Airtable: Easy-to-Learn Spreadsheets

Data-management is a one component of running a successful business; usually done through a series of spreadsheets. To give you an idea, companies use them to track info such as leads, sales, revenue, expenses, etc.

Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel are the most well-known spreadsheet tools, and they use a ton of unique formulas. It’s definitely valuable to be familiar with Excel formulas, but also time-consuming to teach and confusing for some. Airtable is a game-changer in this area.

Airtable comes with prepared templates and guides. This helps streamline every process associated with training new-hires to use and manage these spreadsheets. As a bonus, all the templates that come with the software save time when creating a new spreadsheet and make the data more visually appealing.

The best way to phrase it is: Airtable allows you to do all of the cool things Sheets and Excel offer — with a much better UI — and you don’t need to take the time to learn all the formulas behind them.

Google Sheets is Free, Why Should I Use Airtable?

I’m going to be flat-out honest here: I prefer Sheets over Airtable. But, if I were running a business, Airtable would be my top choice. My reasoning behind this highlights what’s so great about the product.

Personally, I prefer using Sheets because it requires a lot more knowledge of the product. Google gives you a blank spreadsheet with unlimited possibilities. There’s no guidance on how to use it (unless you actively seek it out). If you want to do anything cool (import charts, use formulas, visualize data), you’ll need to learn how to on your own.

In other words, it takes a lot of time and dedication to become a Sheets expert.

Airtable is the exact opposite.

When you create an account, you’ll be given a tutorial on how to edit and use Airtable spreadsheets. From there, you’ll be shown a ton of templates to get you started. Airtable provides training videos, and their customer service team will even email you to offer assistance.

From a business-owners perspective, this is much more efficient than teaching every employee the relevant Excel formulas. By using Airtable throughout your company you’ll benefit when:

• Onboarding new employees. Airtable’s tutorials allow your new-hire to teach themselves.
• Creating new specific spreadsheets. Templates for almost anything can be found in Airtable’s database.
• Tracking data. Anyone with access can view and edit the spreadsheet.

If you’re a business-owner looking to scale your business and cut time training new employees, Airtable is perfect for you.

Possible Uses

Spreadsheets have unlimited uses and can be used in nearly any role. Here are some examples of how to apply Airtable to your company:

Remote User Database

My first experience with Airtable was through a Praxis database. For those that don’t know, Praxis is a professional development program that is completely remote. Participants are located all around the United States. One advisor decided to make a database to track each participant’s location and skillset.

This database was created on Airtable and shared throughout the Praxis network. Everyone was able to edit the database remotely, and it turned into a huge success.

Project management

Have a big project involving multiple team members? Break down the project’s steps into an Airtable spreadsheet, and share it throughout the team.

As the project progresses, cross out what’s finished and add notes as needed. Your team will stay coordinated and on track.

Content Manager

Many popular companies are on at least one social media platform. This brings the need for a social media manager to create and decide what gets posted. Airtable can be used to schedule and manage the content.

Use Airtable to track what you want to post, and when you want it posted.

User Research Management

One part of being a customer service rep is tracking users and their feedback. This includes reviews, complaints, positive comments, and a whole lot more. Airtable has a custom template for managing all of this.

Daily life as a CSR will be so much easier when you can view a lot of customer data from one platform.

If anyone is new here, this is week 3 of a month-long project I’ve created for myself. Last week I did a product write-up on Zapier, and next week I’ll be writing one about Close.io.