How to decide when to use Smartsheet over Excel and vice versa?

Bradhickswa

Hi All,

I am doing my first "training" for one of my teams within my company. Right now (like many people who don't currently use Smartsheet), they are mostly using Excel to gather and analyze data, create schedules and timelines, and for reporting. One of the questions they want me to answer is deciding when to use Smartsheet and when to use Excel. I am embarrassed to say that prior to learning Smartsheet, I never really had exposure to Excel or even had to use it in my previous jobs, and so I'm not as familiar with everything it has to offer. I know the short answer is: "Smartsheet all day, every day!", but since I cannot ask them to simply quit using Excel cold-turkey, how could I best answer this question? I understand this is a silly question, but I know this is a friendly community, so I figured I'd throw it out there.

Thank you! 😅

Paul Newcome

The biggest "pros" for Excel would be extremely high volume, freeze row, and merge cells. Everything else would be Smartsheet in my opinion.

Bradhickswa

@Paul Newcome Thank you, that's helpful!