When is it time to move away from Spreadsheets?

When importers are first starting out, the most critical thing is selling product and
getting it for a good price. When you are only moving a container or two a
month, keeping track of your warehouse and/or in transit inventory is fairly
simple and a few spreadsheets will do the trick and take very little set up or
training to get started.

As long as the importer is using QuickBooks or a similar accounting application, these are
generally all the tools that are required to operate. However, as the importer grows, they
quickly recognize the down side to this system:

• Wasting time due to entering the same information over and over
again into multiple systems

• Costly human error related to entering the same information
over and over

• Lost time and revenue because employees are not sharing data
through one central system This is typically referred to as the
“Hodge Podge” method