Excel: The Most Underrated Beast in Your Business

Let’s get real about Excel.

Apparently, I’m supposed to apologize for using it. Because it’s not the “latest and greatest,” not shiny, not SaaS, not backed by a VC firm promising it’ll change my life if I just click “book a demo.”

Except… I don’t apologize for using Excel.

Excel turned 40 last year for a reason.
Excel has outlasted for a reason.
Excel just works.
Simply.

I built a file flow tool inside Excel that runs tighter, faster, and cleaner than most CRMs being pitched to CDN Mortgage Brokers. Why?

Because it works.
And because I worked it.

And here’s the part no CRM sales deck wants you to hear:

Every. Single. Tech. Company. Uses. Excel.

Internally. Behind the curtain. For their own modelling, forecasting, reporting... and when things go sideways?
They don’t go to their dashboard. They go to Excel.

Meanwhile, they tell you to “ditch the spreadsheet.”

Reality check: Excel is still the most used business software on the planet.

Get this; Microsoft reports usage is growing every single month for the last six years. Not shrinking. Not plateauing. Growing.

Still think it’s obsolete?

Ask Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Alphabet, and Microsoft—every one of them still posts jobs requiring Excel fluency. And a 2025 analysis showed 84% of FP&A job listings demand Excel, up from 66% last year. That’s not decline. That’s domination.

What about all the noise around AI?

Top CFOs are still using Excel for capital planning, strategic modelling, and day-to-day progress tracking. Because it works. Because it’s explainable. Because when someone says, “Send me the file,” what they mean is, “Send me the Excel sheet. Show me the formulas.”

AI may hallucinate.
Excel does not.

Does it have flaws?
Of course, but it also has power.
Flexibility.
Transparency.
Precision.

All the things that actually matter when managing real dollars for real clients in the real world.

Leila Gharani teaches Excel to millions.
ESPN airs the Excel World Championship.
PayPal, GoDaddy, Dashlane, et al - they’re all still in the Excel trenches.

So here’s the deal:

CRMs?
Great if they help you actually do the work.

But Excel?
That’s the tool of people who already know what needs doing, and just want to get it done.

You don’t need flash.
You need flow.

You don’t need automation.
You need execution.

You don’t need more noise.
You need clarity.

And if you still think Excel is beneath you...

You probably haven’t used it properly.

DW