Why Integrate & Automate Microsoft Excel with Microsoft Access

Because Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access were designed by Microsoft to be fully integrated and automated into one seamless solution, with a point-n-click forms driven graphical user interface to merge power with ease of use.

 

Leverage the power of the Access database calculation engine with Excel’s UserForm based GUI for ease of use ( Point, Click, Run Application, go to lunch ).

 

Want to Work Smart or Hard ( Spend Seconds/Minutes versus Hours/Days/Weeks )

Imagine opening Microsoft Excel, clicking a button or two, perhaps click a drop-down list, on an Excel UserForm, Excel’s custom GUI, to run the entire update process. Your work is done; go work on something else.

Once you click the buttons on the Excel UserForm, you can then minimize Microsoft Excel, and go work on something else, or go to lunch.  Integration & Automation: Allow the computer to do all of the heavy lifting, allow the computer to run the entire process for you.  Save time, lots of time.  Time is money.

Spend your time doing something more important than copying and pasting Excel and Access data, stop manually changing formulas, stop manually importing and exporting data between Excel and Access, automate file distribution and reporting, etc. You do not need to do any of this, all you need to do is push a button or two on an Excel UserForm.  When the Excel, Access, and Office 365 files have been successfully updated, Microsoft Excel will let you know with a pop-up message. What could be easier.

That is the power of integration and automation of Microsoft Excel with Microsoft Access; Completely remove the user from the manual update process, allow them to use their valuable time on other more important tasks.

A fully integrated and automated Excel and Access application will allow your firm to take advanced data visualization, data analysis and financial reporting to new levels.  This is what we call a Smarter Microsoft Solution. Work Smarter, not Harder.

 

Image of our Smarter Microsoft Solutions

 

 

What Is Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is the dominant spreadsheet application across the planet, it has been since Microsoft Excel replaced Lotus 123 several decades ago. While some organizations use Google Docs for their basic spreadsheet needs, Google Docs are weak, they completely lack power, are not designed for integration and automation, and are no comparison to Microsoft Excel.

Hence, Microsoft Excel is still taking 95% of the business spreadsheet market, and MS Excel is on almost ever computer in business, finance and accounting. Given its constant and wide use, integration and automation is the best way to get the most out of this application.

 

What Is Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access is often called the “desktop database” by Microsoft.  Yes, Access is usually installed on a company network, but it is often installed on a C drive as well.  Access is much smaller and much easier to use than Microsoft SQL Server or Power BI.  Interestingly, Access is not usually supported by IT.

Access is the most used relational database by Microsoft in accounting and finance departments across industries, and across the globe.  The reason for this is simple, Microsoft Access is an incredibly powerful and easy to use database, and the use of Access Forms allows for total integration and automation of the application(s), along with all of the Microsoft applications. Access forms are a game changer.

 

WHY Integrate & Automate Microsoft Excel with Microsoft Access, with MS Office 365

Simple:  Save Time, Save Money = Work on Something Else.  Tasks that used to take you hours, days, or even weeks to manually update and run, can be run in seconds or minutes in a fully integrated and automated Microsoft solution, literally.  The point-n-click graphical user interface is what makes this possible, leverage the incredible power of Microsoft VBA for automation, integration, and ease of use. Benefit: Pay for the Excel and Access programming once, save money each time your organization runs the Smarter Microsoft Solution. What could be easier or cheaper.

 

“HOW” Can You Integrate Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access into one Seamless Solution, with MS Office 365

Simple, there are two ways to do this, you can use Microsoft VBA ( Visual Basic for Applications / Macros/Code ) in Excel and/or Access, or you can do it manually, using the menus interface in Excel and/or Access, each time you want to run the application(s).

So once you have decided that integration is the way to go, you need to decide if “automation” is part of that.  The choice is in how do you want to integrate your files. Do you want to automate the entire process using VBA or do you want to the process manually with the menus, each time you run the application. One will save you time and will make it super easy to do, one will take time and it will introduce the possibility of user error.

Both will integrate Microsoft Excel with Microsoft Access, including Office 365; one is just a lot easier, and “automation” allows you to point, click, and then to go to lunch as the computer does all of the heavy lifting.

 

 

Image of 5-Star Googel review

The client said he can RUN the application with the click of a button – what could be more simple.

 

 

We are experts in all four Microsoft Databases; We are Microsoft Database Experts.

 

 

 

Example of a Fully Integrated & Automated Microsoft Solution, Combining Excel, Access, Word, and Outlook into one Seamless Solution.

The client reached out with the need of a new Excel and Access based solution, one that will save their staff a lot of time, a lot of frustration, and of course, a lot of money, as time is money.  The client uses MS Excel, Access, Word and Outlook, all for their month end reporting and analysis.

The problem is that this monthly process would take them days, and often over a week to do manually, and unfortunately there were often errors, and the process would then need to be repeated once those errors are discovered and have been corrected, which is really embarrassing.

 

Our Integrated & Automated Microsoft Excel, Access & Office 365 Solution for this client:

♦   We developed a Smarter Microsoft Solution for this client, our solution integrated and automated Excel and Access with the two Office 365 applications, Word and Outlook. We used Microsoft Excel as the front-end, leveraging the incredible power of Excel UserForms and Microsoft Access as the back-end.

♦  The challenge: Each time their monthly process was to be updated, the user would find themselves opening various Excel files, copying data from one Excel file or tab, into another one, then manually updating and/or changing Excel formulas, then copying more data and pasting it to other sheets in the same workbook, and then copying even more data, but this time pasting it in other Excel workbooks.  This went on for days and days, manually doing this and that, often this would take well over a week.  And this is still the Excel part!

♦  The user would then manually export some of the Excel data into Microsoft Access, using the menu/ribbon interface. Once there the user would manually run a series of Access Action queries to update the Access data tables.  Once the database has been manually updated and verified, the user would copy some of that data, and they would paste special it as values into Excel.  Again, manually, and if there was an error in the process, the staff member would need to start the process over, a huge waste of time and money.

♦   Then Word would need to be manually opened, and updated.  The user would copy data from Excel, and would paste that into Word. Word would be then saved, and Word would be sent out via Outlook, once again, manually.

♦  The user then opens Microsoft Outlook, to create the email, so that they can send the Excel and Word files to senior management, a manual process.  They add their notes, comments, attach the two files, and they click send.

♦  All of this work was manual, took a lot of time and focus, and it introduced user error.  Definitely not the way to go.  A waste of time and money.

♦  Our solution Fully Integrated & Automated Microsoft Excel, Access, Word and Outlook into one seamless point-n-click solution, using Excel UserForms.  The application now ran in minutes, not days or weeks.

♦   For our solution, while we were primarily using Excel UserForms for the GUI, we did take the time to develop a small set of Access Forms for a simple to use Access GUI.  Advanced Access Forms were developed to allow anyone to go into the Access database, and to do all of the monthly updates there, using the Access Forms graphical user interface, point-n-click, for ease of use and power, all in one.

♦   For Word and Outlook, all of this work was done, in Excel, using VBA to automate the process.  The user does not need to open Word, Outlook or even Access to run this custom Microsoft solution; that is what Excel is doing.  The VBA does all of the work so that the user can go focus on something else, like making important business decisions based on the data and the story the data visualization was telling us.

♦  The Smarter Microsoft Solution was properly protected so that the user could not accidentally change the Excel files, or accidentally delete the data.  The code would unprotect those sections that needed to be unprotected during the update process, and when the code completed, it protected the file. Security and data security are critical to the success of any application.

♦  When the application was delivered, it was an instant success and they said it was a joy to work in.  The file saved them dozens of hours each month.  It allowed the user to focus on other month-end analysis and reporting responsibilities, ones that would improve the bottom line, versus spending all of their time manually manipulating their data.  What could be smarter?

 

 

 

 

Microsoft Excel UserForms are a powerful Automation tool for your MS Excel wheelhouse.  Excel UserForms allow you to program in Excel, a point-n-click forms interface, so others can use the file simply by pointing the mouse, clicking a button or two on an Excel UserForm, and then sitting watching the application run all by itself. Excel UserForms are not as easy to develop or as advanced as Microsoft Access Forms.

Microsoft Excel UserForms are worth their weight, they turn a manual application into a Smarter Microsoft Solution.

 

 

 

Microsoft Access Forms are so Amazing!  They alone are why Microsoft Access is Microsoft’s most used relational database.  They take a complicated manual database application and make it an ease to use. They are easier to program than Excel UserForms, and they are more powerful; they have more built in capabilities.  With Access forms you can fully automate and integrate Microsoft Access with SQL Server, Azure, Excel, Power BI and Office 365, all with VBA & T-SQL.

This means you can have associate level analysts or accountants running these Smarter Microsoft Solutions, no more skill needed, these are point-n-click applications, built for the average user; no Access programming experience required.

 

Image of Access Form

Example of Microsoft Access Forms based GUI, Integrated and Automated with Microsoft Excel.

 

 

 

How good are we when it comes to integrating Microsoft Access with Microsoft Excel?

♦   Well you can say we wrote the book(s) on it, literally, as one of our top integration and automation experts has written numerous books on the subject.  Helen Feddema is one of the most skilled programmers and trainers in Excel, Access, SQL Server, Word, and Outlook. She works with our clients out of New York, as well as remotely.

♦   Jacob has long been our lead Excel MVP and integration and automation specialist can take integration and automation to new levels, combining your Excel, Access, SQL Server, Azure, and Office 365 files into one seamless, point-n-click Microsoft solution.  Truly amazing, our clients love these solutions, this is what we do best.

♦   Helen Feddema has long been one of our top Microsoft Excel, Access, SQL Server, Azure and Office 365 Integration and Automation experts, she has worked with so many of our clients over the past few decades.  Few do it better than Helen, she literally wrote the book(s) on it, a true legend.

♦   All of our data visualization experts are professional programmers and developers, they are experts in the integration and automation of the Microsoft applications in which they work. It is what we do best.

 

Access Archon Working With Excel – By Helen Feddema

Book Description: Working with Excel, by Helen Feddema

This book proves the value in working with Access and Excel.  There are many different ways to exchange data between Access data and Excel worksheets.  Each method is covered in detail, with sample code where necessary.  The author gives tips on debugging your VBA code. These aren’t your usual simple tips but real world advice from someone who has been working with Access and Excel for well over a decade.  Using Excel and Access together for great results!

 

 

 

Final thoughts – Is the Integration & Automation of your Microsoft Excel and Access files the right solution for your organization?

If you work in Microsoft Excel and Access, plus any of the Office 365 applications, or even with SQL Server, Azure and Power BI, you should strongly consider integrating and automating those applications into one seamless Microsoft solution, one in which the user points the mouse, clicks a button or two, and then moves on to something else, as the application runs itself.

This literally pays for itself; pay for the programming work once, save each time your group runs the application.

 

What could be smarter?

 

 

 

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