Reviews

PerfectXL

PerfectXL

Introduction

As a spreadsheet consultant I often have to assess Excel models built by other people. I have had the honour of being offered a trial account for PerfectXL, a new Spreadsheet risk managment tool. I gave the tool a spin with some of my models.

What is it?

PerfectXL is an on-line spreadsheet analysis tool that enables you to identify risks in your spreadsheet models and helps you understand how the worksheets in your model interact.

Installation

Part of the tool requires no installation as it is a web service (the corporate license includes an on-premise installation). On top of the web service an Excel add-in is provided which adds a tab to the Ribbon. This enables you to drive an analysis from within Excel directly.

Features

The system features an impressive number of tools to check your Excel models for risks, including:

  • A map that shows how formulas link worksheets together.
    This is a very useful map that visualises how your spreadsheet model works. It immediately tells you which sheets affect which other sheets for example.
  • A risk analysis that includes as much as 21 different categories, to name a few:
    • Fixed number
    • Standard Excel Errors
    • Many different operations
    • Referencing many different cell groups
    • Incorrect formula location
    • Conditional complexity
    • Hidden formulas
    • Hidden rows ...
    These risks will pinpoint possible mistakes in your model, which help you to avoid sytematic errors. The risks are an excellent way to help you focus on the potentially most dangerous areas in your file. This is (for me) the most important part of the tool, as it helps find potential mistakes in the model.
  • A report that enables you to compare two files.
    I like this report because I can use it to compare the updated model to the original and get an idea on how much I have improved the model.

Conclusion

All in all, I think PerfectXL is an excellent tool for doing spreadsheet risk analysis and for finding problems in your Excel model.

 



Comments

Have a question, comment or suggestion? Then please use this form.

If your question is not directly related to this web page, but rather a more general "How do I do this" Excel question, then I advise you to ask your question here: www.eileenslounge.com.




To post VBA code in your comment, use [VB] tags, like this: [VB]Code goes here[/VB].