The Hidden Costs of Excel: Why Newforma is Essential for Smoother Document Control 

Document control has evolved for the better, and, if you’re still using Microsoft excel to record your document revisions, you’re missing out.

In the AEC industry, managing contract changes and documents effectively is crucial to maintaining project quality and avoiding costly delays. Yet, many professionals still rely on Excel for these tasks, often unaware of the hidden inefficiencies and risks it introduces.  

If you’ve been using Excel for your contract change management and document control, you’ve likely encountered challenges that eat into your time and budget. Let’s explore these challenges and why switching to Newforma is a smart move. 

When managing construction projects, you need quick access to the right documents at the right time. However, Excel often turns this process into a frustrating ordeal.

Here are the primary challenges you may be facing: 

Excel spreadsheets can quickly become a maze of tabs, rows, and columns. Finding the right document or piece of information can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.  

This inefficiency not only slows down your work but also increases the risk of missing critical details. The more complex your project, the more time is wasted trying to locate the right data, ultimately leading to delays and potential errors. 

Version control in Excel is notoriously challenging. When multiple team members are working on the same document, keeping track of the latest version can become a nightmare.  

It’s all too easy to end up with several different versions of the same file, leading to confusion, errors, and miscommunication. This can result in costly mistakes, with outdated or incorrect information being used to make critical project decisions. 

Excel is not designed for real-time collaboration. If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of waiting for a colleague to send you an updated file or, worse, discovering conflicting changes in a shared document, you understand how this limitation can hinder your project’s progress.  

The lack of real-time collaboration can slow down decision-making processes, delay project timelines, and lead to miscommunications that could have been easily avoided with more robust tools. 

Newforma offers a powerful alternative to Excel, providing a centralized platform that streamlines document control and mitigates the challenges outlined above.  

Here’s how: 

Newforma consolidates all your project documents in one place, making it easy to find what you need when you need it. Instead of digging through multiple spreadsheets, you can access the most up-to-date information instantly, saving time and reducing stress.  

This centralized approach also means that all stakeholders have access to the same data, reducing the risk of miscommunication and ensuring everyone is working from the same page. 

With Newforma, version control is automated and foolproof. The platform tracks every change made to a document, ensuring that all team members are working from the same, most current version. This reduces the risk of errors and ensures everyone is on the same page.  

The ability to track document histories and revert to previous versions if needed further enhances accuracy and accountability in your project management processes. 

Unlike Excel, Newforma allows multiple users to work in the same space from your data source of choice, like SharePoint or Autodesk Docs, simultaneously, without the risk of overwriting or losing data.  

This real-time collaboration capability enhances communication and ensures that decisions are made based on the latest information, keeping your project moving forward without unnecessary delays. With everyone working together in real time, you can avoid the bottlenecks and slowdowns that often plague projects reliant on Excel. 

Newforma’s sophisticated file management tools allow you to categorize, tag, and organize documents efficiently. This ensures that all documents are easily accessible and well-organized, reducing the time spent searching for information and minimizing the risk of misplaced files.  

With a well-organized system, you can focus on the task at hand, confident that your documentation is both secure and easily retrievable. 

Sticking with Excel for document control might seem cost-effective, but the hidden costs—wasted time, errors, and project delays—can add up quickly. By switching to Newforma, you’ll not only improve efficiency but also enhance the overall quality and success of your projects.  

The transition is a no-brainer if you’re looking to save time, reduce frustration, and ensure your projects stay on track. Embracing Newforma means investing in a solution that grows with your projects, offering scalability, reliability, and peace of mind as you manage the complexities of modern construction. 

As the construction industry continues to evolve, the tools and methods we use must also advance. Excel, while once a reliable tool, simply cannot keep pace with the demands of today’s fast-moving projects. Newforma represents the next step in document control, offering a solution designed with the unique challenges of construction management in mind.

Want to experience it for yourself? Book a demo today and leave those rigid Excel sheets in the past for good.