The budget plan is one of the most important tools for enterprises, a source of information about the company's condition, and the basis for many key decisions. A well-prepared company budget identifies available capital, estimates expenses and predicts revenues. Even though budgeting is a critical process for achieving profits, most companies still manage it manually and in spreadsheets. Companies that use spreadsheets are at great risk of incorrect calculations. Almost 90% of spreadsheets contain errors (1). Incorrect calculations are usually due to human fallibility; one incorrect data is enough for a company to be in serious trouble. Such mistakes can cost companies billions. However, there are ways to minimize the risk. One of them is the automation of the budgeting process. Spreadsheets have been used for years as a tool for financial planning and analysis due to their numerous advantages, ease of use and functionality. However, their effectiveness in the process of managing diverse and numerous data is often insufficient. Even trained and experienced employees make mistakes, especially when they have to use multiple data sources and formulas. Almost every spreadsheet user has experienced issues with version numbering and mismatching results after making changes at least once. All it takes is entering one wrong number at the beginning of the process or copying the wrong formula for the entire calculation to be incorrect. Ready-made budget plans are usually subject to control by superiors and other departments, but human error may also occur here. Research shows that even the most carefully prepared and checked spreadsheets contain errors in at least 1% of the formulas. Some of the most difficult errors to detect are: failure to take into account important data or a wrong formula or algorithm. Unfortunately, the spreadsheet tool so popular among business people has had a history of spectacular failures. For example, the case of the Emerson construction company was famous. The company estimated the value of the contract at $3,7 million. However, it turned out that one cell in the spreadsheet (containing the electrical work costs) had not been included and the total cost was incorrect. The company submitted a bid that was $3 million lower than it should have been. Such mistakes may result not only in the loss of the contract, but worse still, in the necessity to implement an unprofitable project. If you are a fan of horror films, please visit the website of the European Spreadsheet Risk Interest Group, where you will find a wealth of them list such cases. Most of them were caused by human error and could have been completely avoided. Spreadsheets were, are and will remain the universal language of business. They are easy to use and offer many possibilities. You don't have to give them up to improve the quality of your analytical, planning and financial processes. However, it is worth choosing a solution without the imperfections of popular spreadsheet programs. Awareness of the limitations of spreadsheets and excellent knowledge of the needs of financial departments led the creators of the Qalcwise platform to create an advanced business application that minimizes the risk of mistakes. The budgeting application is based on the experience of spreadsheets and their intuitiveness, but provides much more developed and flexible functionalities. It automates the process of creating and controlling the company budget, ensuring full transparency, security and data integrity. Working with the application allows you to save a lot of time - it not only speeds up the collection of budgets from various departments and the preparation of a ready summary, but also enables easy management of approvals thanks to the built-in Workflow. Thanks to embedded rules, Qalcwise eliminates the risk of errors, data overwriting and incorrect formulas. It allows you to check the author of each change and correct mistakes on an ongoing basis. The superiority of Qalcwise over spreadsheets does not end there. An already approved budget requires constant control and monitoring. In the Qalcwise application, monitoring the implementation of your budget plan is extremely easy. Thanks to integration with the order and invoice flow, you can keep track of costs, revenues and the degree of their implementation. Thanks to data centralization, you have better control over your company's budget and react faster to deviations. You no longer need a team of analysts to analyze data, you can generate any report, in any section, immediately. With improved formulas in Qalcwise, you can perform advanced analyses. Data accuracy is crucial for important spreadsheet-based business decisions. Therefore, replace spreadsheets with a simple and quick budgeting application that will centralize and integrate data, eliminate the risk of errors, improve cooperation between departments, and facilitate insight into the most important information and decision-making. Using the application is as simple as using spreadsheets, but without its weaknesses. The application is ready to use, just configure it and it will only take you a few hours.         Don't understand everything yet? Black magic? You will learn about the no-code solution and how to create a simple application or even a serious business solution without using code here. You can also try our platform for free (no credit card required) and if you would like to find out whether our solutions will adapt to your company, we invite you to schedule a demo.

(1) source: University of Hawaii's College of Business Administration study