Connect Excel and SQL

The Excel and SQL Server experts blog
How to Update an SQL Table from Excel: Easiest Method
Johannes Åkesson - Feb 27, 2025

Many teams struggle to find safe and easy solutions for updating SQL tables. We often hear from team members in charge of data management who have to direct crucial resources to building or maintaining tools for SQL data management, wary of letting business users handle udpates on their own. SQL Spreads – an Excel Add-In …
How to insert data from Excel to SQL Server
Johannes Åkesson - Jan 20, 2025

Most people do not know that there is a really simple way to copy and paste data from Excel to SQL Server. In this article, I will show you what you need to know to copy and paste data from Excel to SQL Server.
I will go through and show the technique using simple step-by-step instructions, and I will also cover a few special cases that are great to know.
The Best Alternative to Microsoft Access in 2025
Andy McDonald - Dec 07, 2024

If you’ve been frustrated with Microsoft Access’s limitations or wondering if it’s still worth using in 2025, you’re not alone. With businesses moving towards more scalable and flexible solutions, SQL Spreads Excel Add-In is a powerful, user-friendly alternative. In this article, we’ll explore why Access is losing popularity and how this lean tech stack alternative …
Top Alternatives to Microsoft Power Apps for SQL Data Management in 2024
Johannes Åkesson - Nov 15, 2024

Looking for a way to simplify SQL data management? Check out these top Power Apps alternatives that make it easier to build SQL data management solutions without requiring excessive technical skills and suited to your organization’s unique needs. Microsoft Power Apps – a major market player Microsoft Power Apps is a development platform that – …
How to Export Data from SQL Server to Excel
Andy McDonald - Nov 08, 2024

For organizations that use SQL Server and Excel extensively, there is often a need to export data from SQL Server to Excel. In this article, we’re going to look at how to export data from SQL Server to Excel using 3 methods. We’ll also introduce a valuable feature in the SQL Spreads Excel Add-In that allows …
Use Case: How to build a KPI Excel template with SQL Server
Andy McDonald - Mar 06, 2024

In this article, we’re going to show you how to build a KPI Excel template using SQL Server and an Excel Add-In. Many organizations collect performance metrics related to aspects of their business and then use KPIs to measure and track performance against targets. However, the process of collecting the data is often a manual …
Update View in SQL Server using Excel – Step by Step Guide
Johannes Åkesson - Sep 08, 2023

In many businesses, it’s common to use Views to present database tables in a user-friendly way. With SQL Spreads, you can update a View in SQL Server from within Excel. SQL Spreads allows you to work with SQL Server Views, making it easy to display data side by side in Excel, similar to any other …
SQL Spreads: a front end for SQL Server
Andy McDonald - Jul 05, 2023

There are several options available if you are looking for a front end for SQL Server. Like most things, what is best for you will depend on a number of factors. In this article, we’re going to look at the things to consider when choosing a front end for SQL Server and how the SQL …
Tree Filters in Excel: an easy way to view and filter SQL data
Andy McDonald - May 11, 2023

With the rise of data democratization in the workplace, more people across the organization are working with datasets on a day-to-day basis. SQL Spreads makes this easier for people by letting them use Excel to update and manage data in SQL Server. One of the reasons people enjoy working in Excel is the familiarity of the UI …
Excel Power Query: What is it? Why use it?
Andy McDonald - Jul 01, 2022

With Excel Power Query you can connect to data sources, import data, clean and shape it and then load it into Excel or a data model so that you can create charts and reports. In this article, we’re going to look at some examples of where you’d use Power Query and give a quick overview …
How to Use SQL with Excel for Data Analysis
Andy McDonald - Jun 08, 2022

In a previous article, we talked about why most organizations should use both SQL Server and Excel for their data management needs. In this article, we’re going to look at an example of how to perform data analysis using SQL and Excel with an Excel Add-In, called SQL Spreads. You can use the Add-In to …
How to Connect Power Apps to SQL Server
Andy McDonald - May 13, 2022

In this article, we’re going to look at how to connect Power Apps to SQL Server. This provides a slightly deeper dive than was covered in our previous Quick Start Guide to Power Apps. Power Apps is the low-code/no-code platform from Microsoft. It aims to make it quick and easy for people in organizations to …
SQL Server Import and Export Wizard Guide
Andy McDonald - May 06, 2022

This guide explains how to use the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard to get data into a SQL Server database. What is the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard? SQL Server Import and Export Wizard is a simple way to copy data from a source to a destination. It is most commonly used to …
Connect Excel to SQL Server: 3 Easy Steps
Andy McDonald -

In a previous article, we spoke about why you need both Excel and SQL in your data management solutions, but how do you connect Excel to SQL Server? In this article, we’re going to show you the steps and highlight a key benefit of using an Excel add-in like SQL Spreads. But, first, we’re going …
SQL and Excel: Why you need both
Andy McDonald - Mar 12, 2022

SQL vs. Excel: which is better? As you can see from the title of this article, it’s not the case that you should choose one over the other; you actually need SQL and Excel. Introduction Excel is a really great application. There are not many applications that are used by such a wide variety of …
CSV to SQL: How to Convert, Open & Import
Andy McDonald - Jan 31, 2022

In this article, we’re going to look at 3 ways to convert a CSV file to SQL. This is a common use case, so hopefully, you’ll find the following information useful in your day-to-day work. Introduction Comma Separated Values (CSV) files are commonly used to exchange data from one system or application to another. The …
How to use Excel to update SQL Server data
Johannes - Oct 17, 2014

End users love working in Excel; they know the tool and they are free to do what they want. That’s the heart of the much-loved Excel application, but also the start of problems for the people taking care of the data. The freedom to add cells and enter “whatever-you-like” values causes huge problems when trying …

The Excel and SQL Server experts blog

Johannes Åkesson