Macro Mania

I discovered another mis-use of Excel this week. We have a client that receives a transaction download from their bank. They then import this into Dynamics GP to create general ledger transactions.

The problem is that several years ago someone crafted a nifty Excel spreadsheet to format the data in order to facilitate the import into GP. In the spreadsheet there is a hefty reliance on macros to organize, edit, and fill the source data. It may have worked initially, but now it does not; and is not worth the trouble to fix.

We will most likely develop a simple SQL Server / program code application to do the work. It will most likely take less time to deliver, and cost the client less.

Excel is a wonderful tool for analysis, and reporting; and for modeling business processes. It is not a good tool for reliable, well controlled business transaction processing.