Spreadsheet Server

Avantages

- Spreadsheet server can be connected directly to ERP system to pull real time data from the system.
- It is really easy to create financial reports using spreadsheet server
- Drill down from Accounts to Ledger is very useful functionality
- Query Designer (which is available for advance Spreadsheet Server users) is really useful to create ad-hoc queries to pull operational data and create reports

Inconvénients

- One of the difficult task is to upload budget into the system.It is not a straightforward task and really time consuming from user's perspective

Avantages

I spend less time mining data and more time analyzing the data. I use this for financial reporting and budgeting and any scenario I can think of or want to analyze, I'm able to build it into my spreadsheet and have it update the data based on the period I want to analyze.

Inconvénients

My only drawback is occassionally Spreadsheet Server loses a connection to my data and I have to contact support for a reboot. Which isn't inconvenient during the week, but support is not able to assist me on the weekends.

Avantages

Easy to use at any level of excel knowledge. The drilldown function is invaluable to us for doing ad hoc queries and research on account values. It is also very useful to be able to create reporting on the fly for senior management, pulling in only data they want to see and analyze.

Inconvénients

Depending on the size of the excel file, number of columns and number of worksheets it can take a while to refresh the data when you first open it up. Once the data has refreshed though, making changes is instantaneous.

Avantages

You can build reports quickly that are easy to share, but really I use it for forensic accounting in my property management company. Being able to pull data in, then drill down for more information is huge.

Being able to shift between periods/YTD reporting on the fly is helpful, and being in Excel makes it very easy to pivot and build tables or charts using the information Spreadsheet Server is pulling in.

We have multiple companies with different ERP systems, so Spreadsheet Server's ability to pull data from multiple sources has been invaluable to me. This saves me a lot of time that would have gone to drilling down into information in each ERP.

Inconvénients

I have plans to build more custom queries, but I wish there was a database of common custom queries I could review. I suppose this would have to be user-generated, but perhaps Insight could host a forum, or post commonly asked-for custom queries.

Avantages

The ease in which I can create reports and do on the fly analysis.

Inconvénients

There isn't much. The only drawback is change control. Since it is an add-in to Excel, anyone can go in and change a report. Also, you have to touch every report if a change is made. This is definitely a minor drawback, as there are ways to implement controls.

Avantages

I like the ease of use and the ease of implementation. Spreadsheet Server connects the regular users directly to the TB and GL of our ERP, directly from Excel. No involvement from MIS.

Inconvénients

When Spreadsheet Server is re-calculating the links to the GL, sometimes Excel bombs.

Avantages

Once you set up your spreadsheets this is a great tool that is able to give real time data in the formats we want to us. We are on Deltek VantagePoint and this is next level for creating our graphs and tracking financial performance.

Inconvénients

Getting a new computer can be time consuming for the setup. Adding functionality like budgets can also be a bit time consuming

Avantages

User friendly & supported with MS Excel Add-in & near real-time data.

Inconvénients

Initial setup & assigning the license for every individual user, mostly requires SPS support team help for complete the setup. Some intermittent issue.

Avantages

It is intuitive. If you can use Excel, it's an add-in. It is very easy to use and flexible for different formats. I've implemented in in several companies due to the poor or overly complicated reporting software they have used in the past.

Inconvénients

You have to be careful not to have too many tabs with formulas, as it can quickly bog the system down and freeze it. As long as the workbook is not too complex, the refresh works very quickly.

Avantages

Spreadsheet server gives the control of report writing to accountants all within native Excel that we are all familiar with. Implementation was simple and quick and involved very little IT support. The tool is simple to use and only required a few hours of training to get everyone started on building their own reports.

Inconvénients

With Oracle Cloud our Oracle tables have to be replicated to a separate server. This means reporting isn't real time (but it is close).

Avantages

This product offers great flexibility and a streamlines data analysis by reducing time spent on data mining. Our users leverage it extensively for financial reporting, budgeting, and various analytical scenarios. Its ability to seamlessly integrate with spreadsheets and dynamically for specific date ranges enhances our complex analytics.

Inconvénients

Performance issues arise with large reports due to slow processing. While software updates have helped in the past, limitations remain in handling large volumes of transaction data. The addon also has a habit of disabling or removing itself from Excel requiring internal resources to resolve the problem.

Avantages

I love the advanced features and the easiness to use of the tool in handling financial reporting which is possible even to non technical members.

Inconvénients

The tool has been flawless and i have not come across any issues

Avantages

Ease of use, reliability, and customization.

Inconvénients

Initial implementation is a bit tedious for NetSuite users.

Avantages

Spreadsheet server was able to speed up the way our company worked by being able to analyze data in half the time we were able to before. Most of our time was spent compiling the data and we barely had time to analyze it. We are now able to do both in a fraction of the time. Would highly recommend this tool for people who want to get their YARDI data in excel.

Inconvénients

It took a long time to set up because we were going through a 3rd party. This would have been easier to setup if we has someone from spreadsheet server who could have come help our IT do the setup in house instead of over zoom.

Avantages

Helped provide a data link from our ERP into Excel. Similar to other Excel add-ins, this allowed us to customize reports in ways that were not availiable within the ERP. Efficient and effective.

Inconvénients

Refreshing data during the close process can be timely.

Avantages

AI capabilities and fast reporting capabilities.

Inconvénients

Gets disconnected very often next to reconnect every now and then

Avantages

Customizable; Connection to accounting system; Allows for formatting; Based in Excel; easy to understand the formulas

Inconvénients

Adding users can be challenging; Excel add-in makes it quirky.

Avantages

Spreadsheet Server is a life saver when it comes to reporting results from our ERP system into Excel

Inconvénients

The only drawback is the amount of time it can take to update the connections. This is easily fixed by making sure you are on the latest version but sometimes you are unaware.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi passer à Spreadsheet Server

Avantages

I'm on the IT team, and this is primarily used by our accounting team. But they seem to love it!

Inconvénients

The configuration and setup were not intuitive. We were saved by the excellent support we received, which made everything much easier.

Avantages

Spreadsheet Server as a tool that helps to generate Reports

Inconvénients

Difficulty in using multiple instances of Application Configurator.

Avantages

I'm using this tool almost every week to make sure that everything is looking fine at the month end and this tool is very easy to use and is making my life easier. It is very easy tool to learn, but you need a little bit of understanding to make sure that you can use every feature there. Customer suppoert is very helpful and guys from IT is making sure that everything is 100% clear.

Inconvénients

Sometimes it has worse days, especially on month end where there is so much going on at once.

Avantages

Easy to use spreadsheet server for accounting team!!

Inconvénients

Not applicable as administrator use, only end users!!

Avantages

It works smoothly and has never been off from what our ERP system reflects.

Inconvénients

Sales team ran a demo that made Queries seem a lot simpler than it was. We were unable to match our WIP reporting in Queries after making the purchase. However, the financial reporting side has been flawless.

Avantages

Excellent tool for financial reporting!

Inconvénients

Difficult to setup initially, but once setup it works excellently!

Avantages

accounting team mostly used for generating reports..

Inconvénients

Process of installing is a bit confusing.

Avantages

Their customer service and the ability to pull data into a clean, and easy to read report.

Inconvénients

it can be a bit slow at times and bulky.

Avantages

Ease of use. Ease of reporting and Ad-Hoc queries

Inconvénients

Since this is an Excel Add-ons this can cause excel slows downs.

Avantages

Easy to use and generate reports for Spreadsheet Server

Inconvénients

It takes very long time to run when it involves multiple time periods and sheets.

Avantages

Increased efficiencies in reporting in all aspects of our Financial software

Inconvénients

Not really anything I can say that would be a con of this software.

Avantages

Whenever there is an issue I can reach out to support and they are always very helpful at finding a quick resolution. The overall product makes it easy to grab information from other ERPs for a quick and simple way to do FP&A.

Inconvénients

Nothing particularly against spreadsheet server, but it is difficult to host on cloud platforms. Takes a little extra work, but is still achievable.

Alternatives envisagées 

Avantages

Ease of use. Real time data pull. Distribution manager is a useful tool for distributing reports.

Inconvénients

At time clear cache and recalc does not work properly. If there are too many GXL formulas in a file the file will take a long period to load.

Avantages

The ease of use and the help I get when I have questions.

Inconvénients

Nothing really. So far it is going very well.

Avantages

Our Finance use this tool for financial reporting and they have been using this for years.

Inconvénients

Don't need any changes for now since it is working well.

Avantages

Incredible, innovative and Insightful! Use it every day

Inconvénients

That I can't use it while I'm sleeping. Hopefully v25 will have that

Avantages

the ability to customize what I get and how it looks on my report dashboard

Inconvénients

Sometimes very difficult to get installed and working in Excel when really shouldn't be.

Avantages

Flexibility and ease of use for real-time access to your data. Once templates are setup, it is very simple to refresh your data and get up-to-date reports in a format most folks are familiar with (Excel).

Inconvénients

On some large datasets, it takes some time for the reports to update. With respect to licensing, it would be better if there was a "concurrent user" model available.

Avantages

The tool allows are business professionals to get timely financials during our monthly, quarterly, & year-end processes.

Inconvénients

Upgrades can be complicated if you do not stay current.

Avantages

Works great to help us tie our books to our off service reporting at month end. Use it monthly to tie all the accounts and verify our numbers are tied.

Inconvénients

sometime it is a little slow and jams up loading excel

Avantages

Very fast, very flexible, good support..

Inconvénients

Some minor bugs, documentation could be improved.

Avantages

Fast and accurate data collection from software.

Inconvénients

Creating your own queries can be complicated.

Avantages

Efficiently refresh financial reports time to time. We user spreadsheet server for Accounting purpose.

Inconvénients

Very slow sometimes and network issue may happen the reports generally pull very slow.

Avantages

Ease of use and looking forward to saving time manually entering data.

Inconvénients

Not sure at this time since we have just started with program.

Avantages

The potential to run custom reports for our project managers.

Inconvénients

The learning curve is a bit steep so may need additional training.

Avantages

Ease of use, very useful tool. Refresh button is all you need after creating the template.

Inconvénients

Very user friendly, fast delivery of results.

Avantages

Seamless running of activities behind the scenes

Inconvénients

I do not have enough training to utilize fully

Avantages

Easy to use, good addition to spreadsheet routine.

Inconvénients

Difficult to add users, set up. Support was not familiar with our specific setup.

Avantages

Excel based; relatively easy to learn; works out of the box with simple install; has replaced all our internal financial and management reporting

Inconvénients

Conflicts with some other Excel add-ons; occasional issues with some users and PCs; custom GL doesn't have all the features of a standard GL version

Avantages

Spreadsheet Server is critical in allowing us to produce financial statements that are integrated into our financial software.

Inconvénients

Our financial statements contain many tables and schedules. Because of this, Spreadsheet Server has to look into almost every general ledger account in our system. This results in an initial load time each day of approximately 15-20 minutes. Excel is unavailable for any other use during that time.

Avantages

it makes it easier to perform my job duties. It also helps me to keep track of what workorders i have completed. It also keeps track of what order the installers have left to pick up

Inconvénients

None. i cant think of anything negative to say about this app. This app makes my job easier to perform and wouldnt change anything.

Avantages

The product offers great flexibility, looks at the live data and all hierarchies. Distribution Manager and Profile Scheduler really enhance the reporting functionality.

Inconvénients

Performance is slow particularly for transaction based reports. Updating to the very latest software was of great help but we had to move the transactions to a table for quicker queries. This allowed reports to be able to complete overnight (around 8 hours) but we are limited to only a periods worth of data at a time for transaction based reports.

The translated ledgers are not currently working but consolidation ledger are so not a top priority but something to fix in the future.