And if team collaboration is critical, then you definitely may seek project management software instead of Excel, as Microsoft’s offering lacks in this area.ĭo your projects require complex calculations? Excel can help with basic ones, but PM software may be your best bet as your team and projects grow, and calculations become more complex. While we will offer examples of ways Excel can help you manage projects, you may want more than it can offer to enjoy added features like bid management, job monitoring, etc. Project managers may choose PM software over Excel if they want access to more bells and whistles. And if you need to share that data with external stakeholders, they may find Excel’s presentation style too outdated or inefficient. As data grows and your spreadsheets get out of hand, finding essential bits of information can take a ton of time. A perfect example of where you may outgrow Excel is if you have to manage a lot of data. The more your team grows, the more moving parts it will have, making it difficult to manage your projects with Excel’s simple spreadsheets as you add moving pieces. Project management software gains the upper hand over Excel for teams with more than five employees, for example, or those that are continuously growing. If you want additional features, such as Views, Gantt Charts, built-in collaboration tools, or third-party integrations.If you have more than five employees working on a project.Here is a brief list of reasons why you might choose project management software over Excel, followed by a more detailed explanation: Is Microsoft Excel the ideal project management solution for every team? Of course not, which is why many other PM software alternatives exist. When To Use Excel Alternatives To Manage Projects You can learn more about Office 365 in our Microsoft Office 365 Review.
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And, if you do not, you can purchase access with a Microsoft 365 subscription that includes Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneDrive, and Outlook, starting at $6.99 per month. If your organization already has access to Microsoft Office, you can virtually use Excel for free. With Excel, you can get the essential project management features your team needs with minimal investment. Lastly, Excel is a solid choice for project management for teams with very limited budgets.ĭepending on team size and the features offered, some PM software can cost thousands per month and cut into your profits. With Excel, project managers can pick simple spreadsheets that fulfill their needs and fill them with data to create task lists, track hours/inventory, and more.
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But with such features, those solutions also require a ton of time for onboarding and learning the software. Some project management software solutions are loaded with features. Excel can provide the basics you need to manage such projects without overloading you with advanced PM features you may never use.Īnother example of when Excel may be ideal for project management is if you want something simple to use. If you or your software development team have a limited budgetįor starters, Excel may be ideal for one-person shows or very small development teams.If you want a simple solution with a very low learning curve.If you are a single developer or part of a small team.We list some reasons Excel may work as a PM tool for your needs below, including the following: With so many project management software solutions on the market, you may wonder why or when you should use Microsoft Excel. Whether you are an experienced project manager, a developer that needs to track progress, bugs, and tasks, or just starting, you are about to discover ways Excel can help manage your projects more effectively at a minimal cost. In this guide, we will reveal some of the most valuable features of Excel for project management and share tips for getting the most out of the versatile spreadsheet software.
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Are you looking for project management software to keep your software development team organized? Surprisingly, you may not have to look any further than Microsoft Excel.