Still Exporting Dynamics CRM Records into Excel? There Is a Better Way.

Ryan Plourde
| 7/31/2015
C4D087-073115

Your Microsoft Dynamics® CRM contains all the data you need about your business’s clients and you should be able to operate within that single system. Why though are some still exporting information from CRM into Excel? Reasons that made sense in the past might be:

  • You wanted to update multiple fields or records

  • You wanted to sort and group information

  • You wanted to perform calculations.

But there are drawbacks to shifting information around like that. It is at best inconvenient and at worst could be costly in terms of data error. Some of the inefficiencies of that method might include:

  • The necessity of using two different systems

  • The inability to  easily get additional information from your CRM records

  • Work done in Excel is not seen by all your CRM users.

  • Information exported could quickly be outdated

True, you could have a refreshable Excel list to keep the data current and you could transfer it to a shared folder so everyone could see it, but you are still using two systems and it is still inefficient. There is a much easier way.

All three of the above mentioned tasks can easily be performed right within Microsoft Dynamics CRM when you use Crowe EditAble CRM Grid with your Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Update multiple fields or records right within Dynamics CRM

With Crowe EditAble CRM Grid you can transform any page or form in your CRM  into a grid. You will be able to select and edit any field just as you would in an Excel document. With Crowe EditAble CRM Grid you can efficiently edit a large amount of data at one time. You can do this without having to export anything to Excel and then import it back into CRM.  Fewer clicks, less chance for error, it’s more efficient.

 Sort and group information in Dynamics CRM

With Crowe EditAble CRM Grid, you are not limited to displaying CRM records in a list format or alphabetically.  You can group information any way you would like to have it appear.

For example, perhaps a property management company uses Microsoft Dynamics CRM to track their data of apartment buildings and individual units. With Crowe EditAble CRM Grid, they can sort and group their data to see at a glance which buildings or units are occupied or other relevant data. From there, they can perform calculations using that information

 Perform calculations right in Dynamics CRM

You can choose to use the CRM 2015’s calculated fields, but for more complex calculations you can create custom calculations using Crowe EditAble CRM Grids’ flexible API.   This grouping feature also allows you to determine how grouped information is subtotaled as well as displaying grand totals for all the records displayed in the grid. You can calculate dollar amounts, counts, sums and more.

The property management company that has grouped their records by building or by unit can now calculate the total income for all those units within each building.  Then, at one glance, from within Dynamics CRM, they can see how much income they are generating for each unit and building. You can group and sort the information any way you would llike to see it.

Crowe EditAble CRM Grid is a powerful tool that allows users to stay in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. And rest assured, if you still want to use Microsoft Excel, you can export your information from the Crowe EditABle CRM Grid into Excel to create charts, perform mail merges and use other Excel specific features.

Crowe EditAble CRM Grid supports in-line edits, flexible layout options, in-line controls, Microsoft Excel export, section grouping, sorting, totals and much more.