A successful renewable energy asset management practice includes tracking power outputs and performance status analysis of large-scale solar power, wind energy, and hydropower plant portfolios. The process involves collecting and aggregating all information pertaining to each asset under the portfolio, such as data, documents, schedules, etc.
As a portfolio grows, it becomes more important to optimize efficiency. Over the years, companies have used Excel for asset tracking and management. That worked back then, but a lot has changed. With the advancements in saas-based systems, more efficient options exist today that are more reliable for managing assets, including invoicing and reporting.
Why you shouldn’t use Excel to manage renewable energy assets
The sole essence of Excel is to calculate and store data, not to track big data and its multiple categories.
The benefits Excel offered, in its initial days, as a categorizing tool were terrific, but when it comes to renewable asset management, using Excel isn’t a wise decision; and here’s why:
Unreliable
If you can’t rely on a tool, then there’s no point in using it. This often happens in Excel.
When someone makes a change, you can’t trace who did it or what piece of data they changed. Also, a lot can go wrong because the complete version of the software isn’t cloud-based and needs to be installed on your computer.
Limited
Furthermore, carrying your device from one site to another is inconvenient because the software is on your computer. Even though Excel is now compatible with some smartphones, it still doesn’t make sense when you have to input extensive data.
This limitation reduces productivity limiting what employees can do on the field and in real-time.
Manual
Excel does not accommodate extensive automation. You have to manually enter each data set, increasing the chances of errors. Also, chances are that some information could be overridden, deleted or duplicated since multiple employees have access to the same sheet.
Why you should use asset management software for managing your portfolio of assets
It’s simple; you need renewable energy asset management software to be more productive. Here are some key benefits of automating your workflow with a secure system.
Central
You do not expect your company to remain small forever. Initially, it might just be you and a few people handling about 2 to 4 projects. Excel could work just fine. But what happens when you have over a hundred people on your team with a minimum of 50 projects? How do you scale up your processes?
What if a file administrator is on leave or no longer works with the company? How do you understand the multiple rows of data without overriding or deleting a critical portion of the file?
Renewable energy asset management software gives central control over multiple data sets. It also has additional features like search, filters, and permissions, making data analysis as simple as possible.
Fast
Excel can easily handle a few projects. But if a key stakeholder requests a summary of KPIs for all projects in the portfolio before the close of business, how fast can you produce the report?
This means you must seek permission from different project managers to access their sheets, which may be arranged differently for each person.
Remember, the stakeholder may not understand data as a project manager. So, you may have to convert your data to graphic visuals.
Renewable energy asset management software offers a standard reporting framework. You can quickly and easily monitor KPIs and display data in stunning dashboards.
Integrations
Businesses use different tools such as CRM, ticket management, accounting, document management, etc. In addition to these tools, you may have several Excel files for assets.
When data is scattered all over the place, it becomes difficult to track and manage. But with renewable energy asset management software, you can have everything in one place through API integration.
Instead of opening and closing different platforms to access information, you can quickly glance at all platforms from a single dashboard.
Standard
If you started your renewable energy business with acquired projects, you might have different monitoring system providers. Irrespective of the excel gurus you may have on your team, the tool can’t automate all monitoring systems. It has its limits. Using asset management software is easy to create a standard across all systems.
PowerHub lets you create one dashboard that connects to multiple data sources.
Our software also comes with readily available templates for invoicing that you can reuse instead of starting from scratch.
Conclusion
To conclude, Excel can’t correctly scale with your asset management business. It lacks multiple features and capabilities that make tracking and analyzing a diverse range of assets simple and effective.
PowerHub’s asset management software is simple and easy to use with a friendly user interface backed by industry-standard security integration. With over 11 years of serving the industry, our knowledgeable team can answer all your questions regarding our simple invoicing and reporting solutions.
Get started by requesting a demo.
