“I evaluated Google Docs and NumSum… EditGrid was the only one brave enough to do a comparison.”
– Simon Heywood, Investment Director, Beer and Partners

The Challenge

Beer and Partners has 40 associates around the UK and needs to keep track of scheduled meetings for two conference rooms located in their London office. The London-based associates previously maintained a paper-based calendar system that was stored on top of a file cabinet. This system wasn’t very efficient. It caused problems when it was not returned to its proper place after use and calls relating to conference room bookings from associates out of the office were distracting for those working in the office.

The Solution

Beer and Partners sought a really simple collaborative solution that potentially all 40 associates could easily access. After evaluating two other web-based spreadsheets, Beer and Partners chose EditGrid. A calendar was designed in Excel and uploaded into EditGrid. Beer and Partners’ new scheduling calendar was in place in a matter of minutes.

The Result

By disposing of the paper-based calendar system, associates were forced to use EditGrid to schedule meetings. They can now easily schedule conference room meeting times without leaving their desk in the office or from home. The bookings calendar is always current and updated and accessible by the entire team.

Beer and Partners has found other uses for EditGrid. The company recently began using EditGrid to keep clients updated on investor interest and to support real-time collaboration on projects between associates in different regions. The associates can work together on a current list of investors who are interested in a client’s project and then very simply provide the client with access to that list. The read/write protection feature allows the client only access to documents that are related to them. Discretion and confidentiality are vital to the client and associate team working together on each separate project. Beer and Partners’ associates and their clients can now easily collaborate with one another securely and in real-time and involving little more technology than sharing a URL and a password.

Tolko is a private, Canadian-owned forest products company based in Vernon, British Columbia that manufactures and markets specialty forest products to world markets. With manufacturing operations across Western Canada, Tolko is a major producer and marketer of lumber, plywood, veneer, oriented strand board, and kraft papers. The company’s Woodlands operations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba have received third-party certification of their sustainable forest management systems.

The Challenge

Tolko’s sales department needed to keep track of available lumber for sale from various manufacturing facilities throughout Canada. The sales team was using several whiteboards to share information and track sales. An impending office move required the sales team to look for an alternative solution that would be able to store the sales tracking information.

The Solution

After trying another solution unsuccessfully, the sales team came across EditGrid and determined it met their collaboration needs. By using EditGrid, each member of the sales team now easily updates an online spreadsheet that all members of the team can access.

The Result

By utilizing a collaborative tool such as EditGrid, Tolko’s sales team no longer wastes time trying to keep a whiteboard updated. Each team member can easily access the online spreadsheet directly from their desktop, and all have access to the same information in real time.

“EditGrid was the only option… that allowed linking of live data between spreadsheets, as well as the posting of live data to websites.”
– Eric Whitney, National Systems Manager for Civic Engagement, Citizen Schools

Citizen Schools operates a national network of apprenticeship programs for middle school students, connecting adult volunteers to young people in hands-on learning projects after school. At Citizen Schools, students develop the academic and leadership skills they need to do well in school, get into college, and become leaders in their careers and in their communities.

The Challenge

Citizen Schools struggled with managing the thousands of volunteers who signed up to assist students at regional locations. Each location must report volunteer sign-ups back to the national headquarters in Boston, and the company didn’t have the time or money to create a relational database to maintain the data. They previously used Microsoft Excel but since each state recorded data differently, it was extremely difficult to tabulate. Citizen Schools was eager to find a solution to manage their data collection needs.

The Solution

EditGrid online spreadsheets. In October 2006, Citizen Schools’ systems manager was introduced to EditGrid to maintain its volunteer database. No longer does the company have multiple versions of Excel documents e-mailed around, trying to keep track of sign-ups. EditGrid automatically tabulates reported data into state and national reports (using a feature called Remote Data linking). Because of EditGrid’s intuitive interface, minimal training was necessary to get users up and running.

The Result

EditGrid online spreadsheets allowed Citizen Schools to automatically tabulate data from its 36 programs. By using EditGrid, the company was able to obtain live statistics on recruiting efforts. The data proved valuable in showing investors and other potential donors statistics on the success of the program. Citizen Schools also received higher quality data since the data were automatically tabulated and stored in EditGrid. By using EditGrid, Citizen Schools estimates its systems manager has eliminated 50% of his administrative duties associated with tabulating data manually. He now spends more time on data analysis and leveraging that data to make better strategic decisions for Citizen Schools.

HUGHES Systique Corporation (HSC) is a leading communications consulting and software development company based in Rockville, Maryland, with a global delivery center in New Delhi, India. HSC provides consulting, systems architecture, and software engineering services to leading OEMs and ISVs.

The Challenge

HSCs sales team was evaluating fast and lightweight solutions to keep track of their sales funnel and customer leads. HSC originally used a CRM tool which was too complex and slow for the simple application they needed. The company then decided to a use an Excel spreadsheet to store all the sales data, but it became a tedious process to keep each salesperson’s individual documents updated. HSC would have to manually merge several spreadsheets into one spreadsheet to have an updated document. It was also hard to ensure that each salesperson had the most current spreadsheet. HSC sought a better way to collaborate and synchronize their sales data, in real-time.

The Solution

HSC researched online spreadsheet applications and came across EditGrid. HSCs sales team now shares one EditGrid spreadsheet allowing each sales person to input their sales figures. The data are then updated and stored in real-time. Each member of the sales team has access to the password protected document, and the data are always current. In addition, the sales team is also evaluating EditGrid Excel Plus, an off-line plug-in that allows users to make changes to a document when not connected, and then have the same merged into the master document when online.

The Result

By implementing EditGrid’s online spreadsheets, HSCs sales team has better communication and synchronization with their sales documents. HSC was happy to find a solution with the “power of Excel” online. They also benefit from the ability to allow other departments temporary access to their password protected documents.

Lone Star RS Platou has grown into one of the leading oil broker houses in the U.S.

The Challenge

Lone Star’s 15 tanker brokers based in Houston have to share sensitive information with each other. The brokers constantly update real-time trade sheets throughout the day and it’s essential they have current, accurate trade information available to their customers. The brokers created an Excel spreadsheet that was hosted on Lone Star’s server allowing each broker to have access to the document. After entering data on the spreadsheet, the brokers would have to manually save the document and refresh the screen – which didn’t always happen and would freeze up at times. This created problems because other brokers never knew when the document had been updated.

The Solution

One of Lone Star’s brokers searched for a better solution and found EditGrid. After testing the service the broker was pleased with the results. EditGrid’s automatic save feature means Lone Star’s brokers no longer have to remember to save a file. The real-time update feature also allows brokers to see when another broker is adding information on the spreadsheet.

The Result

Lone Star’s brokers can now see in real-time current trade information and make trade decisions based on accurate information. Since they don’t always have time to talk to each other when something important comes through, EditGrid allows the brokers to have access to the most current information, quickly and accurately.

Bionic Turtle offers an affordable way to prepare candidates for difficult financial certification examinations. The company provides a full-service, multimedia test aid product designed to prepare candidates for the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) certification. Bionic Turtle was founded in 2005 by David Harper, CFA, FRM, CIPM. In the fall of 2006, Bionic Turtle became an approved provider of professional development programs, a designation granted by the prestigious CFA Institute. Bionic Turtle is owned by Investor Alternatives, LLC

The Challenge

Bionic Turtle had been using Excel spreadsheets with learning objects such as articles and movie tutorials in helping students prepare for certification. Since Excel is a desktop application, the company experienced usability and accessibility problems. Bionic Turtle frequently had to email files back and forth to candidates. Problems were experienced when some candidates did not have Excel or when others didn’t have the latest version.

The Solution

A Bionic Turtle executive read a blog article about EditGrid and realized it solved several problems the company faced. By using EditGrid’s online spreadsheets, the company could easily share working examples of finance concepts, which complemented its use of Screencast tutorials. Bionic Turtle determined EditGrid was superior to other applications because it has a better array of options for sharing and publishing documents. The company can designate an EditGrid spreadsheet with read/write privileges and allow a user to grab their own customizable copy. Bionic Turtle also appreciates that EditGrid does not require viewers to buy subscriptions.

“One of the smartest things EditGrid has done, in my opinion, is mak(ing) the (spread)sheets seamless with Excel…”
–David Harper, CFA, FRM, CIPM, Founder, Bionic Turtle

The Result

Bionic Turtle can now easily collaborate with candidates using EditGrid’s online spreadsheets. Using traditional finance applications, .xls files are passed around the Internet. With EditGrid, the whole game has changed and there are no longer limitations related to geography. Bionic Turtle users can now collaborate interactively over a shared spreadsheet.