Business Software

MICROSOFT WORD

• Allows the user to input, manipulate (change) and edit data
• Users can insert chart,diagram or images
• Documents can be linked to database through mail merge
• Words can produce:
• Letters
• Report
• Leaflet
• Advantage:
• Can be used as part of mail merge to personalise document
• Documents can be saved and reused
• Users can keep on updating and editing document without doing it from scratch
• What is seen on the screen, will be printed exactly as it looks
• Disadvantage:
• Recent changes can be lost

POWERPOINT

• Is a presentation software
• Displays information as a slide show
• Powerpoint's is mostly used in teaching, training and meeting to convey information
• Powerpoint can include:
• Text
• Graphs
• Video clips
• Images
• Sound
• Advantage:
• Very little skill needed in order to use
• Can quickly create a professionally designed and laid out presentation by using templates and slide layout options
• Can use sound to emphasise a point
• Presenter can be anywhere in the room - not forced to stay at the front
• Disadvantage:
• Animations can be distracting
• Can be tempting to use too much text which makes the information difficult to read from a distance
• presentations can look amateurish as people get carried away with features such as Word Art, background colours, animations, timings etc

MICROSOFT EXCEL

• Are spreadsheet
• Used to store and manipulate data
• spreadsheet is a piece of software which is used to carry out calculations and modelling scenarios.
• Performs mathematical functions
• Ideal for:
• Graphs and charts
• Modelling
• Forecasting
• Starting
• Calculating
• Displaying financial information
• DATA IN EXCEL CAN BE MANIPULATED (changed) INTO CHART & GRAPH
• common in business, as they are excellent for handling data such as sales, engineering or financial data.
• Formulas are used to automatically perform calculations on the data which has been entered.
• Many businesses use spreadsheets to keep track of financial transactions, inventory, stock flow.
• Advantage :
• Complex calculations can be performed very quickly
• using formulas you can change a variable and the calculation will automatically be updated-changed automatically
• Professional looking graphs and charts can be created very quickly
• Spreadsheets can be used to model different scenarios to find out what is likely to happen when a variable is changed. This can be done using 'what .. if' and goal seek tools.
• By using historical data, forcasts can be made about what is likely to happen during the next time period.

MICROSOFT ACCESS

• This is database
• It is used to store and retreive information
• Allows users to :
• Enter
• Store
• Sort
• Search through data
• Database within a buisness can include:
• Employee record
• Customer details
• Supplier detail
• Advantage ;
• Reports can be generated to present data to users
• Relationships can be set up to avoid data duplication
• See past data about people within the business
• Data can easily be added or amended without the need to redesign the database, queries or reports

Graphical Design Software

• Used to produce high images and drawings
• Used for the creation and manipulation of graphics

Web authoring software

• Allow you to create web pages and web sites. Examples include Dreamweaver and Microsoft Front Page.
• Advantage:
• What you see is what youll get
• Can set up and use templates to ensure consistency between webpages
• Can insert multi-media into webpages
• Can set up hyperlinks and hotspots
• Many of the features available in more commonly used office applications - good for business
• Disadvantage:
• Doesn’t normally come as part of a general office suite and can be quite expensive to purchase
• normally needs some training and/or technical knowledge