Excel Vs.

Access – Can a
Spreadsheet Replace a Database?
Gavin Phillips November 7, 2014

Or should you be using both? Access and Excel both feature data filtering, collation
and querying, but which program is suited to your work requirements, and how do
you get the best of both worlds?

Understanding What Each Tool Is For

The above table should provide you with an outline to the key comparisons
between using MS Access or MS Excel for your data requirements. In an ideal
world we all use Excel and Access interchangeably, one for its advanced
mathematical calculations and statistical comparisons, the other for its ability to
organise and display rafts of data in a structured manner.

Key Questions Before Your Choice

You should ask yourself these key questions before embarking with one piece of
software over the other:
How do you want to organise your data?

Repetitive? Duplication?

Action tracking/event management?

Are you storing and managing, or storing and analysing?

How much data do you have?

Text?

Numerical?

Do you require formatting for sharable output?

Excel Is for Data Analysis

Excel excels at numerical data, its storage and the many permutations of analysis
you might require to uncover any patterns, trends or misnomers in your data. The
learning curve for Excel is quite short – in that it may seem extremely daunting to
begin with, but you’ll quickly be bending pivot tables for your own use in no time at
all.

How to Use an Excel Pivot Table for Data Analysis How to Use an Excel Pivot
Table for Data AnalysisThe pivot table is one of the single most powerful tools in
the Excel 2013 repertoire. It is frequently used for large data analysis. Follow our
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The latest versions come absolutely jammed full of templates, handy shortcuts and
a very friendly GUI, but there are considerations to make. Excel is a superb tool
when utilising a few spreadsheets at a time, but when you begin to scale up the
size of your database, for instance with a government dataset, Excel begins to
creak under the strain.

Maintaining a massive Excel spreadsheet with thousands, if not tens of thousands

of entries becomes increasingly difficult and as your data evolves the need to
update your formulas, summary ranges and macros may lead to mistakes
appearing in your data.

Excel Resources

Here are some excellent online resources, tutorials and templates to give you the
upper-hand when getting to grips with Excel:

Learn Excel Without Spending a Penny – reference list for Excel tutorials, covering
literally everything you need through one of the links

Templates for Excel – the MS Office store for Excel templates. Excel 2013 has an
extended list when you open the software – give it a browse for more options!

Chandoo.org – tons of free information covering all learning levels

MrExcel – similar to Chandoo, has thousands of hands-on how-to videos and

tutorials

YouTube: Howcast Tech – great introductory series, moving toward some

intermediate Excel tools

Chandoo, MrExcel and the YouTube series from Howcast Tech are particularly
good, each providing outstanding tutorials covering pretty much every tool you
might encounter in Excel, brilliant resources for humble beginners right through to
the Excel savants amongst us.

Access Excels at Data Management

Access is a slightly different beast to Excel. Where Excel maintains a focus on

numerical, potentially one-off data sequences, Access provides a storage solution
for information that can be recalled and referenced across multiple places. I will
admit the learning curve for Access is problematic in places, but once you have
learned the basics of the software, you will find those skills relatively
interchangeable with almost any database software.
A Quick Guide To Get Started With Microsoft Access 2007 A Quick Guide To Get
Started With Microsoft Access 2007READ MORE

Perhaps the single largest difference between Access and Excel is the method for
record retention. Access records are free for modification at any time. The above
image shows Access (top) and Excel (bottom) for comparison. Note, when using
Access each individual record is given a specific ID number – the first column – to
allow you to sort, filter and query your entire database. And your database is just
that – a digital store of information. Adding more information, modifying, removing,
filtering and querying it have no impact on the existing record, nor the formulas,
summary ranges, tables and reporting you have already set up. When using a
massive dataset in Excel, there is a possibility that performing any of the
aforementioned tasks could break something, somewhere.

So What Is a Database, Anyway? [MakeUseOf Explains] So What Is a Database,

Anyway? [MakeUseOf Explains]For a programmer or a technology enthusiast, the
concept of a database is something that can really be taken for granted. However,
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One Step Further Than Excel

Access goes a step further than Excel in terms of pure data storage, featuring
specific internal tools to ensure data quality:

Use lookup lists and validation rules for individual fields at the table level
Forms can add additional rules to your Access table during data entry

Responsive to user selection and predefined events

Referential integrity between tables consistently maintained by Access – making

sure all your data makes sense, nearly all of the time

Aggregations of enormous databases are relatively simple in Access, too.

Querying and filtering can take place regardless of your mode of storage with
Access providing powerful data analysis solutions – but no pivot table!

Access Resources

Similar to our Excel offerings, here are some great online resources, tutorials and
templates to give you the upper-hand when getting to grips with Access:

Easy Access with Templates – official MS Office tutorial for using Access
templates to speed your work

Introduction to Access 2010 Templates – an introduction to selecting and

implementing Access templates

GCF Learn Free – 14 part tutorial spanning data entry to data presentation and
much more

Everything Access – absolutely massive list of Access questions and tutorials

Baycon Group – in depth tutorials ranging from entering your data to advanced
query tables

And the Winner is…

Neither!

Oh, what a cop-out, sorry…but I hope that we have illustrated each piece of
software so your next data storage/analysis decision will be easier. You can
import Access data into Excel and vice-versa in a number of ways, infinitely
expanding the potential of both pieces of software. The solutions provided by
Access and Excel provide a spectrum of data management techniques that evolve
alongside our data requirement.

The top bar illustrates the import and export options available via the Access
> External Data tab. The second shows similar export options via the Excel
> Data tab. Both data tabs provide users with an expanded cross-functionality that
allows you the best of both worlds: supreme mathematical calculations, formatting
and tables, along with excellent data management, analysis and reportage.

Keen-eyed readers will note the lack of an Excel export tab. Data-sharing between
Excel and Access is usually a one-way street, that is, there is no permanent data
connection set between the two MS Office platforms when moving from Excel into
Access. Using the Access “Import & Link” tab, specific tables or frames within
Excel can be selected, linked to and referenced within your database, but the
numerical data must be updated at source i.e. within Excel. Your table within
Access will consistently update with your Excel input, but once you close Excel,
you close the data-link (but keep your data!). For everything else there is
always CTRL+C or CMD+C!

Windows Shortcuts Windows ShortcutsREAD MORE

Understanding just what each tool can do for you, and for your data can make a
massive difference, so use both to your advantage by reading and watching some
of the tutorials to gain some hands on experience with these powerful data tools.
Did we miss anything? What are your favourite Access and Excel alternatives? Let
us know below!