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Business Central forum

Using Excel as a data entry front-end for Financials

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Posted on by 645

I just posted the following suggestion in "ideas.dynamics.com" but I thought I'd post it here as well, to see if anyone knows whether this is already being considered:

One of the greatest drawbacks to working with Financials, is the slow pace of data entry.  Users essentially add one field at a time, and have to deal with internet latency each time we hit the "enter" or "tab" key.

I also noticed that as the number of lines in a journal increase, the response time becomes slower.  As an example, this past weekend I converted a company from QuickBooks to Financials.  As a part of this process, I create journals in the G/L Journal entry screen to book their trial balance.  As I add more and more lines, I get more "working on it" messages.  Also, if I tab through the rest of the fields on the screen and start entering the next line too soon, the "Amount" field on the previous line becomes blank.  I would estimate it takes anywhere from 2 to 5 times as long to do an entry in Financials, as opposed to doing the same entry in a Windows-based ERP.

Why don't you use Excel as a data entry platform for Financials?

You already have the basic programming in place for this.  There is an "Export to Excel" icon on most screens.  Of course, you'll have to validate data received through a spreadsheet upload, but a lot of this logic already exists in your RapidStart capability.

If you use Excel as a data entry platform, you will have combined the best of both worlds (i.e. Windows-based and Cloud).  Users would be able to use Excel's capabilities to quickly create data, and the data would ultimately end up in a Cloud-based ERP (i.e. Financials).

Would it be that difficult to do this?  Your current "Export to Excel" capability allows me to make limited modifications to records that already exist within Financials, but it doesn't allow me to add new records to a spreadsheet and successfully publish these.

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  • Dave Boehm Profile Picture
    645 on at
    RE: Using Excel as a data entry front-end for Financials

    Thanks for your quick reply, Chris.  It is nice to know that MS is working on it.

    I have become good enough with these conversions so that I can normally do one for a fraction of what my competitors are quoting.  Still, I could probably do a QuickBooks-to-Financials conversion in about 1/2 the time it currently takes if this suggestion (and a couple of others I added to "ideas.dynamics.com") are acted upon by your development people.

    Thanks,

    --Dave--

  • Verified answer
    Chris Bulson Profile Picture
    on at
    RE: Using Excel as a data entry front-end for Financials

    Hello David,

    Edit in Excel is actively being improved upon.  Specifically to your point that you cannot add records....

    If you're on the latest update (17334) you should be able to add new records through 'Edit in Excel' (with some exceptions).  The next update will add even more bug-fixes and updates for the Edit in Excel feature.

    Thanks,

    Chris

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