Making the most of your office software

Office Software Introduction for third sector organisations

This guide covers the following:

• What office software is, and the types of applications included.
• How office software can help with different tasks across your organisation.
• The main brands of office software and their key features and costs.
• Working out what type of office software might be right for you.
• Some hints and tips on making the most of your office software.

Contents

1.0 What is office software?

2.0 Practical uses of office software.

2.1 Presentations.

2.2 Spreadsheets.

2.3 Word-processing.

3.0 Free vs Paid-For office software.

4.0 Brands of office software.

5.0 Choosing the right office software for you.

6.0 Hints and tips to make the most of your software.

Summary.

Additional information

1.0 What is office software?

If you have ever created a document, a spreadsheet or a presentation, then you’ve used office software. As the name implies, it was designed to allow common ‘office work’ to be done on a computer. By making office software generally available and (relatively) easy to use at a basic level, software companies have enabled individuals and organisations to do work that might have been split between several different roles in the past.

Selecting the right software and knowing the basics of how to get the most out of it can help make your work easier and more efficient.

When people refer to ‘office software’, they are usually referring to a collection of productivity software (i.e. software designed for producing information) that usually includes a word processor (such as Microsoft Word), spreadsheet application (such as Microsoft Excel) and a presentation programme (such as Microsoft PowerPoint). As well as a number of extra applications, which can include things like email software, databases, or project management tools, depending on the brand of office software. There are many different brands and types of office software, also known as ‘packages’ or ‘suites’. Microsoft Office is the usual ‘default’ office software of many organisations. Although many people who are familiar with computers can use standard office applications relatively easily, office applications offer lots of features that most people never make use of, as well as many levels of packages, some of which are free, to choose from.

2.0 Practical uses of Office Software

An office software ‘suite’ can contain a range of software applications (or ‘apps’ as they are sometimes shortened to), which can include project management tools, database software and desktop publishing.

The most commonly used, and the ones which you are likely to find most useful in your everyday work, are word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. This section shows some of the most useful and frequently-used features of each application, as well as the different ways the software can be used.

General familiarity with the main types of office software can benefit an organisation by allowing easier collaboration. For example, a colleague whose primary job function is communications might write a report using a word processing application. They can use their skills to ensure it is laid out in an attractive, easier-to-read format, and other colleagues can use the common ‘track changes’ or ‘comment’ functions to collaborate on this document with relative ease.

2.1 Presentations

Presentation software allows users to create slideshows to present ideas or information. It can be used to create slideshows for business presentations, talks, group meetings, and many other occasions. Examples you might have heard of are PowerPoint, Keynote and Slides.

When creating a presentation, users use text and images to build slides. They can choose from pre-designed templates or create their own slides.

You can add text, images, charts, videos and other objects to the slides. Some software allows users to create interactive presentations that include clickable buttons and slide transitions (for example, fading in and out or dissolving between slides).

Some key features include:

• Create interactive presentations with clickable buttons and slide transitions.
• Choose from a variety of built-in templates or create your own slideshow from scratch.
• Add text, images, charts, and other objects to slides to make them more interactive.
• Add audio, video, and other files to presentations. Present ideas in a standard slide show format.
• Add tables, infographics, charts, and other data visualisations to slides.

Uses in your organisation

Human Resources:

• Creating slides to support internal training courses, including using the animation functions to conceal answers to questions on the slide, then reveal them once the correct answer has been given.

Management:

• For a meeting, using presentation software to create supporting visuals for different speakers. The speakers can prepare their presentations and these can then be emailed to the organiser and combined into a single presentation for simplicity.

Communications:

• For documents that are mainly visual, rather than text-based, you can use presentation software to create the document with the ‘slides’ as pages, then save the file as a PDF, which may provide a better output than a word processing document in that instance, particularly in the absence of a graphic designer.

2.2 Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets allow users to organise and analyse data. They are often used for creating budgets, tracking expenses, or organising information. They also enable the users to create charts and graphs from their data.

For example, if you need to keep track of your expenses, you can create an Excel spreadsheet that lists all of your monthly expenses. This will help you stay organised and see where you may be able to cut back on spending.

You can also use spreadsheets for calculations, including planning a budget.

Some of the common features of spreadsheets are as follows:

• Create spreadsheets to organise data for easy analysis, reference and filtering.
• Create charts and graphs from your data to find trends or patterns.
• Import and export data in various formats for further analysis or to share with others.
• Calculate things easily and quickly using maths formulas and functions from your data.
• A variety of commands to help you manipulate data the way you want.

These applications can also be used together sometimes. For example, you can create a table in a spreadsheet application, and then copy that table into a document or presentation. This compatibility is one of the advantages of using a single ‘suite’ of office software.

Uses in your organisation

Finance:

• Creating a budget spreadsheet that adjusts totals automatically when figures are updated.
• Using the ‘graphs and charts’ feature to turn tables of figures into visually appealing pie charts or line graphs to make information easier to understand.

Fundraising:

• Creating a plan for a fundraising campaign with all costs included, that updates depending on new income.

Communications:

• Creating a table of contact details for a mailing list to personalise communication to a group of donors or volunteers. This data can be organised or filtered to create ‘segments’ that send a different message according to geography, how frequently they donate or other factors.

Programmes

• Making a critical path document or Gantt chart to map out the various steps needed to complete a project.

2.3 Word processing

Word processing software is primarily used to create and edit text-based documents, such as reports, agendas, minutes, instructions, etc. They have many features, including spell check, grammar check, word count, and the ability to track changes so that people can edit each other’s work and keep track of what has changed. They usually have a built-in dictionary and thesaurus.

Creating a basic document is quite straightforward, and as you gain experience, you will find more complex tools available to improve the layout and design of your report.

Common features of word processing software are:

• Creating a document from a blank page or using a template, add text, images, and other content, format your document, and print or share it.
• Includes templates for commonly used documents, such as resumes, letters, cards, flyers, reports, and much more.
• Easily collaborate with others by tracking changes, adding comments, and sharing documents.
• Fonts, page layout, margins, indentations, themes, etc. to customise your document.
• Structure your text by incorporating headings, bullet points, line breaks, lists, tables, etc.

Uses in your organisation

Management

• Creating a memo or agenda for meetings that can be easily shared, then writing up the minutes of those meetings.

Finance

• Drafting the annual accounts, making use of the ability to copy or embed data from the spreadsheet application to incorporate graphs, tables and charts and add commentary.

Communications

• Creating a report, including images, tables and charts alongside the commentary, that can be exported as a PDF for sharing.
• Human Resources
• Creating forms that can be printed out for people to fill in by hand if necessary, incorporating tick boxes, and spaces to be filled in.

3.0 Free vs Paid-For Office Software

There is a range of free office software suites available.Some of these are entirely free but can be relatively basic. These tend to have premium or paid-for versions with a wider range of tools.

When deciding which office software to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms will only give you access to a basic set of tools, so you may find a paid subscription is much more worthwhile. Additionally, budget software options can also sometimes prove limited when it comes to the variety of tools available, while higher-end software can really cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may need.

Equally, if you have relatively straightforward needs or limited knowledge of the software, it may be that a free version will do the trick just fine for now and you can change to a more advanced package when you’re ready. Most office software has the option to open and use the Microsoft file types (for example, .doc for word processing and .xls for spreadsheets). This means they can be shared between different office software packages, for example, you can create a file in Microsoft Word, and then send it to someone who might open it in Google Docs and be able to read it. Although word processing documents and presentations may have some formatting issues if opened in a different software package - i.e. the font may change or the spacing might be different. If you are going to be accessing office software on a mobile as well as a desktop or laptop, it will be helpful to check if the software has a mobile app and what features the apps contain.

4.0 Brands of office software

So what are the options? Below we have listed some of the most widely used office software suites, with some of their key features. All software listed allows you to do the essential functions within word processing, spreadsheets and presentations.

5.0 Choosing the right office software for you

With all these different software packages available, making a decision can be difficult. In many cases, you may already be using one of the popular providers and prefer to stick with them - which is a valid reason! If a package is already working fine for you and there are no compelling arguments and a clear advantage to changing, then the disruption of moving over to a new office software package may not be worth it.

Several factors to consider are:

• Do you want to work online or locally? Or both? Although everyone will usually be connected to the internet, or ‘online’, as part of their working practice, they may be working on their documents ‘locally’. This means that, rather than working on all your documents in an application that you access through your internet browser (such as Edge or Chrome), you open an application on your computer. There can be advantages to both. If you’re using an online application, then you just have to use your browser to access the file. This also means you and your colleagues can potentially access these files from anywhere on different devices. Offline or ‘local’ applications are usually more powerful and have more features, though are usually paid for. You can still share files with colleagues for collaboration, either by uploading them to a shared drive online or having your changes automatically sync to a copy of the file that is saved online.
• How many people will be using this software? If you are a single employee or handful of staff, then you should prioritise your own needs and digital skills and just pick the one that feels best for you - not feel pressured into using another brand. But as your organisation grows, you’ll need to think about how it can meet the needs of different teams. This includes considering how you share files in an accessible, but secure, way. If you wish to make use of the online storage, collaboration and file-sharing features within office software (for example, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive / SharePoint) then this may require a paid-for licence for all staff. Everyone should be using the same version of each application, so someone will need to have responsibility for ensuring any software updates are shared with all staff. And remember that each person will need to know how to make the most of the software and use it effectively. This leads to another key question…
• How digitally skilled or ‘computer savvy’ are your staff? Your package will have to perform for the least digitally skilled person in your organisation who will use it. This doesn’t mean compromising on the quality of the product, as your more confident colleagues can use the more advanced features of a package while others can stick to the more basic functions. But it does mean considering how useable and intuitive a product is, with some being very easy to start using and others requiring more training or guidance.
• What’s your budget? We have already looked at the free vs paid-for models of software. If you do select a paid-for model, within your organisation, you need to check with your trustees, finance manager or IT colleagues about what ongoing software licence cost you can commit to. Your need to use office software will continue, and the cost per user could be quite high overall across the year. Most paid-for office software for business charges on a subscription basis, rather than a one-off fee, and this could impact your budgets for other areas - particularly if you are already working to tight margins.

6.0 Hints and tips to make the most of your software

There are dozens of useful features common to the different brands of office software that can make a big difference to your work, helping it look more professional, do tasks more efficiently, and collaborate more easily. Below are some common ones you may not be aware of, and can investigate in your own office software, making use of the provider’s support information.

Word processing

• Templates: All word processing software comes with a number of templates - which set up the layout of a page specific to the sort of document you are making i.e. a report, a letter, an invitation, a newsletter. This means you just have to add your copy and images in the pre-set areas and benefit from a more professional-looking document overall without the need for design skills.
• Embedding files from other programmes: If your document refers to other documents that would be useful for people to have as context or reference, but you don’t want to include them all within the same document for reasons of size, you can ‘embed’ these documents as images or links, allowing people to click through and read more. These can be other word-processing documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, or many other types.
• Commenting: Having multiple colleagues collaborate on a single document has been a major development in office software over the last few years. Features such as ‘track changes’ or ‘comments’ enable you to do this without overwriting or losing the original copy. Enabling ‘track changes’ allows people to edit and add to a document, highlighting their changes in a way that can either be accepted or rejected by the original author. ‘Comments’ let people make suggestions or ask questions about the content in little ‘speech bubbles’, without disrupting the text.

Spreadsheets

• Formulas: Using formulas can allow you to perform a number of mathematical functions within a spreadsheet. These can be relatively simple, such as adding all the figures in a column together or more complex. Once you know how to make formulas, you can apply them across multiple datasets and automate calculations that would otherwise take a long time.
• Filtering: If your spreadsheet has a lot of data in it, but you only want to view the information that meets certain criteria, then you can use the ‘filtering’ tool to only see the data you need. This can be text-based, such as looking for certain postcode areas or towns, or numerical, such as looking for figures above a certain value.
• Charts and graphs: Sometimes data can be difficult to present in a way that makes sense to audiences. Charts and graphs tools let you select a section of your data, and automatically convert it into a pie chart, bar chart, line graph or another format for easier display, and you can change colours and add descriptions for the axes.

Presentations

• Templates: Like word processing applications, presentations usually have a range of templates to give more colour and variety to your slides. These can include templates for charts or diagrams, which can take the data from spreadsheets and share it in a more attractive format.

• Transitions: When moving from one slide to another, you can select different types of transitions so that, rather than simply changing, you can use dissolve, fade or other animated effects. You can also select sections of a slide to be revealed by a click. These help make a presentation more animated and engaging for an audience.
• Embedding video: Most presentation applications support embedding a video, either one that is on your local machine, or one that is online via YouTube or another platform.

Summary

You should now have a good grasp of the different tasks that an office software package will allow you to perform, and some of the considerations to take into account when deciding what office software will be right for you and your organisation - such as varying features, costs and available support.

Remember, all reputable software packages will allow you to use them for a trial period (if paid for) or are free to use from the beginning, so you can try out different providers to get a sense of what works best for you. At a basic level, the difference in features between the packages can be quite small to the less experienced user, so if something ‘feels’ more user-friendly, then that’s often a good enough reason to select it as your package - since a user’s confidence makes a big difference to helping them make the most of a piece of software. As the digital skills across the organisation improve and you make use of the training resources available, you will get more and more out of this software, allowing you to make the best use of your time and talents.

Additional information

This guide was written by Brightsparks.