered documents.

  • Version Control and Revision History: Airtable tracks changes to documents stored within bases. This allows teams to collaborate on documents in real-time, see revision history, and revert to previous versions if necessary. This fosters transparency and prevents accidental overwrites.

  • Inline Collaboration and Feedback: Airtable facilitates document collaboration directly within the platform. Team members can add comments, suggestions, and questions on specific sections of documents, streamlining feedback exchange and eliminating the need for separate communication channels.

  • Conditional Content Visibility: Leverage Airtable’s view functionality to control document visibility based on user roles or project phases. This ensures team members only see the information relevant to their tasks, reducing information overload and maintaining a focused workspace.

  • Centralized Knowledge Base Creation: Develop a comprehensive knowledge base within Airtable to store best practices, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides. This centralized repository empowers team members to find answers independently, reducing the need for repetitive questions and promoting knowledge sharing across the organization.

Expand Functionality with Custom Apps

Airtable’s open API unlocks a whole new level of customization. Developers can leverage this API to create custom applications that fit your business needs perfectly. Imagine integrating your CRM system with Airtable for seamless customer data flow or connecting your project management tool for a unified workflow. The possibilities are endless, allowing you to tailor Airtable to your unique business processes and maximize its functionality for your team.

Real-World Examples:

  • Advanced Data Integration: Airtable offers robust built-in integrations, but the Open API allows for even deeper connections. Imagine a custom app that pulls real-time weather data from an external API and integrates it with your project timelines in Airtable. This could be crucial for construction projects where weather can significantly impact scheduling.

  • Customizable Workflows and Automations: While Airtable automations are powerful, they might not handle every complex scenario. The API allows you to build custom apps that trigger multi-step workflows based on specific events in your Airtable base. This could involve sending automated notifications to multiple channels or initiating external actions upon data changes.

  • Machine Learning and AI Integration: The API allows you to incorporate machine learning or AI functionalities into your Airtable workflows. Imagine a custom app that analyzes customer support data in your Airtable base and suggests potential solutions or categorizes incoming tickets based on sentiment analysis.

  • Custom User Interfaces and Branding: Airtable offers a functional interface, but the API allows you to develop custom apps with a user interface tailored to your specific needs and branding. This could be crucial for creating public-facing portals or client dashboards that seamlessly integrate with your Airtable data.

  • Advanced Data Analytics and Reporting: Airtable’s built-in reporting features are useful, but for in-depth data analysis, you might require more. The API allows you to connect your Airtable data with powerful analytics tools. This could involve building custom dashboards with interactive visualizations or generating comprehensive reports that go beyond Airtable’s native capabilities.

 

Conclusion

Airtable offers a powerful and versatile toolkit that can revolutionize your company’s operations. By implementing the strategies outlined above, you can streamline workflows, optimize resource allocation, and foster seamless team collaboration. Imagine a work environment where everyone has access to the latest information, tasks are completed efficiently, and projects stay on track. Airtable can be the key to unlocking this efficiency level and propelling your business towards sustainable growth.

But what if Airtable’s pre-built features aren’t quite what your team needs?  ProsperSpark’s team of Airtable consultants and developers can help.  We craft custom Airtable solutions tailored to any team’s needs and workflows.  Whether you need help with automation, data management, or building a complex project management system, ProsperSpark can turn your Airtable vision into reality.

Here are a few more resources to learn more about Airtable and its potential for your business:

ProsperSpark’s Airtable Consulting Services

Airtable for Beginners Guide

Airtable Community Forum

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