We take orders for developing bespoke software solutions involving Excel. We can also redesign existing Excel models to improve their capabilities and robustness. All our solutions are robust and maintainable, which is achieved by applying professional software development skills to the area of Excel development.
Types of software that we develop
A variety of business problems can be solved by automating Excel. Our applications tend to fall into the following broad categories:
Tools for automatic data analysis and presentation
Such tools are used in situations where there is vast amount of data, perhaps frequently changing, that needs to be quickly processed, aggregated and presented in a clear way.
An Excel based application can automatically create summary tables and charts, based on some criteria selected by the user. It can access data in an SQL-driven database (e.g. Microsoft Access, SQL Server, Oracle) or read it from other Excel spreadsheets. The user control interface can be implemented directly on worksheets in Excel, which makes the application clear and easy to use.
These are programs that are used to transform data stored in Excel spreadsheets, usually in different formats, into a more reliable and consistent format, such as a relational or OLAP database.
The program would read data form the spreadsheets, process it, check for consistency and errors and then save it into the new repository.
This type of software impoves the efficiency of the user by providing a means of quickly retrieving data from a central data system directly into Excel.
The data can be put straight into a format convenient for further analysis, such as a pivot table. The functionality can also be set up so that the user can edit data in Excel and save it back to the database.
Overall, the main strength of Excel is in its transparent user interface and superb data analysis capabilities. If these areas are important for a business task, an Excel application may provide an excellent solution.
A weakness of Excel as a development platform is a lack of structure and its optimisation for easy rather than professional development. It is too easy to create "quick and dirty" solutions in Excel that can hardly be extended or maintained later. Developing robust software requires not only advanced knowledge of Excel itself, but also application of professional software development techniques. Such techniques include a multilayer code architecture (separating code for user interface, business logic and data access), object oriented design, a central error handling mechanism and other.
Technologies that we use
The native language for automating Excel is VBA. It has rich capabilities that are sufficient for most tasks. A program in VBA can quickly interact with worksheets, access databases over the network via SQL, read and write XML files or manipulate other software via OLE automation.
The main weakness of VBA is a lack of code security. In situations where this is important, we usually use VB6 to create compiled DLLs or COM add-ins, or use a stand alone EXE that automates Excel out-of-process. We also use C++ to create custom worksheet functions that are as fast as the native Excel ones.
Our fees
We can provide you with a fee estimate after receiving a detailed job request. Our fees will depend on the timing and complexity of the job.
As a rough indication, our rates can be between £50 and £80 per hour of work of one developer. We can agree either to a time based fee, or a fixed fee for delivering the completed and tested product. We can also provide ongoing support for the product, which can be based either on a retainer fee or an hourly rate.
Please contact us for more details on our services or a fee estimate for a particular job.