Excel Visual Basic

automate tasks by creating Excel macros.

Understanding Visual Basic

Excel Visual Basic, sometimes referred to as VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), is the programming language used within Excel and other popular Microsoft Office programs. In short, it helps you automate tasks by creating Excel macros.

What are Excel macros? These are a form of code automating your processes and taking the long, manual work out of typically repetitive tasks. The benefits here are clear: when time consuming tasks become faster, simpler and automated, you can work more effectively, get more done in a shorter timeframe and with less chance of human error suffered through manual data entry.

Maximise Excel Benefits

We are fans of Microsoft Excel and its many benefits. Since it’s a program that virtually every office uses, from colleagues to clients, we have become expert advisors on how to get the most from Excel and encourage our customers to do the same.

However, we are also aware of its risks and limitations and the fact that standard data functions don’t suit everyone. Also, unless you have prior knowledge around coding, or are interested in becoming more fluent, this will be challenging and may require special training for you or others in your organization.

Consider Excel Visual Basic Training

Through our Excel development and training, including a special emphasis on Visual Basic, we help develop your current system and processes. If you want an Excel macros how to guide, our friendly, insightful consultations will be right for you.

We help you automate popular functions based on your business needs, reporting habits and any specialist areas of interest. Let us know what benefits you would like to see from your data, and we will show you how it can be achieved in a timely way.

Excel Visual Basic Limitations

With all the benefits of Excel, there are still fundamental risks which unfortunately carry over into Visual Basic, and it’s important to understand these. Such issues include:
  • Out-of-the-box technology – the inability to adapt and change to meet the needs of an evolving business. In short, you need to work within a predefined system
  • Isolated data – difficulty accessing data which has historically been siloed from the rest of the business
  • Errors – through inevitable human error, file errors and corruptions can occur and have a severe knock-on effect across other data
  • Wasting time – too much time is spent on mundane, repetitive tasks when time and focus could be better placed elsewhere
  • Slow speed – large data sets are often slow to load
  • Spreadsheet limits – there is a one million row limit and users often don’t have enough fields for a comprehensive set of data
  • External linking – spreadsheets often hyperlink to documents and photos, which may not be accessible without being on an internal server or internet connection
  • Lack of integration – while spreadsheets can work as a standalone data source, they’re not designed to be integrated for other business functions, such as accounting and e-commerce
  • Not brand friendly – inability to convert data quickly for presentations

Let’s Talk About FileMaker

If you feel you’ve reached the limits of Excel, it may be time to move on and explore other options. If we’re working with you, as fans and advocates of Excel, we will support you in gaining the most from your current system. However, if we see you hitting a wall, we feel it is our duty to help, since we will very likely know the solution to your problem – as we’ve been there too.

As accredited FileMaker developers, we will create you a brand new robust system, made completely bespoke for your organization and integrating all the automation and benefits of a system like Excel Visual Basic, but tailored to you.

FileMaker Benefits

  • Your bespoke app – more powerful than the Microsoft Office app and also outranking Excel Visual Basic, your FileMaker app is built to meet your demands
  • The best in class – with no dedicated Excel app currently in existence, this is the best option for accessing data on the go
  • Flexibility – access your data securely online at anytime, and via your custom app
  • Future-proof – no more Microsoft upgrades or learning a new system which is out of your hands. Your FileMaker app is created around you and your team
  • Shared data – while being easier to share data compared to Excel, changes and updates on shared files are permitted for authorised users and can be tracked across the business
  • Secure data – as well as being much safer with greeter encryption potential, backups are also available for safe data recovery
  • Happy teams – multiple teams and departments can work together and share data across a shared platform
  • Eradicate errors – by working from a centralised hub and not relying on formulas, there is significantly less chance of errors and data corruption
  • Speed – using a more powerful system, customised for the demands and size of your business, all data can be accessed quickly
  • No limits – with a potentially limitless store of data, you will accommodate the future demands of a growing business
  • Under one roof – rather than externally hyperlinking to documents and photos, everything is displayed and housed on a single page of data
  • Easy integration – information can be easily integrated across other business actions, such as accounting and e-commerce reports
  • Brand friendly – with the option to add photos, documents and other relevant media under the same data entry, you can fully customize the presentation of your data

At Neo Code, we are professional and certified FileMaker developers, so we provide you with a robust, powerful solution tailored to your business.

We also provide complete FileMaker training courses, so you can hit the ground running. Whether you hope to maximise results from your existing work in Excel Visual Basic, or find a more powerful solution to take your organization further, we are here to help.

Contact us to find out how we can support you in reaching the next level.


    Book a Webinar

    Join us at one of our 15-30 minute, free no-obligation information webinars. We’d love to see you there!